This is going to be the sweetest post ever with my favourite and must-try sweet treats. Indonesian food is rich in spices, and besides chili, they also have a thing for sugar. In many cases (like how they drink their coffee), this sugar addiction is disgusting. But when it comes to food, they have some good stuff. So let’s start with the tempting, authentic Balinese/Indonesian sweets you’ll die for:

DADAR GULUNG

The simplest, most addictive pandan pancake filled with shredded coconut and palm sugar. Better places serve it with coconut milk, but it’s heavenly on its own.

LAKLAK

A traditional Balinese rice flour cake cooked on a firewood stove (which helps you spot the vendors). It’s similar to dadar gulung, but the coconut flakes and liquid palm sugar are on top of the fluffy green (suji leaf of pandan) pancakes.

TERANG BULAN

Aka martabak manis, aka apam balik, alias the filled half-moon. The name literally means ‘moonlight’. This is a thick pancake with various fillings, folded in half. The most authentic version is the choco-banana-cheese combo. No, it’s not strange; no, I wouldn’t call it cheese (but I don’t want to know what it actually is). If this sounds too much, go for a pandan or a choco-peanut one.

The only problem is that you can only find it in the evening (yes, locals start the day spicy and finish sweet). If you are a food pervert like me and don’t mind if it’s a bit gooey, buy it the night before and enjoy it with your morning coffee.

ONDE-ONDE and MOLEN

This is how I see myself: beach, sunset, pineapple soda, Bob Marley in the background, and a bag of these deep-fried, onebite goodies. Onde is a sesame ball filled with sweetened mung bean paste, and molen is a rolled pastry filled with bananas. They are not too sweet and taste best when still hot and crisp.

In addition to street sweets, I have a few extra recommendations:

J.CO

Nothing is sweeter than the togetherness we share.

There’s no better donut than J.CO, and I can’t get enough of it. No matter if you identify as a donut person or not, you must try it.

GAYA GELATO

The best ice cream in Bali. There are always new trendy places, but Gaya is unbeatable. (Gusto and Gelato Factory are really good, too.)

SAYCHIZU

Ever since I saw this video, I was dying to try a real Japanese cheesecake:

Luckily, we have Saychizu, and I’m in love with this fluffy indulgence: the texture is like a super soft sponge, the taste is not too sweet and not too heavy.