A Melting Pot in the Heart of Ubud

Who has not heard about warung ibu Oka in Ubud? It is a typical eatery serving Balinese delicacy, the succulent babi guling (roast pig), and is supposedly the best one in Bali. Celebrity chefs, Anthony Bourdain and Bobby Chin, had come to warung ibu Oka, and they admitted that it was one of the best roast pork they ever had. The meat is juicy and tender, the skin is crunchy, and I particularly like the fiery sambal, a mix of chopped green chili and friend shallots soaked in oil. My tongue and throat always get burned after eating the chili, but I always put a lot of it!!

But what makes warung ibu Oka really special? I was sitting alone one afternoon, enjoying my special nasi babi guling and a glass of fresh orange juice. Warung ibu Oka was busy as always during lunch time, and there was a queue of visitors wanting to dine in or take away the food. A Balinese woman sat on my right side expressed her amusement to her companion about a large number of Westerners flocking to the warung, considering the food was too spicy for them and the place was modest. After several quick analysis, the woman concluded that those who came to warung ibu Oka could tolerate spicy food and did not mind rubbing shoulders with commoners. Not a bad conclusion, I thought.

In the middle of my unintentional eavesdropping, I saw an oriental looking woman came in and started organizing seats for her family. Shortly after, a middle age Caucasian man came in, followed by a couple of young people, which I assumed as their daughter and her boyfriend. The woman ordered the foods in Indonesian, while she conversed in a language which I assumed as Dutch with her family. As they enjoyed their lunch, people constantly came and go, and they were not only Indonesians, but also foreigners. Among the new flock of visitors, there were two men, one was in a wheelchair, and a woman, navigating their way inside the warung. It was quite a challenge as the entrance was small and a queue of visitors was blocking the way. It turned out that they were French and of course, they did not speak English. It took dozens of sign language for them to finally get people moving and squeezing to allow them some space. Luckily, the daughter of the mixed couple spoke French, so she helped them settling down. The mother, then, offered her assistance to order the food, and those French seemed really surprised to find non-French people speaking their language fluently (and it turned out that the Caucasian husband was a German). She, then, placed order for the French in Indonesian, confirmed back to the French, and reconfirmed the order to the waitress. The order was three special nasi babi guling, two orange juices and one Coca Cola. I was perplexed and amused not only to observe the trilingual conversation, but also to finally realize how strangers would easily lend their hands to other strangers, and how they could be quite easy to each other despite of their differences, even if they did not understand each others’ languages.

Similar interesting experience happened before in the very same place, when someone started a conversation with my friends and I after seeing my backpack with his company’s logo. He was an event organiser based in the Switzerland, and was having a vacation in Bali. And before having a conversation with him, we had a chat with an old man who had lived in Ubud for quite a long time. He did not tell us what his job was, but I suspected he was quite a well known artist because again, I overheard him and his wife giving tips to another stranger about Ubud, and also story on his life before Ubud, ie New York, Paris, and God knew where else.

There is no air conditioner, as the place is open and shielded by a large banyan tree in the middle of the warung. There is also no plush sofa and dim lighting to create certain illusion. No reservation, no dress code, no restriction on the use of mobile phone or else. You are allowed to wear your tank top and short, sarong and t-shirt, or even your tuxedo if you can stand the heat. No one will stare at you when you guzzle down two portions of nasi babi guling, and guests also do not mind when special request for the crunchy skin is literally delivered by hand, not comes in a plate. No one will look at you with pity if you sit alone like I did. There will actually be a good chance someone will start chatting with you, and you could end up getting new friends. For those who prefer to eat in peace, the best time to be there is after 1:30 pm, when people finish their lunch; but the downside is there’ll be no food left. There will be not many people around, which become pointless because it’s not only the eating experience that really matters, but the sharing and caring for fellow holidaymakers.

Oh well…, I might exaggerate the experience, but it makes me realize how complicated life has become these days. I miss getting connected with other human beings without any complication. The world I live in has become such a terrible place, with natural disasters, wars, famine, crimes, and other human sufferings. Nevertheless, in the midst of these horror stories, there is an unfashionable place in the heart of Ubud where countries, race, ethnicities, languages, traditions and wealth seem irrelevant. What really matters in this place is to unwind after a long walk around Ubud and a shopping spree, enjoy the delectable babi guling accompanied by cold drinks, and have a decent conversation with friends or even strangers.

I still cannot fathom how a warung can be inspiring (at least for me) and a place most visited by people, from celebrity chefs to ordinary people. But obviously it is not just an ordinary warung, it is warung ibu Oka, a melting pot in the heart of Ubud.