Why I Must Dine at Dirty Duck Diner Again!

Posted by : foongpc | Thursday, May 13, 2010 | Published in

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After a good lunch of babi guling at Ibu Oka, we walked around Ubud and did some shopping.

Below is the street right in front of Ibu Oka restaurant.



A little further up the road, I could see many people entering a grand looking archway.



We did not go in there, but I learnt that it was the entrance to one of Ubud's Royal Palaces. Known as Puri Saren Agung, it seemed that this palace also served as a place for public dance performances and also operated as a small homestay style hotel.

We walked pass this palace and across the junction to one of Ubud's most famous road, the Monkey Forest Road.

There were a lot of shops along the whole length of this road and we spent the whole afternoon going from shop to shop.



I passed by a nice restaurant and took some pictures of its outdoor garden and pool.



This is how the Monkey Forest Road looks like with dozens of shops lining both sides of the street.



There were many souvenir shops and restaurants here. It was really relaxing walking along this road.



We also passed by what looked like a theatre building to us.



I was amazed by the number of interesting looking statues and sculptures outside this shop I just had to take a photo of it.



The shop owner, on seeing me taking photos of the sculptures, quickly ran out and told me that photo-taking was forbidden. Oh well, at least I managed to take one photo.

Towards the evening, we went over to the market place where all types of souvenirs were sold. I did not take any photos there as the market was cramped with people!

Finally, it was time for dinner and we had already decided on the place to eat - the infamous Bebek Bengil located at Jalan Padang Tegal which was not very far from Monkey Forest Road.



Also known as Dirty Duck Diner, this restaurant serves Bali's most famous crispy duck since 1990.

Why the name Dirty Duck, you may wonder?



Well, it seems that while the restaurant was being built, a flock of ducks from the rice fields nearby ran quacking and squawking into the restaurant leaving muddy footprints all over the place. And since the ducks were considered the restaurant's first customers, the name Dirty Duck Diner was used.



I thought the ambience here was nice. The place was huge and the greeneries were soothing to the eyes.

There was however, one regret.

Bebek Bengil is famous not only for its crispy duck but also its very popular smoked duck. We had wanted very much to try this smoked duck as it was highly recommended to us before we came here.

Unfortunately, we learnt that the smoked duck must be ordered one day in advance!



Since we would be leaving Ubud after dinner and would not be returning the next day, it would be impossible to taste the smoked duck!



Oh well! I guess we had to make do with the crispy duck then!

However, if you ever plan to dine at this restaurant, do remember to make reservation. We had actually called up earlier to make our reservations.



I found some interesting rock sculptures and took photos of them.



Can you see the ducks in the photo above?



Water shooting out of the iguana's mouth. Or is that an alligator?



Dining next to the pond and the surrounding greeneries would surely make your dining experience much more enjoyable!



There was also a huge lotus pond here and I quickly took a photo of it!



Oh look at this!



Isn't that interesting!

After enjoying walking around the place, we seated ourselves and ordered our dishes.

These were the drinks we ordered.



I had a honey lemongrass drink and it was excellent!

No smoked duck? We settled for crispy duck instead.



Honestly, I did not quite like this crispy duck. It was crispy all right, down to the bones! But it was small and dry and hard! Not my kind of duck dish!

The fried rice was quite OK, but nothing much to shout about.



I am not sure what this is, but I think it's some sort of salad with peanut sauce. I like this one!



This is something like otak otak which was average.



There were a few more other dishes but I did not have the opportunity to take photos of them.

Towards the end of our dinner, there was a musical performance by two men.



I munched on the keropok while watching them performed on the Balinese musical instruments.



I have forgotten how much I spent on this dinner but I remember it was quite expensive.

Despite that, I would not mind returning for that famous smoked duck that everyone keeps raving about!

So besides the sunset at Tanah Lot, here's another good reason for me to visit Bali a second time!

FIRST COMMENTER

(88) Comments

  1. Monica said...

    chop! :D

    May 13, 2010 at 3:28 AM
  2. foongpc said...

    monica, congrats!! : )

    May 13, 2010 at 3:32 AM
  3. Monica said...

    huhu too bad u guys didn't get to taste the smoked duck.. oh i like the ambience of the restaurant!

    May 13, 2010 at 3:36 AM
  4. Monica said...

    to me that looks like an alligator :D

    May 13, 2010 at 3:39 AM
  5. foongpc said...

    monica, yeah too bad but never mind, will go there again soon! Haha! So you think it's an alligator? : )

    May 13, 2010 at 3:45 AM
  6. fufu said...

    wow nice ambience of the restaurant and guess what i was there in 2008 too with my indon friends :) hohoho and they have upgraded the surrounding... much better than 2yrs ago!! it makes me wanna visit again...

    May 13, 2010 at 4:04 AM
  7. fufu said...

    ops... i wanna eat the duck too!!! :p i want it for supper now :)

    May 13, 2010 at 4:04 AM
  8. fufu said...

    i am hungry now ><

    May 13, 2010 at 4:05 AM
  9. Ayie said...

    hi foong, i am early this time!

    that's huge for an iguana so it looks more like a giant "bayawak" or can be a comodo dragon.

    the places you visited were great!

    May 13, 2010 at 4:42 AM
  10. Ayie said...

    i think i can't stop myself from snapping photos if i were to go there...surely be in trouble! lol

    May 13, 2010 at 4:43 AM
  11. Reanaclaire said...

    the food here doesnt look so authentic.. more for the "foreigners".... i still love the guling babi... must try when i go next time!

    May 13, 2010 at 7:41 AM
  12. bluedreamer27 said...

    love the pond foong... looks old and antique

    May 13, 2010 at 7:59 AM
  13. bluedreamer27 said...

    the clouds... looks like it's gonna rain or maybe it's afternoon already..

    May 13, 2010 at 8:01 AM
  14. bluedreamer27 said...

    the temple looks great... is a temple?
    coz it's the same with what i saw from some Chinese films..

    May 13, 2010 at 8:02 AM
  15. bluedreamer27 said...

    love those wooden sculptures.. hahaha so it's forbidden to take photos of these... i guess it is better if you took a snap shot of that man who forbid you haha and make him an instant celeb here in your blog..

    May 13, 2010 at 8:04 AM
  16. bluedreamer27 said...

    why Dirty Duck? is it literally dirty haha or just a term given to the dish?

    May 13, 2010 at 8:06 AM
  17. bluedreamer27 said...

    why Dirty Duck? is it literally dirty haha or just a term given to the dish?

    May 13, 2010 at 8:06 AM
  18. bluedreamer27 said...

    anyway i never had a chance to taste a duck.. and i wonder how does it taste and how does it differ from chicken meat

    May 13, 2010 at 8:07 AM
  19. bluedreamer27 said...

    some statues are scary foong.. especially the first one but the real-life size iguana is so cool

    May 13, 2010 at 8:09 AM
  20. bluedreamer27 said...

    the one with peanut sauce seems very interesting to me...

    have a great day foong... by the way have you seen my recent post... sorry for using your name without your permission by the way,.... oh i think you will love them..

    May 13, 2010 at 8:15 AM
  21. Anonymous

    I think our roast duck is better! :) I like tender and juicy duck meat. There's a good one at D'sara Uptown (where there's a stall that sells Hokkien mee in the same restaurant).

    Shall remember your tip on making reservation and ordering the smoked duck before visiting the restaurant..if I do travel to Bali.

    May 13, 2010 at 8:20 AM
  22. khengsiong said...

    The reptile is probably a Komodo Dragon.

    Ubud was my favorite place. Despite being a popular tourist destination, it remained peaceful. I miss it!

    May 13, 2010 at 8:28 AM
  23. lina said...

    I agree with Khengsiong - that probably is a komodo dragon statue.

    May 13, 2010 at 8:38 AM
  24. lina said...

    The diner's name so cool but reading about how it got named made me wonder whether the diner's 1st customer eventually end up on the dinner plate afterwards? Huhuhu

    May 13, 2010 at 8:39 AM
  25. lina said...

    So much greenery there! They actually have paddy fields right at the doorstep of the diner? Cool!

    May 13, 2010 at 8:40 AM
  26. இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

    Great name 'dirty duck' which is very catchy. Looks like you spend quite some time there. Photos of the sign board were taken one in the daylight and the other at night.

    May 13, 2010 at 8:50 AM
  27. இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

    Love the lotus flowers so nice. Yeah saw the two ducks in the photo. That's more of an iguana to me. Cool place to have the crispy duck. Sorry missed your smoked duck. Thankz for the virtual tour and the pixs love 'em tQ.

    May 13, 2010 at 8:56 AM
  28. Che-Cheh said...

    The restaurant area is huge! Nice :)

    Is that paddy field in the restaurant surrounding? Wah!

    May 13, 2010 at 10:16 AM
  29. mNhL said...

    nice building stucture in Bali.

    May 13, 2010 at 10:21 AM
  30. Tekkaus said...

    How come you guys didn't go into the palace? :)

    May 13, 2010 at 11:06 AM
  31. Tekkaus said...

    Monkey Forest Road? Now that is a weird name. I wonder why. :p Because it used to be a forest inhabited by lots of monkeys? :p

    May 13, 2010 at 11:07 AM
  32. Tekkaus said...

    The pool together with the make-shift raft looks very exquisite. :) A very clever idea.

    May 13, 2010 at 11:08 AM
  33. Tekkaus said...

    Wow...the statues are really gorgeous. I love the crocodile stools. Very adorable.

    May 13, 2010 at 11:09 AM
  34. Tekkaus said...

    Dirty duck diner? And yet a lot of you are going there. Why? Yes...I am wondering right now. LOL :D

    May 13, 2010 at 11:09 AM
  35. Tekkaus said...

    What that was the legend? Because the dirty ducks came and made a mess and they were given honour? Hahaha :D

    May 13, 2010 at 11:10 AM
  36. Tekkaus said...

    Yeah! The ambiance is really comfy bro.

    Wow...the smoked duck must be ordered a day before you go there? Serious? :p

    May 13, 2010 at 11:11 AM
  37. Tekkaus said...

    Yeah! There are 2 ducks right? I wonder if that was the owner of this place. :p

    May 13, 2010 at 11:11 AM
  38. Tekkaus said...

    It is an iguana bro. Alligator looks completely different. :p

    May 13, 2010 at 11:12 AM
  39. Tekkaus said...

    Ouh...the next statue(s)...goodness...so many babies. They are sucking milk too. :p

    May 13, 2010 at 11:12 AM
  40. Tekkaus said...

    War...I hope one day I can go there to makan at this dirty place too. LOL :D

    May 13, 2010 at 11:13 AM
  41. [SK] said...

    wow, another reason you wanted to go to Bali again!! :p

    May 13, 2010 at 11:54 AM
  42. [SK] said...

    1st to go to Tanah Lot again, 2nd to eat the Smoked Duck again.. is there anymore reasons you wanna visit to Bali again??

    May 13, 2010 at 11:54 AM
  43. [SK] said...

    i see, this Bebek Bengil is just nearby the Ibu Ota that you had your babi guling..

    May 13, 2010 at 11:56 AM
  44. [SK] said...

    and our driver that time told us it was far far away and we have no time to go there for babi guling!!! so frustrating~~~

    May 13, 2010 at 11:56 AM
  45. [SK] said...

    but i remember we had a light lunch before heading to Bebek Dengil, and we weren't able to eat much also.. maybe that's what the driver meant - we ate too much!! hahaha~~

    May 13, 2010 at 11:57 AM
  46. [SK] said...

    hmmm, we also went to the same restaurant for the Dirty Duck!! i guess this must be the most famous, or the one that gives drivers the most commission to bring tourists??

    May 13, 2010 at 11:58 AM
  47. [SK] said...

    i would guess so.. look at the decoration and ambience in the restaurant.. so touristy feel, and i guess no locals will be there to dine.. agree??

    May 13, 2010 at 11:59 AM
  48. [SK] said...

    awww~~ so that's why they call it Bebek Bengil huh?? who told you that story?? somebody local you met in Bali??

    May 13, 2010 at 11:59 AM
  49. [SK] said...

    i don't remember much about all those stone carvings and statues.. but i remember the paddy fields there, it was huge!!

    May 13, 2010 at 12:00 PM
  50. [SK] said...

    and i remember the torches lit up to welcome the tourists.. and we kept camwhoring in the paddy field while waiting for the food to be served.. haha!!!

    May 13, 2010 at 12:01 PM
  51. [SK] said...

    as if we have not seen paddy field before.. sometimes i wonder, will the waiters and waitress laugh at us for being so crazy over something so common to them?? :D

    May 13, 2010 at 12:02 PM
  52. [SK] said...

    has been more than 6 years, i can't really remember how the duck taste.. but i guess it was quite nice, very crispy and i was ok with that..

    May 13, 2010 at 12:03 PM
  53. [SK] said...

    but definitely, we did not order as much things as you did.. i think we went there during tea time after our lunch!! haha~~ :D

    May 13, 2010 at 12:03 PM
  54. [SK] said...

    oh, there was cultural dance performance too?? hmmm, i starting to dislike our driver!! he was so not professional at all, never gave us the best of his service and perks!!! so unfair~~

    May 13, 2010 at 12:05 PM
  55. [SK] said...

    what when are you planning to go Bali again?? then we can have another 20 posts to read.. also more Tanah Lot and Smoke Duck photos to see~~ :D

    May 13, 2010 at 12:06 PM
  56. Ken Wooi said...

    you know.. i dont like it when people come rushing to me saying "no no no no photos here, no no no" when i take photos at a no-photography place.

    relax lah, tell nice.. not on purpose also.. =P

    May 13, 2010 at 12:10 PM
  57. iamthewitch said...

    Eh the fried rice so small portion one! I also haven't been to this restaurant.. need to make reservation somemore! Not very convenient for overseas travellers lor :P

    May 13, 2010 at 5:59 PM
  58. J2Kfm said...

    Their satay is good. The crispy duck may not be that exciting, but the smoked duck sure was aromatic enough.

    May 13, 2010 at 7:40 PM
  59. Bengbeng said...

    would love to try that smoked duck

    May 13, 2010 at 11:48 PM
  60. Pete said...

    Put a cigaratte in the crispy duck beak, then you will have a smoked duck! ha ha ha!

    May 13, 2010 at 11:56 PM
  61. இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

    [Pete] that's cool comment on smokey quack quack lol. tQ

    May 14, 2010 at 8:22 AM
  62. eiling lim said...

    This is my fav. Bebek Bengil! Good value for money too!

    May 14, 2010 at 12:42 PM
  63. Leo said...

    Nice place,statues and sculptures which you have shoot is really excellent. The dishes are seem very delicious which make me hungry.
    Thanks, happy blogging

    May 14, 2010 at 1:15 PM
  64. Alex said...

    Statues and sculptures are really very nice. I love honey lemongrass drink. Nice landscape around the restaurant.
    TK

    May 14, 2010 at 2:24 PM
  65. sandy said...

    Nice restaurant with nice environment. The foods are looking too delicious. I hope you had enjoyed that place.
    TK,LOL.

    May 14, 2010 at 5:06 PM
  66. HappySurfer said...

    Thanks, Foong, for sharing the pictures. I like the Monkey Forest Road first picture. The place looks so serene and kampong-like Surprised that the road is paved with tiles instead of tarmac.

    May 15, 2010 at 12:28 AM
  67. HappySurfer said...

    The lily pond is lovely and that Komodo dragon looks so real. Thanks again for the virtual tour.

    May 15, 2010 at 12:31 AM
  68. Mariuca said...

    chop on slowmosi screamyx!

    May 15, 2010 at 5:18 PM
  69. Mariuca said...

    Aiyoooo so slow la to load pages... def cannot drop ec like dis! :(

    May 15, 2010 at 5:19 PM
  70. Mariuca said...

    The duck looks yummy Foong! Glad u got to taste it while ur there. So where to next?

    May 15, 2010 at 5:20 PM
  71. foongpc said...

    fufu, oh they have upgraded? Too bad I didn't get to taste the smoked duck!

    May 16, 2010 at 5:23 PM
  72. foongpc said...

    ayie, you think it's a comodo dragon? Yeah, you are probably right! : )

    May 16, 2010 at 5:26 PM
  73. JRmy said...

    Wow, nice surroundings.

    May 16, 2010 at 10:59 PM
  74. Rithun said...

    The surrounding looks quite well decorated. I really loved the lotus pond and the rock sculptures. But the name (dirty ducks) doesn’t really go with the surrounding. It is very depressing to know that you didn’t like the duck dish. Still I hope you enjoyed your time there. Bye and take care.

    May 17, 2010 at 4:02 PM
  75. Merryn said...

    you so clever eh? u know where and when you should do advance booking and all... seasoned traveller to the max :)

    May 17, 2010 at 9:12 PM
  76. LifeRamblings said...

    the ambience of the restaurant sure looks inviting and peaceful.

    May 18, 2010 at 7:41 AM
  77. LifeRamblings said...

    nice lotus pond but the iguana or komodo dragon looks kinda scary.

    May 18, 2010 at 7:42 AM
  78. LifeRamblings said...

    would like to try the smoked duck when i visit Bali someday.

    May 18, 2010 at 7:44 AM
  79. Faisal Admar said...

    if the foods were just average... then i won't go there when i go there! haha

    May 18, 2010 at 6:55 PM
  80. lechua said...

    what a catchy but odd name for a restaurant! well at least we know now how the name was derived.

    May 18, 2010 at 8:36 PM
  81. jam said...

    Plan your next visit with me, ok?

    May 21, 2010 at 4:31 PM
  82. jam said...

    I am planning a getaway during the end of the year. Bali?

    May 21, 2010 at 4:32 PM
  83. Jack said...

    nice, great stuff I found here. Thank you for sharing.

    April 1, 2011 at 5:34 PM
  84. graphic designer said...

    Nice pics...liked your photography a lot..graphic designing

    August 20, 2011 at 10:03 PM
  85. graphicsdesigner said...

    hmmm...yumm...that ducks lokking awesome....i want that.....
    graphic designer

    October 12, 2011 at 10:42 PM
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    April 18, 2012 at 7:01 PM
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    August 18, 2012 at 3:51 PM
  88. Abhishek said...

    Nice pics...liked your photography a lot.keep up the good work.

    June 30, 2016 at 5:31 PM