Going for a meeting

Today we had arranged a meeting with Nila, the owner of an organic farm/restaurant. We left Kayumanis Ubud early in the morning as we wanted to walk to our meeting to get some exercise for a change... Little we knew the array of surprises we would find on our way. Enjoy!

 Of course a meeting preceded by such a journey has to have a positive outcome. Nila is a super-woman who strongly believes in growing the best produce and who has spent the last 10 years building up a relationship with farmers to get them to understand the advantages of going natural and organic. We loved her products, especially her amazing rice. Soon you can all taste it in our restaurant!

In search of herbs

We are set on using only the freshest ingredients in our restaurant but locating them is not so easy! We spent our day today discovering the highlands of Bali, where the climate is cooler and we had more probabilities to find great vegetables. The views are undeniably amazing, with two lakes side by side and greenery all over. 

Tamblingan Lake

Buyan Lake

In Bedugul we visited an organic farm where found very good news: a unexpected range of familiar herbs (parsley, basil, dill, thyme, oregano, mint, etc.) and vegetables. The challenge is now to get them across the island to Jimbaran... 

Undoubtedly organic :)

Chefs' Collaboration 2012

These are some photos of the guests trying our cocktails.

 Estas son algunas fotos de los invitados probando nuestros cócteles.

And these are some photos of the "afterparty" with Kayumanis family.

Shopping!

Today we went shopping around Kerobokan.  No, I didn't get myself a new handbag... life choices are now about table tops, for example. We spent hours among beautiful pieces of wood, taking measurements and imagining the result on a dining room that is only in our dreams for now. 

Can you guess which one we chose?

The most impressive one! But I won't show it to you just yet...

Getting ready for our first event

The big day is here and Kayumanis staff started early today to prepare for this evening Chef Collaboration. The event is taking place in the coconut grove where we are going to build our restaurant and it looked stunning with the white tables and gold lamps. 

As I announced on my previous post, we are taking care of the cocktails and we purchased an impressive slash machine we will use also for our restaurant once we open. For this occasion Kevin developed two cocktails: Sunburn and Pink Lemon. Can´t wait to see the guests´ reaction when they try them!

The coconut grove looking good!

The appearance of our brand-new slash machine.

Nuestra nueva máquina de granizados

Offerings before the event to get the permission and blessing from the gods.
Ofrendas antes de la fiesta para conseguir el permiso y la bendición de los dioses. 

The Pink Lemon

This is our secret weapon for the cocktails we are preparing for tomorrow...

Esta es nuestra arma secreta para el cóctel que estamos preparando para Chef Collaboration 2012. 

Kopi Luwak

Have you heard of this type of coffee? It is produced mainly in Indonesia and it is arguably the best coffee in the world and definitely the most expensive. 

What makes it really special is that is carefully selected by a civet (cat-like animal) who eats only the best grains, digests them and "poops" them in their original shape, shells intact.

Civets taking a break

Civet's poppies

Sophisticated coffee-maker

A cup of Kopi Luwak

The result is a powerful, lower caffeinated and less bitter coffee. We really liked it and are thinking of ways to incorporate it in our menu. Perhaps in a dessert?

First sip

A miracle

What an amazing surprise we encountered at the beach today! It seems that early this morning, when one of Kayumanis staff arrived to their private beach, he was shocked to find the sand full of holes and covered on white stuff... The mystery was solved when he discovered two baby turtles walking against the sea, clearly lost and confused. They had hatched the previous night but could not manage to reach the sea as they were walking opposite direction.

Since the tide was high already, he decided to keep the turtles in a safe place till the afternoon, when it would be easier for them to swim away. Here you can see the cute babies and the great moment when we released them and they reached the sea and started their life trip. It was such an unforgettable view...

Video shooting

Kevin getting ready

Today we worked on the video presentation for the upcoming Kayumanis Chefs' Collaboration 2012. The video was shot at Kayumanis Ubud and both Kevin and Chef Mustika had to present themselves and their creations for the event. Soon I will talk about the two special cocktails we are preparing for this occasion...

Discussing the contents of the video

Happy birthday!

Today we happened to attend the "birthday party" of a temple in Sayan village, Ubud. Above all it felt like a people celebration where the priests took as long as needed to bless every single believer and where everyone played a role and had a space. 

At certain moments silence reigned while everyone prayed but at other times children run, men smoked and animatedly chatted with each other and women danced in circles.

A lovely experience where we felt at all times welcomed despite being the only foreigners!

Kayumanis Ubud: a hidden heaven

We are now staying at this beautiful property in the heart of Ubud. What a special, magic place... The feeling of Kayumanis here is very different from the other two beach locations. I believe they did an awesome job at integrating the villas and the facilities in this beautiful and mysterious jungle. 

Bridge to the swimming pool

Path between villas

If you want to find out more about this unique getaway, here is their website:

Kayumanis Ubud

Balinese style office

I know it is hard to believe that we are actually working but trust me we are! We are now staying at Kayumanis Nusa Dua and are feeling spoiled by their hospitality. Working is definitely a pleasure right now but trying to keep ourselves focused is not easy... 

Our priority is to put together the first presentation for the architect so he can begin working on our concept. We have hundreds of ideas that need to be properly put together and explained... not easy, especially when we are two stubborn people with different opinions about every single detail... Nevertheless, we are progressing while admiring our surroundings.

A new home...

We have just arrived to our new little corner of the world and we feel so lucky and excited to be here... Jimbaran is welcoming us with open arms and we are already starting to discover this paradise. Our first steps took us to the beach, only a few meters away from Kayumanis. Fishermen were leaving for their evening catch and tourists were getting ready for one of the most beautiful sunsets we have ever witnessed. 

Dream...