Vegan Options in Sanur

One of my favourite spots on the island, both in terms of food and atmosphere, is Mila's Warung, and it is tragic that more people aren't talking about it. It's a little outside of the town center, but there are 67,233,928 taxis desperately awaiting your business, and another 651,032 shops where you can rent a bicycle, so there's really no excuse to miss the place. From where I stayed, in South Sanur, it was only about a twenty minute walk.

Mila is a friendly, cat-loving, energetic, popular woman who brightens any space she enters. Her friends and cats pop in and out, all equally playful and chatty, so it's very easy to spend a few relaxed hours hanging out at this warung. I enjoyed a few nice chats with Mila as well, which raised my opinion tenfold based purely on the fact that the cook is willing to sit down and talk with guests about her food. Even if the food is rubbish (it isn't), to me there is so much value in the act of giving a customer your time and words.

At any rate, check out the trillion photos.

The Sup Lodeh comes with two tempe cakes and a mound of rice topped with fried shallot. This is a veg-packed coconut based soup with a very apparent galangal flavour (read: yum).

The peppery veggie beef dish with basil (the faux meats are sourced from a shop in Denpasar, Bali's capital) is stunningly delicious. This dish probably rated as one of our favourites from the restaurant.

So the thing about Indonesia that will hit you like a ton of awesome if you've spent any time in other parts of Southeast Asia, is the use of potatoes. And I don't mean you order chips and two hours later get handed a basket of approximately 7 under cooked french fries, either.

Mila's Lontong Tuhu Campur is a mega salad of shredded cabbage sprouts, tofu and Chinese parsley with and mildly spicy peanut sauce and a sweet brown sugar sauce, all served on a massive bed of waxy salad spuds. The kicker here, and anyone who knows me will be shocked by this statement, is the dish also included cucumber and I liked it.

I hate fresh cucumber. It is the devil in food disguise, the bane of my existence, the ruiner of all edible things ever in the entire history of things. Somehow, however, Mila got me to eat it.

Indo tempe aside (really, it tastes like nothing you can imagine when it's fresh), tumpis acar may be one of my top discoveries in  the Indonesian food department. Again with the cucumbers, but then again I tolerate them well when pickled. This dish basically consists of sliced pickled carrot and cucumber, fried. Simple and so spectacular.

I'm not discussing all of the dishes in detail, but I can confirm they are all worth a try. Also I know what you are all actually here for, and it has nothing to do with food.

Finally, what you've been waiting for: pictures of Mila's cats.

Mila's Warung has only been open about a year and a half, and as of last fall wasn't being talked about nearly enough. Her husband is vegan, so she knows her stuff, and she is incredibly helpful when it comes to guiding menu decisions. Mila will make recommendations and explain any and all of the dishes, with a few anecdotes in between, always cheerful and always smiling.