BALI #3: Mozaic

For a special series on the blog, I am doing my first review Round-Up abroad. Last September, I had the good fortune to visit a place that had long been on my wishlist: Bali. To my surprise, the three fine-dining restaurants that I visited while there proved to be three of the best I had ever visited. Who needs Michelin stars when the food is this good?

I have chosen to review in reverse order, as it just so happens that my order of visiting these restaurants happens to be the same order in which I'd place them: best to worst. Now that being said, Mozaic being the 'worst' is really only a testament to the quality of the two other restaurants; Mozaic currently stands at Number 8 of my Top 10 List internationally.

I attended Mozaic on my last night in Bali, and was immediately taken in by its sumptuous interiors and dim lighting. The first seating area (pictured above) is where I had a cup of tea as I waited to be seated in the restaurant. I did not have long to wait before I was brought through to the main seating area, electing for the six course botanical (vegetarian) menu.

The meal started with three hors d'oeuvres (carrot, dim sum and a tartlet, each pleasing to the eye and the palette) followed by the chef's amuse, a rendang broth with shiso leaf. This was a delightful amuse-bouche, rich in flavour and with a gentle mouth-feel.

Then came the first course, the 'beef' carpaccio with rendang spices, parmesan tofu and cumin leaf. A pleasing, delicate cold starter with a mix of textures, it brought to mind a similar dish from La Leggenda dei Frati in Florence - clearly there is some east meets west fusion happening here.

Then came The Whole Onion, with kulat pelawan and burnt bread. Kulat pelawan is a mushroom native to Indonesia, and provided a nice umami hit with the sweetness of the onion. I can see what they were going for here, but it didn't really work for me (not in the same way that Helene Darroze's onion elevation does at The Connaught in London).

Then came pomelo lard with charred cauliflower, turnip, and curry leaves. Pomelo is a citrus fruit, though this was still decidedly a savoury dish. The gentle spicing carried through, with the sweetness of the pomelo complementing the smoke and earthiness of the cauliflower.

I was then ushered outside for my next course, to enjoy a black pudding with whipped potato puree and wild mushroom gravy in the peace of the Balinese outdoors, backing as Mozaic does onto arable land. Apart from the dessert, this was the highlight of the meal. East meets West indeed, where Balinese ingredients are used to create the most perfect vegetarian sausage I have ever seen or eaten. Delightful.

Then it was time to move back into the main dining area, where my fifth course consisted of frozen burrata, beetroot and olives. This is the only dish that didn't really do it for me, as the frozen burrata didn't really provide any sense of flavour. If nothing else, this was more a palate cleanser for the dessert.

And what a dessert it was. How beautiful. Kemangi mousse, white chocolate, burnt butter, and turmeric sorbet. A riot of flavours and colours, with impeccable presentation. A truly wonderful end to an excellent meal.

Or it would have been if the darn petit fours didn't come out! I jest - these were good as petit fours go, though it's really all about that showstopper of a dessert.

I left feeling very satisfied, and very glad that I had not stopped at the one restaurant booking while in Bali. For anyone visiting, definitely give Mozaic a try.

Value for money? The 6 course menu was 900,000 IDR. That's £45. That is mind-blowing value. Considering that this is - in my humble opinion - better than most one star and a few of the two-star restaurants in London, you'd be foolish not to go!

Would I return? Absolutely.