The night at Locavore NXT begins with a welcome drink and a pair of headphones.
You are made to listen to a short introductory track detailing the goal of thinking more about our own environments before diving into a salad with a whole fried freshwater eel inside.
After the introductory bite, you’re led into a subterranean mushroom chamber to forage in a terrarium for your second course and then directed up into their gorgeous main dining room for the remainder of your meal.
The presentation of dishes, many of which are finished table-side, was extremely friendly and a great touch to the experience.
Locavore NXT is a masterclass in hyper-local cuisine (everything, including the ingredients, furniture, etc is from Indonesia) and truly innovative.
Though I wouldn’t say any of the flavors are things I’ll remember / think about weeks from now, the vast majority of the dishes were good and I was very impressed by the story behind each one.
One thing to note is that their alcoholic drink pairing is insanely low ABV. I’d likely skip if I visited again.
The highlights for me were the Cassava noodles (image 7), the “work in progress” cheese made from nuts (image 9) and the all things breadfruit (last image).
Menu:
Into the wild (salad with fried eel) – A bit plain, the eel lacked flavor.
Foraged (mushroom custard from inside terrarium) – Not bad, served with a pleasant mushroom broth.
Charred SCOBY, NXT mushrooms, fungi amazake – Good introductory bite in the main dining room
Fermented tofu, pumpkin, sago pearls – Beautifully plated, but not super memorable flavor wise
Savoury fruit, butterfly peas, peanuts, sea beans – Really interesting. Especially enjoyed the peas and the tomato they had soaked in salt water.
Cassava noodles, sea urchin, skate wing, zero-waste dashi – Amazing texture on the noodles and flavorful dashi. One of the best courses.
Raw lamb, LabX condiments, matoa fruit – First time trying raw lamb and it was quite enjoyable.
Work in progress… (nut-based cheese with rice-based honey) – Super creative and creamy cheese made entirely without dairy. Loved the fermented rice based honey (black dot).
Tempe, sweet potato, Malang apple – To be honest, not very memorable.
Rice koji porridge, soy beans, white kimoni, rosella – Super deep umami flavor, very yummy.
Catch of the day, bulun baon leaf, two tasty sauces – Perfectly cooked fish with a lovely char on the leaf. I didn’t love the accompanying sauces.
Kampung chicken, spiny lobster, vanilla, stinky beans – Blended chicken with spiny lobster, very new for me texturally and surprisingly pleasant.
Aged 'bangkal hitam' pork, fermented cassava, oyster XO – The pork itself was amazing but I wish the sauce was a bit punchier. A bit disappointed as if they nailed the sauce this would be a great dish.
Daluman, burnt coconut, soursop – Deep coconut flavor, but not super memorable.
Cashew fruit, coffee, salted caramel – Strong coffee flavor, but again nothing very special.
All things breadfruit – This was super interesting. If someone had told me I was eating a pastry here I’d absolutely believe them.
Chewy coconut, mulberries, kaffir lime – Served alongside hot chocolate and the breadfruit as a nice closing bite. Pretty good.
by sahas10
2 Comments
Only been to Locavore 1.0, their dishes and platings back then didn’t look as good as yours
I cancelled my reservation a couple of weeks ago to go their their more traditional restaurant Nusantara. It was a little meh. It seems from the way you described it I am not missing out on too much at Locavore either. Hujan Locale remains for me as the best restaurant in Ubud.