152 GOURMET TRAVELLER
G
eorge Gorrow, co-owner of Canggu
hotel The Slow, first visited Bali
on a surf trip with his father when
he was 14. “I remember walking
down the longest, steepest paths
to get to three or four tiny warungs
in Uluwatu,” he recalls. “Now, you have superclubs
like Omnia there.”
Janet DeNeefe, restaurant owner and founder
of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, moved to
Bali 30 years ago. “Bali is more exciting now than
ever before,” she says. “Whether it’s with a beach-side
cocktail, a mountain-climbing adventure or a more
spiritual experience, you can retox or detox in your
own sweet time.” As the island’s hotels, eateries and
day clubs prepare for high season, these locals and
lovers share their latest and greatest Balinese moments.GEORGE AND CISCO GORROW
The Slow
“We have so much history in Bali. We fell in love here,
got engaged here and then married here, too. It’s so nice
to now have a business here and be part of the change
happening on the island. The newBlack Cat Speak
Easy, owned by photographer Crille Rask, is the perfect
synopsis of how Bali is progressing: intimate, well-
considered spaces that would seem at home in any of
the world’s biggest cities, but still with an undefinable
island undertone. It’s hidden behind a mini-mart on the
short cut between Berawa and Canggu.Hidden Beach
Bar, on the other hand, is where we go to tap into the
old Bali we first fell in love with. It’s just a simple beach
shack without too much of a crowd, a place to sip
coconuts with lime and ice-cold beer.
“Our early mornings are usually spent atQuince.
The family behind it have an impeccable eye for detail- their adjoining homewares shop is beautiful – and
you can see that wisdom in the kitchen, too. Plus, the
coffee is smooth as velvet.
“A live DJ, kind staff and the lime and coconut body
scrub putSpringa step ahead of other Canggu day spas.
And for shopping, Potato Head’s boutique shop at hotel
Katamama,Canaan, is great for jewellery and precious
homewares from nearby islands. We picked up an old
ikat there, a traditional woven textile from Sumba. The
genuine ones are really rare so we treasure it immensely.”
The Gorrows own The Slow, a hotel, restaurant and gallery
in Canggu; theslow.id.
Black Cat Speak Easy, Next door to Pretty Poison, Jalan
Subak Canggu, Canggu, Kuta Utara;Hidden Beach Bar,
Take the little dirt track opposite One Eyed Jack, Jalan
Pantai Berawa C89;Quince, Jalan Raya Pantai Berawa
51, Berawa, Canggu;Spring, Jalan Raya Batu Bolong 83c,
Canggu, Kuta Utara, Bading; springspa.com;Canaan,
Katamama, Jalan Petitenget 51b, Seminyak; canaanbali.comClockwise:
The Lawn; Gaya
Ceramic; Spring; Ibu
Susu Bar & Kitchen.JANET DENEEFE
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival
“I’m always blown away by the fact that I live in a
place where artisanal crafts are alive and kicking;
a place where you can order a bolt of hand-woven
fabric or live in a cottage with hand-carved doors and
designer-style lights that are made to order up the road.
“I was lucky enough to host a pop-up dinner at
Gaya Ceramiclast year, a supremely elegant store that
showcases the creative genius of the Italian owners,
Marcello Massoni and Michela Foppiani. Their ceramics
are of the highest quality while also being surprisingly
affordable, and you’d be truly hard-pressed to find
work as exciting and beautiful as theirs.
“And then there’s the food.Ibu Susu Bar &
Kitchenis a refreshing addition to Ubud’s food scene.
I go for the beef rendang and stay for the tamarind black
cod. There’s also an interesting list of fizzies courtesy
of Balinese owner Ketut Aprinawan, a cocktail-maker
extraordinaire who honed his skills in Melbourne.INTERVIEWS MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD.PHOTOGRAPHY SARA CALLOW (IBU SUSU BAR & KITCHEN)