In praise of good food
Bali’s hotels and retreats are giving wellness cuisine a flavourful dose of rejuvenation, as demand for thoughtful nourishment increases. Eve Tedja gets in on the Island’s eat-well movement.
Abowl of salad used to be considered enough when one tries to eat well without needing to put serious thought into what really goes into the food. But as the awareness about our health increases, so too the realisation that what we feed our bodies daily matters. Embracing a healthier lifestyle and a specific diet, be it ketogenic or raw, is becoming the new norm. People are much more aware of the importance of mindbody connection and are now more open to the idea of actively incorporating wellness in their everyday lives.
As the number of conscious consumers increases, it is not surprising that the global wellness industry is now worth $4.2 trillion. Based on 2017 data released by The Global Wellness Institute, healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss contributed $702 billion, while wellness tourism was valued at $639 billion. Clearly, wellness has become a priority even when we travel. Staying at a beachfront resort in the past used to mean we would sip margaritas while finishing a paperback novel. Now, we would also be joining a sunrise yoga class, eating a roasted cauliflower kale salad with pumpkin seeds, and splurging on Ayurvedic body treatments recommended for our dosha. As more people seek meaningful, empowering experiences that they can take back home and apply to their daily lives, joining a wellness retreat becomes one of the best ways to experience and jumpstart a lifestyle change.
In response to this lifestyle need, cafés and fine dining restaurants in Bali have been expanding their menus to include raw, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and pescaterian-friendly
dishes and beverages for their guests. Finding creative ways to integrate cuisine into wellness programmes have also become a key priority of well-known retreats, such as Six Senses Uluwatu, Bali; REVĪVŌ Wellness Resorts, Anantara Seminyak Bali Resort, and the COMO Shambala Estate.
Ubud, in particular, was already making its name as a wellness destination even before Elizabeth Gilbert had her fate foretold in her bestselling book, Eat Pray Love. Within its pocket of tranquillity, COMO Shambhala Estate was one of the early adaptors of nutritive cuisine through its restaurant, glow. For over a decade, glow has been a laboratory for tireless experiments toward creating COMO Shambhala Cuisine, famed for its enzyme-rich, healthy and delicious qualities. The cuisine is designed to complement different dietary needs of the estate’s various wellness programmes. Diana von Cranach was involved in development back then in 2006. Collaborating with Christopher Miller, the then executive chef of COMO Resorts, they created a rawfully good, ‘living’ Indonesian Rijstaffel experience, inspired by local ingredients and flavours.
“Back then, raw cuisine was starting to get recognition for its technique in ensuring that the natural enzymes remain intact, aids digestion, and boosts the immune system,” says Cranach, a consultant, guest chef, and author of two cookbooks. With 14 years of experiences consulting for several well-known luxury retreats and vegan restaurants in Asia, she is adamant that wellness cuisine has to be something that ‘you live by instead of something that you experience in just a short time’.
SIMPLE STEPS TO HEALTH
Eating well is a personal journey and bustling Seminyak might sound like the unlikeliest place to start a lifestyle change. For new initiates to wellness cuisine, Anantara Seminyak Bali Resort offers a relaxed and casual approach to test the waters. The Balance Wellness Retreat is available as a half-day to a three-day programme.
The half-day programme is a great way to detox and recover from a big night out as the only commitment is a session of Hatha yoga, reinvigorating 90-minute Balinese Spa Detox, a refreshing cold pressed juice, and a two-course lunch. Have the meal by the pool and allow the chef to prepare tasty and lean dishes, such as Pan-seared Salmon with Quinoa and Mango Salsa or raw Coconut Pad Thai with fiery almond sauce.
The two- and three-day programmes share the same structure but offer more healing treatments from the Anantara Spa. With daily yoga for a real sun salutation, various relaxing body treatments and meals that look as good as they taste, the flexible approach of Balance Wellness Retreat makes wellness effortless. The enviable beachfront location, eating and living well can be effortlessly combined with a holiday with your loved ones.
FOOD THAT HEALS
“Cooking tasty food is easy but creating tasty and nutritive food definitely demands more effort and thinking,” states Joshua Sri Purwaracaraka, head chef of REVĪVŌ Wellness Resorts. Hidden from the busy main road, this wellness resort in Nusa Dua is quietly garnering a steady following for its understated elegance, integrated holistic wellness programmes and delicious approach toward wellness cuisine.
The resort – with 16 suites and one 4-suite villa – is staffed with a nutritionist, trainer, yoga teacher, and several spa therapists. Guests can sign up for individually tailored programmes or enroll in one of the immersive programmes, such as Detox & Organic Weight Loss Retreat. In between Pilates and massage treatments, they will be pampered with gourmet offerings at its minimalist open-air restaurant, Nū.
Nū's menu is carefully designed by REVĪVŌ’S creative nutritionist chef Aliwalu, who brings over 25 years of expertise in macrobiotic, Ayurveda and raw-vegan cuisine. The gourmet fare at Nū is a sensory feast of textures and vibrant colours. Even meat lovers will delight in dishes such as Tempeh Burger or Coco Pesto Pasta. Each dish on the menu comes with an explanation of its nutritional benefits. The Perfect Plate, which contains Azuki beans, blanched kale, broccoli, roasted roots, shitake mushroom, tempe and homemade sauerkraut, balances blood pressure as well as improves energy level, brain function, muscle, immunity and heart function.
While there are meat dishes on the menu, the food is also lightly seasoned. Steaming food wrapped with banana leaves is a common cooking technique and each dish is designed for gut health through the clever use of the resort's signature probiotic dressing and fermented food. “Our food contains healthy fat, is low in carbs and free from gluten. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced or grown in our garden. We take the responsibility of preparing food that affects somebody else’s health and wellbeing seriously. I am thrilled when guests come to me and ask for recipes. It's something tangible that they can bring back home,” says Purwacaraka.
A PROGRAMME FOR EVERY NEED
Opened last summer, Six Senses Uluwatu, Bali is a big proponent of sustainable tourism. True to the brand’s core commitment, the picturesque resort offers a refreshingly easy approach toward eating well. There are 103 ocean view villas and suites, two restaurants and a cliff bar, spa, state-of-art fitness centre, and a ravishing infinity pool. If you have more time, join the multipleday Integrated Wellness programme for top-to-toe pampering.
The programme starts you of with a Wellness Screening, a non-invasive health screening that will measure key physiological biomarkers in your body. The results will be used to create a wellness programme to suit the guest’s goal and needs. “We have four main programmes: Sleep & Resilience to increase the quality of sleep, Trim & Fit to maximise muscle gain while reducing fat mass, Cleanse & Detox to get rid of toxins, improve digestion and boost the immune system, and Full Potential whose goal is to improve the guest’s wellness level,” explains Ivan Young, the resort’s wellness expert and nutritionist.
Guests are also given recommendations on the suitable exercises, treatments and food during their programme. The dishes in all the restaurants and on their in-room dining menu are designed to complement the programme. Banish the thought of dull looking, under seasoned food; executive chef Ricardo Luján and his team prepare a rich variety of tasty dishes to delight the senses.
At Crudo, Nikkei cuisine takes the lead. Guests on the Trim & Fit programme can savour the fresh Catch of the Day accompanied with teriyaki de balsamico, grilled corn with aioli and togarashi, pickled cucumber, katsuo, and seaweed. Those who sign up for the Cleanse & Detox programme can try delectable Prawns with Preserved Lime and Garlic, green peas purée, braised tamarillo, flower salad, and sunflower seeds. Meanwhile, at the farm-to-table Rocka, one can enjoy a breakfast that consists of a plate of thick and juicy Gluten-free Banana Bread French Toast with coconut curd, fresh vanilla and honey, and Bedugul’s strawberries, and end the day with a hearty serving of Forest Mushroom Ravioli and Mole Conpuerco.
“Eating well is all about making better choices. It doesn’t necessarily mean taking away the pleasure of having a good meal. We serve burgers where the beef comes from grass-fed, antibiotic
and hormone-free cows. The brioche is freshly baked and glutenfree. The vegetable is organic and accompanied with homemade pickles and sauce. It is Msg-free and contains less sugar, wheat, lectins, and dairy. What’s not to love from a nourishing and tasty dish like that?” explains Young.
On top of the delightful gourmet fare, the resort also pays close attention to its sustainability efforts. There are no plastic water bottles anywhere in the resort because it has its own on-site water bottling plant. Energy conservation, waste reduction and social responsibility are inseparable parts of Six Senses Uluwatu, Bali's environmental and social sustainability policy.
EAT WELL TO BE WELL
Never before in the history of humankind has the provenance of food occupy such a large portion of our thoughts and concerns. We are constantly pausing to check if we eat too much or too little, too often or too infrequently, or if our diets are plant-based or high protein, raw or heated. We ask critical questions about the origin of our food and how they are grown. Indeed, to eat well, we have to be mindful on what we feed our body and what it needs. To live well, we have to be aware of our thoughts. This mind-body connection is the key to wellness cuisine and one that has to continue to be part of our lives, long after we leave our favourite resort.