Here are some local drinks you should try in Bali, especially when you’re considering something other than water or canned sodas to quench your thirst on a sunny day around the island. Actually, there are too many traditional drinks on the island, as varied as its different village communities located throughout the highlands and its coastal areas. But here we’ve rounded up a shortlist of the most popular, and which you can try as exotic sweet refreshments as well. Exotic food and drinks are often a big part of the exciting experience, as you discover new flavours and at most times their interesting cultural aspects, and ingredients and processes you’ve never heard of before. You can find most of these refreshing drinks and dessert drinks at local roadside warung stalls or food carts near the beach, certainly in the big resorts of Kuta and Legian, or at more modern restaurants serving Indonesian cuisine.
1.Es cincau – black glass jelly, on ice
Popular throughout most of Southeast Asia, black jelly, otherwise known locally in Bali as cincau, is a common addition to dessert drinks. The jelly is made from the leaves of the Chinese mesona plant, and is usually sold in markets in instant powdered form, just like carrageenan (seaweed) jelly. After it is processed, the jelly is cut in slices or cubes, then served with coconut milk, syrup and ice, or with condensed milk. The texture is not as viscous as green grass jelly. It is known among locals to aid in easing fevers, hypertension, and constipations. Sold less than a dollar a glass in local restaurants.
2.Jamu – Javanese herbal drink
This traditionally Javanese herbal drink is throughout Indonesia and comes in a wide variety of recipes, each for a specific remedy, from digestive disorders to enhancing virility. It is made from natural ingredients, such as roots, barks, flowers, seeds and leaves of certain plants. Honey, milk and eggs are sometimes added for taste and to enrich its curative properties. Brand stalls such as Nyonya Meneer and Djamu Djago can be found at traditional markets selling packets from IDR 5,000 each – choose your ingredients, then add hot water. Caution: some are very pungent!
3.Loloh – Balinese herbal drink
Balinese herbal drinks or loloh are made from various types of leaves and fruits. It is usually taken to maintain health with ingredients that are known for their therapeutic benefits. Some of the most commonly used are tibah or morinda fruit, hibiscus flower, daun kayumanis or leaves of the star gooseberry tree, together with herbs and spices to taste, such as salt, roast shallots, ginger and turmeric. A bottled and ready-to-buy variant in Bali supermarkets is known as loloh cemcem, sold from a very cheap IDR 5,000 or less than US 50 cents a bottle.
4.Tuak – palm toddy
Often considered a rurally produced moonshine in Bali, you can find this drink sold in villages in north, central and east Bali, where it is mostly produced. Unlike the better known Balinese rice wine of arak, tuak is a milky palm toddy that comes in two variants: sour and sweet, although both offer a sour aftertaste. Tuak usually has a lesser alcohol content than arak, but doesn’t keep fresh for long, hence its scarcity in the wild. When you do come across a warung selling it, they are usually sold by one-litre plastic jerry cans, or by the glass (with or without ice) just under a dollar.
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