Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner at what is one of the best restaurants in the Sault since my favourite place of all time, Los Mexicanos, closed a couple months ago. Bali is a rare place in the Sault offering something more than generic Italian food.
Bali provides a variety of Indonesian, Chinese, and maybe a hint of Malaysian dishes in its new dining room at 523 Queen Street. The new location is quite a bit larger, and is decorated with Indonesian art. The decor really gives you the sense that this is a family run restaurant, and that the food is the main event. It really is family run, because the staff while I was there was the two young children doing service (except for alcohol, which is served by the parents), and the two parents in the back cooking and occaisionally coming out to see if everything was ok.
I had the pleasure of tasting 5 different dishes off the menu, and a few bottles of Tsing Tao beer.
Chicken Satay Appetizer
Tasty offering of six chicken skewers served with a tasty penut sauce, and a thick, sweet soy sauce. The chicken was moist, the sauce tasty, and it was served on a stick: very good starter.
Beef Rendang
I got this dish extra spicy. It could have been hotter, but it was still delicious. Thin strips of beef and pieces of carrot cooked in a flavourful cocanut sauce with a whole bunch of South-East Asian spices. Best dish of the night.
Lemongrass Chicken
Pieces of chicken cooked in a frgrant lemongrass sauce. It was very good, but my only issue was that the sauce could have been thicker, as it did not stick that well to the chicken or rice. However, I ate the sauce kind of like a soup at the end, and it was great.
Pork with Asam
This was the lone dry dish we got while we were there. I believe it is pork cooked with tamarind paste until the paste is reduced. The dish takes on an interesting smokey flavour as well. It was also very good
Tofu Dish (I can't remember what it was!)
This dish was tofu in a sauce that I think had oyster sauce in it, as well as peas and fava beans maybe? I don't know. I didn't really like this dish that much. It tasted great, but it soft tofu and I am not a big fan of that texture
There you have it. I would say that anyone in Sault Ste. Marie looking to go for dinner, or get take-out should definitely try out Bali. Even if you go with some of their more Chinese offerings, it still WAY WAY better than any other Chinese restaurant in town.
In addition to the quality of the food, it is very reasonably priced, with most dishes under $10. The two kids provide suprisingly efficient service, and everyone there is very friendly.
Check it out, because it would be a shame to see another great ethnic restaurant go down in a city with so few to start with.
Bali provides a variety of Indonesian, Chinese, and maybe a hint of Malaysian dishes in its new dining room at 523 Queen Street. The new location is quite a bit larger, and is decorated with Indonesian art. The decor really gives you the sense that this is a family run restaurant, and that the food is the main event. It really is family run, because the staff while I was there was the two young children doing service (except for alcohol, which is served by the parents), and the two parents in the back cooking and occaisionally coming out to see if everything was ok.
I had the pleasure of tasting 5 different dishes off the menu, and a few bottles of Tsing Tao beer.
Chicken Satay Appetizer
Tasty offering of six chicken skewers served with a tasty penut sauce, and a thick, sweet soy sauce. The chicken was moist, the sauce tasty, and it was served on a stick: very good starter.
Beef Rendang
I got this dish extra spicy. It could have been hotter, but it was still delicious. Thin strips of beef and pieces of carrot cooked in a flavourful cocanut sauce with a whole bunch of South-East Asian spices. Best dish of the night.
Lemongrass Chicken
Pieces of chicken cooked in a frgrant lemongrass sauce. It was very good, but my only issue was that the sauce could have been thicker, as it did not stick that well to the chicken or rice. However, I ate the sauce kind of like a soup at the end, and it was great.
Pork with Asam
This was the lone dry dish we got while we were there. I believe it is pork cooked with tamarind paste until the paste is reduced. The dish takes on an interesting smokey flavour as well. It was also very good
Tofu Dish (I can't remember what it was!)
This dish was tofu in a sauce that I think had oyster sauce in it, as well as peas and fava beans maybe? I don't know. I didn't really like this dish that much. It tasted great, but it soft tofu and I am not a big fan of that texture
There you have it. I would say that anyone in Sault Ste. Marie looking to go for dinner, or get take-out should definitely try out Bali. Even if you go with some of their more Chinese offerings, it still WAY WAY better than any other Chinese restaurant in town.
In addition to the quality of the food, it is very reasonably priced, with most dishes under $10. The two kids provide suprisingly efficient service, and everyone there is very friendly.
Check it out, because it would be a shame to see another great ethnic restaurant go down in a city with so few to start with.
I went to Bali a few years ago, and although I don't remember what I got, I remember being underwhelmed by the food. 3.5/5 is a fair score for it
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it's a place I don't mind supporting because like you said, it's a family run business and it's not italian.
Why doesn't the Soo have good indian food yet? That's long overdue
Yeah, I think compared to most South-East Asian cuisine around Canada/US/Europe that I've tasted, this place IS underwhelming. But it is good for the Soo!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree, about the Indian food. I thought maybe an Indian company taking over the steel plan might change that, but apparently not. I feel the same way about a sushi restaurant in the city.
Also, who are you anonymous commentator?