Balinese roast pig: five best places to eat delicious treat in Ubud, where they cook it best

No matter what the allure of Bali for tourists is, sand, surf or sightseeing, when it’s time to eat, few dining experiences are as memorable as babi guling – the Indonesian island’s version of spit-roasted pig, infused with a cornucopia of tropical spices.

Chopped and carved into succulent, thin slices, served with chunks of blood sausage, shards of crackling, and other parts it’s better not to think about, babi guling is a downright decadent treat, and literally not for the faint-hearted.

Babi guling – “turning pig” in English – is commonly served with a traditional side dish that packs an equally flavourful punch. Called lawar, this other local favourite is a blend of long beans, grated coconut, jackfruit, minced meat and a generous dose of herbs and spices.

Various types of meat are used to make lawar. More often than not it’s pork, although some cooks opt for chicken, catfish, turtle or even dragonfly “meat”. Another common ingredient of lawar is pig’s blood, to add flavour, but most versions served at tourist spots tend to give this ingredient a miss.

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Babi guling has been a staple of Balinese cuisine for longer than islanders can remember. It’s a fixture at Balinese religious and festive occasions, such as coming-of-age tooth-filing ceremonies, weddings, and Galungan – a holiday that commemorates the epic victory of good over evil.

It is believed that babi guling originated in the southern Balinese regency of Gianyar as the food of royalty, and it has been recorded that it was served to honour dignitaries and other special guests of the king. In his autobiography, former Gianyar raja Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung, who ruled during the 1920s, mentions such a feast.