Travel bites: Nasi campur, a plateful of the best Bali bites in one sitting

Imagine (for some sad reason) you only had one night in Bali but hoped to get your fill of as much local food as possible.

Well, on the ‘Island of the Gods’, you’ve hit the foodie jackpot because there is a dish next to foodie godliness that offers up a plateful of Indonesia in one sitting.

Although on first appearance nasi campur may appear to be some concoction created to please tourists by offering a mini smorgasbord of local food in one meal, it’s actually an authentic Indonesian dish that both locals and tourists feast on.

It has no specific historical origins nor absolute rules about what it should consist of: essentially, it is plain rice served with a variety of meat and vegetable dishes, and is ubiquitous across the region, found everywhere from road-side stalls to high-end restaurants.

Called nasi bungkus at the roadside stalls, it is served to you wrapped in brown paper or a banana leaf folded into a cone. Some sellers set up a table or showcase with a range of dishes to choose from – others heap the food into the banana leaf and it is potluck.

At , nasi campur is more likely to be along the lines of a set menu but the dishes served will change seasonally and geographically.

I stumbled across Lilla Warung on my first trip to Bali’s Sanur – which the locals jokingly call “snore” due to it being the more chilled part of the island – back in 2016.

Returning in 2023, I hoped this warung had survived the dire times Covid brought to the region, and wandering down Sanur’s Jalan Bumi Ayu to its location, to my delight there it was, doors open in welcome.

Once seated, no time was needed to contemplate my order – it was always going to be nasi campur. My memories of how good it had been back in 2016 were so strong that it was enough to drive me here as my first culinary port of call this time around.

And out it came, looking easily as good as my memories of it. Scattered across the large serving plate were seven or so different Balinese dishes encircling the staple, nasi putih.

I find the best way to attack a nasi campur is to eat your way around the plate in a succession of waves so you can savour each dish several times rather than finish off individual portions before moving to the next.

This time around, the dishes comprised: firm tofu bathed in a creamy mild curry, sayur urab (lightly sauteed greens and bean shoots), babi kecap (pork in a slightly tart, rich gravy), ayam sisit (shredded Balinese chicken), sayur nangka (jackfruit stewed in a light broth), sambal telur (boiled egg with a spicy tomato sambal sauce), fried tempeh (crunchy and shredded) – and, of course, the standard satay ayam (satay chicken).

Accompanying the dish were homemade crackers (krupuk), cucumber and nuts.

Plus, of course, nasi putih, which is critical for the overall experience because the rice provides the perfect means to mop up remnants of sauces and dishes on the plate, allowing you to linger over the flavours longer.

At the end of the meal, my plate was bare, belly full and the foodie in me completely satisfied.

If you’re looking for Indonesian or Balinese fare locally in Auckland, head to colourful Bali Nights in Ponsonby.

Not only does this casual eating venue serve up a range of Balinese cuisine in a fun atmosphere at reasonable prices, you’ll also get to try their own version of nasi campur. See: