Biku Restaurant on the famous Jalan Petitenget offers a cool and secluded place to escape the heat of Seminyak, featuring a main dining hall and tea lounge built up from a century-old traditional ‘joglo’ teak house, and decorated with antiques and a collection of books to get lost in over its homemade cuisine and exotic teas and cakes. The restaurant is a well established favourite among expatriates and visitors, and is packed most of the day, especially for its afternoon and high tea specials. Serving 'tropical comfort food' from a menu that offers a wide range of Indonesian and Balinese specialties, Biku Restaurant takes pride in its eclectic selection of daily rotating homemade cakes and desserts. The homey atmosphere and large tables makes it a great go-to for laidback gatherings, and is also good for solitary diners with its small round tables spread out evenly under an open-beam ceiling layout.
The restaurant is run by a member of the royal Ubud family. One of them is a tea master, which explains the great, rare tea selections available here. The unique tea lounge was also their answer to the lack of places to find high quality cuppas in Bali. Tea time at Biku Restaurant comes in many different choices, with its main selection being the traditional package, comprising a choice of Biku Teas accompanied by scones with jam and cream, finger sandwiches, mini spinach quiches and a selection of sweet treats, all at IDR 105,000 per person. The sandwiches include cucumber, salmon and cream cheese, ham and mustard. The whole presentation is quite impressive, with the morsels served on tiered tea trays, beautifully posh with floral patterns on classically styled porcelain dishes.
An Asian high tea package for two at IDR 210,000 lets you and your partner indulge in a selection of green teas, oolong or masala chai, together with a stack of Asian delights. These include samosa with chutney, Vietnamese spring rolls, a tart of ‘ayam sisit’ shredded chicken with the iconic Balinese chilli of ‘sambal matah’, curried egg sandwiches, date scones with mango jam, middle eastern orange cake with rose tea syrup, pineapple and mint jelly, mochi cakes, the traditional Balinese rolled pancake called ‘dadar gulung’ and the Biku Restaurant favourite, a salak (snakeskin fruit) compote with cinnamon and star anise. Other new speciality teas, available at IDR 35,000 per pot, include smoky Earl Gray, Alexandria, Moroccan Mint and vanilla bourbon. The Moroccan mint is easily a favourite; a fine green tea that is perfectly blended with a strong Saharan mint. Served iced, it is refreshingly awakening with every sip, perfect for our hot afternoon. Kids will love the vanilla bourbon, also a fine blend, theanine-free, and rich in aromas of sweet vanilla. It can be served anytime of the day, hot or iced.
Of course, you can order the common favourites, from Darjeeling to Ceylon, to Earl Gray. Specialising in this vast selection of refreshing and healthy drinks, Biku restaurant and tea lounge is easily the best place to head in to while in Seminyak if you need to quench your thirst. And with Ganesha Bookshop of Ubud fame having its own small nook inside Biku, presenting great publications on Balinese culture, art and history, together with magazines, novels and local and international dailies, it’s also a great place to escape with a good read.