4 Local Blado Dishes to Try Beyond Nasi Goreng
There is nothing wrong with ordering Nasi Goreng again.
Blado’s Nasi Goreng Pork Belly is a confirmed best seller for a reason. It is familiar, easy to approach, and brings Balinese-style seasoning together with pork belly, crackers, and acar.
But what if you have already tried it?
Or perhaps this is your second or third visit to Blado Restaurant and you want to explore more of the local menu.
That is when it makes sense to look beyond the best seller.
Blado's Balinese and Indonesian menu includes several dishes with completely different preparations, textures, and flavor directions.
You can choose something crispy.
You can try a grilled dish.
You can go for slow-cooked beef.
Or you can explore grilled chicken with a Taliwang-style sambal.
For guests looking for local food Ubud beyond the familiar fried rice, here are four dishes worth exploring.
1. Crispy Duck
If you enjoyed the idea of a crispy main but want to move away from fried rice, Crispy Duck is a natural place to start.
The preparation is what makes this dish different.
The marinated duck is cooked slowly until tender and then fried until crispy.
So you get two contrasting characteristics from the same protein.
The inside becomes tender through the slow cooking process, while the outside develops a crispy finish through frying.
The duck is served with:
- Steamed rice
- Two types of sambal
- Onion crackers
- Fresh urab
This gives the plate even more variation.
You have the soft steamed rice.
The crispy duck.
Fresh vegetables through the urab.
Sambal for additional flavor and heat.
Then crackers for another crunchy element.
Compared with Nasi Goreng Pork Belly, the focus here is much more clearly on the protein.
Instead of fried rice being the center of the meal, duck becomes the main feature.
That makes Crispy Duck a useful choice for repeat visitors who want something that feels noticeably different from their previous order.
What makes it different?
Slow-cooked duck finished by frying for a crispy texture.
Choose it if:
You enjoy duck and want a combination of tender and crispy textures.
2. Sate Lilit
For something distinctly different from a rice-based main, try Sate Lilit.
This dish starts with minced chicken.
The chicken is mixed with a homemade spice mix and then grilled.
That preparation gives the dish a different character from standard chicken satay.
The minced chicken allows the spice mixture to become part of the protein itself before it reaches the grill.
The grilling then adds another layer of cooked and aromatic flavor.
Blado serves Sate Lilit with:
- Steamed rice
- Two types of sambal
- Fresh urab
- Onion crackers
The result is a plate that combines grilled chicken, rice, sambal, vegetables, and crunch.
For guests exploring Sate Lilit Bali, this is also a useful example of how Balinese food can use one ingredient in a very different form.
Chicken does not always have to arrive as a fillet or standard skewer.
Here, it is minced, seasoned, shaped, and grilled.
That makes the preparation itself part of the experience.
What makes it different?
Minced chicken combined with a homemade spice mix and grilled.
Choose it if:
You want a grilled local dish with a strong connection to Balinese food preparation.
3. Beef Rendang
If your preference leans toward rich, slow-cooked food, Beef Rendang takes the menu in another direction.
Unlike Nasi Goreng, where the rice is fried and seasoned, Beef Rendang develops its character through slow cooking.
Blado prepares it with:
- Beef
- Coconut milk
- Lemongrass
- Galangal
- Spices
- Steamed rice
The cooking method is central to the dish.
The beef is slowly cooked with coconut milk and aromatic ingredients, allowing the different flavors to come together.
This creates a completely different experience from grilled or fried dishes.
There is no crispy finish to look for.
Instead, the focus is on the tenderness of the beef and the richness created by coconut milk and spices.
For guests searching for Beef Rendang Ubud, this can be an easy choice when you want to explore Indonesian food through a slower cooking style.
It also demonstrates why local food cannot simply be described as “spicy.”
Coconut milk contributes richness.
Lemongrass and galangal bring aroma.
Spices add depth.
The slow cooking brings those elements together around the beef.
What makes it different?
Slow-cooked beef with coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, and spices.
Choose it if:
You prefer rich, aromatic, slow-cooked dishes.
4. Ayam Panggang
The fourth option takes you back to grilled food, but with a different protein and flavor direction.
Ayam Panggang is open-grilled chicken served with Taliwang-style sambal.
It comes with:
- Steamed rice
- Taliwang-style sambal
- Vegetables
- Onion crackers
The open grilling gives the chicken its main character.
Then the sambal brings another layer to the plate.
This makes Ayam Panggang different from Sate Lilit even though both involve chicken and grilling.
With Sate Lilit, the chicken is minced and mixed with a homemade spice mix before grilling.
With Ayam Panggang, the focus is on open-grilled chicken served with Taliwang-style sambal.
The preparation and presentation create a different experience.
For travelers exploring Ayam Panggang in Bali, this is a straightforward way to enjoy grilled chicken while also experiencing a local sambal direction.
What makes it different?
Open-grilled chicken paired with Taliwang-style sambal.
Choose it if:
You want grilled chicken with a local sambal component.
Four Dishes, Four Different Directions
The easiest way to understand these four dishes is to look at what makes each one distinct.
| Dish | Main Preparation | Main Character |
|---|---|---|
| Crispy Duck | Slow-cooked, then fried | Tender and crispy |
| Sate Lilit | Minced chicken mixed with spice mix, then grilled | Grilled and aromatic |
| Beef Rendang | Slow-cooked with coconut milk and spices | Rich and slow-cooked |
| Ayam Panggang | Open-grilled | Grilled with Taliwang-style sambal |
This is why repeat visits to Blado can feel different.
You are not limited to one local dish.
You can change the preparation.
You can change the protein.
You can change the texture.
You can explore a different flavor direction.
If You Like Crispy Textures
Start with Crispy Duck.
The slow cooking keeps the duck tender before it is fried until crispy.
Add the onion crackers and you get another crunchy element on the plate.
This is a good direction if texture is an important part of how you enjoy a meal.
If You Like Grilled Food
You have two different options.
Sate Lilit
Minced chicken with a homemade spice mix, grilled and served with sambal, urab, rice, and crackers.
Ayam Panggang
Open-grilled chicken served with Taliwang-style sambal, vegetables, rice, and crackers.
Both are grilled, but the chicken preparation is different.
Sate Lilit gives you minced chicken with a spice mix.
Ayam Panggang keeps the chicken as the main grilled protein.
So even within the grilled category, you have another choice to make.
If You Like Rich, Slow-Cooked Food
Choose Beef Rendang.
This is the most different option of the four when it comes to cooking method.
The dish is built around slow cooking with coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, and spices.
If you enjoy food where the seasoning and cooking process create a deeper, richer character, this is a natural direction to explore.
If You Want to Explore More Than One
There is also no rule saying your next visit has to involve only one new dish.
If you are dining with friends, you can order different dishes and share.
For example:
Crispy Duck + Sate Lilit
gives the table two different chicken and duck preparations, with grilled and crispy textures.
Or:
Beef Rendang + Ayam Panggang
gives you one slow-cooked beef dish and one grilled chicken dish.
This makes it easier to explore the Balinese dishes Blado offers without needing to commit to one flavor direction.
Why Repeat Visitors Should Look Beyond the Best Seller
Best sellers are useful.
They give first-time guests a clear place to start.
At Blado, Nasi Goreng and Nasi Campur are confirmed best sellers, so they naturally deserve attention when introducing new guests to the menu.
But repeat visitors have a different opportunity.
You already know the restaurant.
You have already tried the familiar option.
Now you can use the next visit to explore something else.
That could mean trying a completely different protein.
Or choosing a different cooking method.
Or simply ordering a dish that you did not notice the first time.
This is one of the advantages of having a menu with both local and western options.
You do not have to repeat the same meal every time you return.
A Local Menu Does Not Have to Feel Complicated
For international guests, the idea of exploring local food Ubud can sometimes feel intimidating.
There are unfamiliar dish names.
There are different spice combinations.
There are ingredients you may not recognize immediately.
But the four dishes above are relatively easy to understand through their preparation.
Crispy Duck
You get duck with a crispy finish.
Sate Lilit
You get minced chicken that has been seasoned and grilled.
Beef Rendang
You get slow-cooked beef with coconut milk and spices.
Ayam Panggang
You get open-grilled chicken with Taliwang-style sambal.
You do not need to know everything about Balinese cuisine before ordering.
Start with what sounds good.
Then explore from there.
Look Beyond the Protein
Another way to choose is to consider the supporting components.
Crispy Duck comes with sambal, urab, rice, and crackers.
Sate Lilit comes with two types of sambal, urab, rice, and crackers.
Ayam Panggang includes Taliwang-style sambal, vegetables, rice, and crackers.
Beef Rendang focuses more strongly on the slow-cooked beef, coconut milk, aromatic ingredients, spices, and rice.
These combinations give each dish its own balance.
The supporting ingredients are not just decoration.
They contribute to the way the dish is eaten.
You can combine the protein with rice.
Add sambal according to your preference.
Try the vegetables.
Add some crunch from the crackers where available.
That creates a different experience with every dish.
Explore Balinese Flavor Through Different Cooking Methods
One of the easiest ways to understand the Blado local menu is to compare preparation methods.
Fried
Nasi Goreng gives you seasoned fried rice and pork belly.
Grilled
Sate Lilit and Ayam Panggang bring grilled chicken in different forms.
Slow-Cooked
Beef Rendang uses slow cooking with coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, and spices.
Slow-Cooked and Fried
Crispy Duck combines slow cooking with a final frying step.
The ingredients may overlap across Indonesian cuisine, but the preparation changes the final experience.
This is why repeat visitors can keep discovering something new without needing an entirely different restaurant.
Four Dishes to Put on Your Next Blado List
If Nasi Goreng was your first Blado order, make your next visit an opportunity to explore.
Choose Crispy Duck
If you want tender meat with a crispy finish.
Choose Sate Lilit
If you want minced chicken with a homemade spice mix and grilled preparation.
Choose Beef Rendang
If you want slow-cooked beef with coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, and spices.
Choose Ayam Panggang
If you want open-grilled chicken with Taliwang-style sambal.
None of these needs to replace Nasi Goreng.
They simply give you four different ways to explore the local menu.
And that is the point.
A best seller can introduce you to a restaurant.
The rest of the menu can give you a reason to come back.
Your Next Blado Order Does Not Have to Be the Same
Maybe Nasi Goreng was your first Blado order.
Next time, choose Crispy Duck.
Come back again and try Sate Lilit.
On another visit, order Beef Rendang.
Then try Ayam Panggang.
You may discover that your favorite part of the Blado menu is not the dish you ordered first.
That is what makes exploring a restaurant worthwhile.
The menu gives you somewhere to start.
Your next order gives you somewhere new to go.
So if you have already tried Nasi Goreng, look beyond the best seller.
Try something grilled.
Try something slow-cooked.
Try something crispy.
Try a different local preparation.
Which one will be your next order: Crispy Duck, Sate Lilit, Beef Rendang, or Ayam Panggang?
Visit Blado Restaurant on Jl. Raya Pengosekan, Ubud, and explore more of its Balinese and Indonesian menu.
Discover the full menu at www.bladorestaurant.com.
