Several days ago we arrived in Bali (more about the trip here). So now, after several days at the Puri Dajuma Cottages, it was time for an about for my 4th episode of Tao on Tour.

Welcome to the Puri Dajuma Cottages

After a late arrival at the Puri Dajuma Cottages, but with a very warm and hearty welcome (and a delicious coconut-lime drink!), we had a few days to settle in.

The complex, which is a very open space design, with all its different cottages, feels and looks great. We have a cottage with garden view and even though we have direct neighbours, it doesn’t feel like it. You are for most of the time on your own, as if you would live alone on a small and cosy island (with a restaurant and room service).

That being said, even while being in one of the three restaurants, at the pool, the jade river (another pool), the terrasse (right at the beach) or the spa – you always feel very private. At least I do! The people I meet tend to be as private as me. So you can really check out of your routines and enjoy the stay at the Puri Dajuma Cottages.

Puri Dajuma Cottages: The Staff & The Concept

The people working in and on the Puri Dajuma Cottages are all amazing. They are very friendly and helpful. They are always available for a chat, or a quick language session. The staff consists only of local people. This is part of the wider concept of the eco-beach resort of the Puri Dajuma Cottages. Not only are they supporting the local island like this, but they make a point being resourceful, eco-friendly, while still being a very clean, neat and a high-quality place.

They try to limit waste, wherever meaningful they use china that can be cleaned and re-used (like the straws for the cocktails). Instead of drowning you in paper napkins, you get one out of cotton. They try to limit your use of towels in a friendly way, and much less in a “we do this because it sounds right”-way. Besides that, they also don’t put any waste in the ocean, which is hard to check, but a good thing. As it would be very easy (as in the ocean is not even 30m far away from the main kitchen). Nevertheless, the beach is very clean and I guess that partially proves it.

Puri Dajuma Cottages: The Restaurants

As said above, they have a total of three different restaurants at Puri Dajuma Cottages. Two out of three are open daily. One is a sort of bar / fingerfood place. It has a great beach view and is below the jade river. So I think that it’s a really neat place to go in between swimming sessions.

The second is a lounge-restaurant. The view is incredible too and you can have drinks there and just enjoy the view or read a book or simply have a fun discussion with your wife. But the main reason to go there, and that’s why we went, is for the teppanyaki grill! As with almost anything coming from Japan, this is an art in itself. Check out how it can look like if a Japanese professional teppanyaki chef is doing a show. Our show wasn’t as fancy as that, but really fun and cool too. Like all the food here, it tasted great!

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The last restaurant is what I would call the main restaurant. It’s open from 7am to 11pm, serves you the room service orders, prepares your drinks and cocktails or snacks and most importantly serves you breakfast, lunch and dinner. At any time of their opening hours.

Fun and fancy, the Puri Dajuma Cottages Claypot BBQ

The local food on the menu is amazing and – surprise surprise – offers you the best bang for your buck. The remaining dishes are mainly Asian inspired, with a few Western dishes, i. e. steak, french fries, french desserts (chocolate moelleux anyone?) or pizza and pasta. The pasta is really amazing!

A local dish at the Puri Dajuma Cottages

What to order at the Puri Dajuma Cottages?

A few things I recommend: if you like it spicy, just order anything extra spicy. It’s a lot of heat, but worth it. Go for anything with fish and seafood, they know how to do it. And of course chicken or try the roasted duck. You need to order it a day in advance, but it’s worth it. All the fruit platters are delicious, as are the fruit juices, which are made to order.

Ultimately I have to tell you: drink as much coffee as you can. The coffee they serve is amazing. Bali coffee turned out to be one of the biggest culinary surprises of this trip. It’s prepared similar toTurkish coffee. So it takes a little time to prepare it and you don’t want to gulp it as the coffee is unfiltered. You get your rhythm and quickly get the hang of it.

Have you been here? What do you think of this place? Let me know in the comments, I am looking forward reading them.