Cuca Jimbaran Bali!

After months of waiting I am very excited that this restaurant is finally opening! Back in May they're hosting a special Cuca sessions for bloggers and media, which you can read it HERE! Congratulations Kevin and Virginia! I am very happy for both of you :).

This visit to Cuca is still relating with my media familirization trip to Bali with Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort (post HERE), not that this is part of the schedule, but it's still on the same period. The media familirization trip was super fun but everything was scheduled, but since I had more free time on the last day and for the love of Cuca, I cab myself to Jimbaran and went here. Gosh, how I am missing Bali right now :(.

I am sad! Very very sad because I couldn't meet Kevin and Virginia :"(. If you read my post about Cuca Sessions, you must knew who they are, short to say, they both are the owners of this restaurant. I really really wanted to meet them both and chat more about Cuca and recent life while having their delicious course!!! Somehow I totally understand how tiring they are and the day I decided to pay a visit, they're having their day off and they told me they've been super exhausted. Put the blame on me because I initially wanted to go on the previous day but there was the Chef's Kitchen Table in Sheraton that I couldn't miss and they were waiting patiently but this horrible blogger to show up. I know I am lame, I am sorry!

But at least I went here and ready to share my story with you all!

Getting here was not hard at all, beside the taxi driver did all the driving, it wasn't far from my hotel as well, only took me around 20 minutes without traffic jam. It's located in Jalan Yoga Perkanthi in Jimbaran, just beside the Kayu Manis residence if you're aware with it. There's this "Cuca" signboard set on the side of the road that will lead you to the destination.

This is how Cuca looks! To be honest I was impressed with how they manage to make the environment looks fresh and keeps the green on. The environment was chic-designed, minimalist and in a way, elegant looking, but you still feel like casual is fine here, the belonging feeling is so inviting :). The gate entrance will take you to the restaurant building, but before that, you can see the outdoor seating part of the restaurant. If the sun wasn't such a b*tch that day I would have sit outside.

Something different with my watermark, going to explain more about it on a separate post.

The outdoor part is also the minibar area, just great for you who wanted to have drinks instead of having a meal course, but to be honest, during afternoon, the sun is freaking mad.

Their famous logo! There's something that I just like about the design. Anyway, can you guess what this logo's made of?

Freaking nails! I thought they're straws from a distance LOL. Chef Chee, who's the one accompanying me during my visit, explained everything to me, it was such a struggle building and maintaining a restaurant and this one too! Setting the nails and painting them manually wasn't a piece of cake.

The indoor area of Cuca was also impressive. I love how spacial the area is and how minimalist the whole interior is. It was such a genius idea to use whole windows as the walls, such an optimized privilege of daylight. Keeps the room warm and the ambiance alive. The indoor area's separated to three areas: Dining Area, Chef's Table (perfect for family gathering) and Food Bar depending on your seating preference. This one is their Food Bar, located just at your right after entrance. It has a capacity of 10 people, the advantage of this area must be instant access to the kitchen so you can see the whole production process. If you're a hygiene freak and paranoid or you're too scared when they put things you don't want to imagine, this area might be perfect for you. I'm just kidding LOL.

Since I love the magic of the natural daylight given to the room, during the day, Dining Area must be my favorite spot! The whole furniture is custom made from premium woods. The mixture of the furniture's color with Cuca's signature green color's just lovely! For a more private dining experience, Cuca's setting a zig zag curtain on each table to keep the private conversation alive, and of course you still need to manage your volume, curtains are not freaking stone.

I LOVE THIS SHOT! Looking very pretty <3.

This is for me an example of a classy simple design. Just a fresh sun flower to add a touch of color and we're on board! This is pretty.

That signature C! I still owned the Cuca pen from the last Cuca sessions!

Cotton Betutu

Free Complimentary

This Cotton Betutu is a free complimentary from Cuca and it's really really good and definitely unique! You need to have this on a full form in your mouth to have that crazy bursts of flavor! It melts in your mouth just like when you're having cotton candy. The rich seasoning and flavor guaranteed to leave you going "wow". Previously on the last Cuca sessions in jakarta, Kevin's creating this Popcorn Betutu for us and it was also superb! The only negative was the fact that it made me crave for more!!!

Moongria Mocktail
IDR 60k
Hands down to the presentation! Just look at that! The ice cubes were killing me, they were flavored and infused. I could already imagine various flavors I was about to have. This drink's the mixture of white wine, iced fruits and Brandy soda. I'd definitely recommend this one to you all. It's so good and very refreshing. If you want a little booze of alcohol, you can have the cocktail verson FYI, all the bottles in Cuca are labeled depending on the drinks ordered. Since I ordered Moongria, so the 'moon' icon's on the label, and the drinks are available on the m/c version.

BBQ Octopus
IDR 95k
A light meal to start my lunch session, the BBQ Octopus is the mixture of Asian Gazpacho, Fresh apple, Caramelized Cauliflowers and Coriander. Presentation is pretty and everything is light seasoned but tasty. The cauliflower is pan fried but it won't leave you tasting something bitter. The octopus is juicy and tasty. In a nutshell, this dish's a great starter.

Succulent Pork Chicha
IDR 70k
Second course, hands down to the pork!!! Very juicy and tender, it might look small but the flavor and the play of texture is rich! You'll get the balanced flavor of pork which by the way is very well marinated, a little hint of sourness and sweetness from the apple also adds up the playfulness of the flavor. Another recommended menu from me when you're hitting Cuca.

Bali Breakfast
IDR 65k (but it was a free complimentary, THANK YOU!)
I fell in love with the genius presentation! It certainly looks like a sunny side up. The yellow egg yolk like is actually a freaking sweet runny mango. Underneath the whipped coconut cream is a layer of frozen passion fruit. Hands down to this dessert, this one is super delish!!! The coconut cream is light which is the advantage to the sweet runny mango. Chef Chee told me to eat this starting from the top to the bottom of the layer in one scoop. One scoop and I am hooked <3.

"Egg Yolk"

Despite the failure of meeting Kevin and Virginia, this visit to Cuca was such a splendid one! Just like I've mentioned earlier, I was super fond of their environment, the ambiance of the restaurant and upmost of all, the food! However, Cuca's concept is sharing, I think they should create a larger portion for sharing. I personally can finished the food without any sharing, and duh, hell no I am sharing this delicious food! Have you tried their infused salts? They're good too, especially if you love experimenting with your cooking.

Wait, Did I mention that Cuca is currently ranked number one of the best restaurants in Bali according to Trip Advisor?! Congrats, Cuca!

Leaving you guys with this photo of the fresh grown Lavender flowers. These flowers are used in the serving as garnish. So many pretty things found here!