Warung Bakso & Mie Ayam Sasak Ibu Desi

Ibu Desi's small warung, a few minutes' walk from Kuta's main road on the way towards Mawun, does one thing very well: bakso and mie ayam. It is a simple, clean room with a blue-painted terrace and is usually full of Indonesian customers, which says a lot about the quality.

The house speciality is a bowl of chicken meatball soup with noodles, shredded chicken, lemongrass, chilli and boiled egg, and the 'komplit' version adds a giant meatball with a whole egg inside. Mie ayam (chicken noodles) and bakso with tofu are the other options, and every table has sambal so you can set the heat yourself. Bowls cost roughly 15,000–25,000 rupiah, so ordering two to try different versions is common.

Service is fast, which makes it a good quick lunch or an inexpensive dinner. It is open daily from morning until about 10pm. Expect to pay in cash.