Wednesday 26 September 2012

Green? Orange? Blue? Yellow?


Question mark

These days we are going through a crucial point in our adventure… We are now designing Cuca logo and it is being so intense that all I see is colors when I close my eyes… Our graphic designer is great and we are progressing quite a lot but after seeing dozens of options and getting closer to our preferred ones, it gets more and more difficult. Kevin likes this, I would rather have that… The designer always seems to agree with Kevin so we take breaks to fight. Every now and then we get to conclusions and move forward. There are so many decisions to be made: the font, the size, the logotype, the sub-identities, the colors, the spacing… All under the pressure to know that once concluded, there is no way back. Aaaarrrggghhh!!!

I will keep you informed and you will be the first to see our final design. Promised!

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Please don't!


To save your time and mistakes when you come to try Cuca, I compile a list of what you should not do here in Bali:

  • Don’t give or receive anything with your left hand (it is considered unclean).
  • Don’t point with your fingers or feet (you better start practicing pointing with your thumb, it will take you time to get used to it, I haven’t managed to do it yet…).
  • Don’t stand with your hands on your hips or crossing your arms over your chest (or people will believe you are angry at them).
  • Don’t dare to touch anyone’s head!  It is considered the seat of the soul and sacred.
  • Don’t walk with your shoes on when entering a home.
  • Don’t visit a temple when menstruating or having open cuts and wounds.
  • Don’t honk when being stuck behind a procession.
  • Don’t take it personal when being asked about your age and marital status by the cashier in the supermarket. And I am afraid you should not take it as a pick up attempt, Balinese love small talk (“obrol” in Indonesian).
  • And finally, don’t ever get angry in Bali… you would be wasting your time and probably getting nowhere.

Well, now you are a step closer to be ready to visit us!

Sunday 23 September 2012

Heavenly Babi Guling...


As days pass by we are getting to try different Balinese dishes. So far there is a stand out winner, one of the most popular delicacies in the island. The succulent Babi Guling is a stuffed suckling pig slowly roasted on a spit. “Guiling” means “to turn” and such the cooking methods involves a constant turning of the pig. A well-made babi guling requires a lot of skill and patience as the heat should be concentrated on the head and tail and not in the middle so as not to crack the skin of the stomach.

There is much controversy on who serves the best babi guling in Bali but for us it is difficult to believe that it can get any better than in Bapak Dobiel. This is undoubtedly a favourite among the locals (our friend Nyoman strongly recommended it to us) and it is still Pak Dobiel himself who cooks and serves the meal. The pigs are roasted early every morning on the back of the dining-room. 
  
As in most warungs (local restaurants), the dish is served as a bed of rice topped with different parts of the pig adding an array of exciting textures (crispy skin, slow roasted lean meat, cartilage, fried liver, cracklings, etc. ) and with some of the spiced veggies used to stuff the pig. 


One of the highlights of this dish is the soup... a broth made from the roasted flavorful bones left over from cleaning the pork meat. I have never tried anything so rich and tasty...



I am getting dizzy just from writing this post... I need to go... Guess where? J