In short. By the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture's calendar, fruit comes in waves: January-March durian, rambutan, mangosteen, salak, avocado, pomelo; April-June is thin, mostly persimmon and orange; July-September mango, melon, starfruit; October-December is the main durian season, with mangosteen and rambutan beside it. Take fruit that you can peel, and peel it yourself, drink water from sealed bottles, and take ice only if it is made from safe water (CDC recommendations). Among Balinese dishes: babi guling (roast suckling pig), lawar (chopped meat with coconut, the red version with fresh blood), sate lilit (minced meat on a lemongrass stick), bebek betutu (duck in spices); sambal comes with most dishes and is hot, so ask for "tidak pedas".
Fruit by season. Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan), through its Litbang centre, publishes a fruit calendar, which the portal Indonesiabaik.id retells. The calendar is for the whole country, and in Bali the timing can shift by a few weeks, so treat it as a guide:
- January-March: durian, rambutan, manggis (mangosteen), salak (snake fruit), alpukat (avocado), sawo (sapodilla), jeruk Bali (pomelo). From March to December sirsak (soursop) bears fruit.
- April-June: by the calendar only kesemek (persimmon) and jeruk manis (sweet orange) fruit abundantly, and the other fruits give a little.
- July-September: in this period, by the calendar, mangga (mango), melon, belimbing (starfruit), persimmon and sweet orange fruit thickly.
- October-December: the durian season, when there is a lot of it and it is of the best quality. Beside it come mangosteen, rambutan, avocado and pomelo.
From October to December is the best time to try durian. Salak from Bali deserves a word of its own: according to NusaBali, on 19 September 2024 the United Nations food organisation FAO gave the salak growing method of Sibetan village (Karangasem regency) the status of world agricultural heritage. The names in this guide follow the KBBI dictionary: manggis, rambutan, salak, mangga, sirsak, srikaya (sugar apple), buah naga (dragon fruit).
About durian in a hotel and on a plane. We found no general ban on durian in official documents. The airline Sriwijaya Air in 2018, as CNN Indonesia reported, stated that carrying durian is allowed if it is well packed and travels as cargo under the instructions. Check the rules of your hotel or carrier for your case in advance with them.
How to choose and wash fruit. In its Yellow Book the CDC calls the safest fruit that which can be peeled: it advises washing it with safe water and peeling it yourself. Rambutan, mangosteen, mango and banana, for example, fit this description. The CDC treats food from street sellers as riskier, and this also applies to ready-cut fruit.
The island's main dishes. According to the Ministry of Tourism's descriptions on indonesia.travel:
- Babi guling: whole roast pork with spices and crispy skin. It is served with rice, lawar and the hot sauce sambal. In the KBBI dictionary it is pork roasted whole.
- Lawar: a mix of chopped meat, vegetables, grated coconut and spices. The meat can be chicken, pork or duck. There is lawar merah, red, with fresh blood, and lawar putih, white, without blood. If you cannot have blood or pork, ask what is in it.
- Sate lilit: minced meat with grated coconut, lemongrass and spices, wound onto a lemongrass stick and grilled. It is served with rice, sambal matah or plecing kangkung (water spinach).
- Bebek betutu: a whole duck in a mix of spices (onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger, candlenut), wrapped in a banana or palm leaf and cooked for a long time, on a grill or steamed. It is served with rice, lawar and sambal matah.
- Gado-gado: by the KBBI dictionary, vegetables, potato, tempeh, tofu and boiled eggs, and by the Ministry of Tourism's description, under peanut sauce (the description there is of the Betawi version from Jakarta). If you are allergic to nuts, say so.
- Mi goreng and nasi campur: fried noodles and rice with a set of side dishes. In the KBBI the noodles are entered as mi goreng: they are first boiled, then fried with onion and garlic. The spelling mie goreng is not in the dictionary. What is in nasi campur depends on the place, so ask the seller.
What sambal is. By the KBBI dictionary, sambal is a hot seasoning made from chilli. Hot sauces are served with most dishes. If spicy food is hard for you, ask for "tidak pedas" (not spicy) and the sauce on the side.
Hygiene. The CDC's recommendations for travellers to different countries: tap water may be unsafe for drinking, washing dishes and brushing teeth, take ice only if you know it is made from safe water, and drink water from sealed factory bottles. Hot drinks made with boiling water, such as tea and coffee, are as a rule safe. The CDC calls the safest food that which is fully cooked and served hot, and treats food from street sellers as an extra risk. If your stomach hurts, drink bottled water and rest. If the condition does not pass or gets worse, see a doctor; hospitals with round-the-clock reception are collected in our guide.
What this means for you. Buy fruit that can be peeled and peel it yourself. In October-December try durian, asking the hotel's rules beforehand. Of the local dishes start with hot, fully cooked ones: babi guling, bebek betutu, sate lilit. Drink water from a sealed bottle and take ice where you are sure about the water. In a cafe say in advance about a nut allergy, blood in lawar and how spicy you want the sauce.