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A bit of Bali in Shibuya
Welcome to Ayung Teras in Shibuya. While the bright lights and hordes of Shibuya may be the exact opposite of Ubud's mountain hideaways, these guys have carved out there own tiny part of Shibuya and turned it into just that. Ayung Teras is reminiscent of the open air house/restaurants in Bali. They've traded in thatched roofs and rat tail haired Aussies for fake wood paneling and overly well dressed families from neighboring Daikanyama. Takao was brought here a while back by one of his Indonesian co workers. I wasn't expecting anything special when he brought me here but this place was incredible.
First thing I noticed about this place is that it was super crowded and only had 4 staff. 2 people in the open kitchen, a hostess and a bartender. The next thing I noticed right away is that they all had uniforms similar to the staff at big hotels. Head chef in white, sous chef in black, our Japanese hostess dressed for the occasion and the bartender in a linen shirt with flower prints just like every tropical hotel bartender ever. These people ran a tight ship and they check with you before bringing out each order so there is nothing sitting at your table getting cold. Despite the crowd and what seemed like a lack of staff I was constantly eating or drinking something. Bases covered.
Bali Baller Craft Cocktails
Back to the cocktails. I had Arak when I visited Bali a few years ago. Holy crap that stuff is the devil. One of my best friends lived in Bali and when I put this photo up on Instagram he commented "Arak is the stuff of nightmares". All of the cocktails at Ayung Teras feature arak but its paired with other alcohols and some top notch fresh juice. Arak is an extremely strong, unsweetened anise drink similar to Ouzo without the strong licorice flavor. On the left here we have a Balis Gede which is a fresh mango juice, Arak, Tanqueray Gin and a heavy squeeze of lime juice. Personally I didn't notice the Arak but these drinks really snuck up on me. On the right we have a Nyonya Manis which is young coconut juice, Arak, aged rum, lime juice and simple syrup. At this point I was already in love with this place.
Dishes from Denpasar
First up was one of the best salads I've ever had. Slightly steamed cabbage and veggies that were then chilled and then drowned in a gingery peanut sauce. Garnished with boiled eggs and what was basically a giant, deep fried flour tortilla chip. I was already on board when the cocktails arrived but after trying this I was getting really excited.
Indonesian soul, Tokyo Fussiness
Satay is something you can enjoy in a lot of parts of South East Asia. It typically involves leftover bits of whatever, grilled beyond recognition and then covered in a sauce that makes it all completely worthwhile. Here at Ayung Teras however, they've treated Satay like Japanese yakitori. I've never had satay quite like this. This banana leaf of beef and chicken thigh was grilled to perfection, rare on the inside and doused in the house peanut sauce and garnished with garlic chips and myoga, which is a ginger like, edible flower bud.
Next up was the water spinach. This is one of my favorite things to eat when I'm in South East Asia. The stems are hollow and really fun to eat as they soak up the garlicy, chili, fish sauce really well.
Drinks round two! More arak cocktails. This time we had a Denpasar Moon, a dark rum, lime and Arak combo (left) and an Arak Attack, a gin arak and tonic combo (right).
Sombal Goreng Udang, Coconut cream and shrimp soup with jasmine rice. This soup had a bit of ginger and tomato in it and was extremely comforting. It was a drunken hammock nap at the beach in soup form.
Our final round went to carbs in the form of Bihun Goreng. Bali style stir fried vermicelli noodles. These noodles are made with rice flour and water like most vermicelli but they have tapioca mixed in to give them a chewy al dente texture which makes them all the more satisfying. Mixed with veggies and topped with garlic chips. This is one of those dishes that looks really simple to make but with noodles that thin I imagine it's real easy to fry them beyond repair. A Bali balancing act.
And there you have it, if you ever find yourself in Shibuya and want to try some really tasty, original cocktails and some authentic Balinese food, this is the place.
Nearby Stations: Shibuya Station (JR, Fukutoshin, Ginza, Hanzomon lines)
Nearby Attractions:
Hachiko Square
Shibuya Scramble Crossing
Meiji Shrine
Yoyogi Park
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