The most expensive entree I've ever eaten

After enduring enjoying time with our children for most of the daytime hours, and during evenings out for dinner, it was high time for Leslie and I to have a romantic dinner, just the two of us. Before dumping off sending the kids back to the room, we headed down to the inclinator, the small box that can take eight guests down to the Rock Bar during a 40 second ride. Even though as guests, we're entitled to cut the line priority boarding, there were enough hotel guests ahead of us to create quite a wait.

Just a reminder as to what the inclinator looks like

Here's a little insider info for those of you planning to stay at the Ayana. There is a staircase a short walk away, with its own security guard and velvet rope. Only open to hotel guests, it leads to the lower level adult pool, the Kisik bar and grill, and most importantly, via a circuitous route around both the places, to the Rock Bar. As a hotel guest, by showing your key, instant access.

Luckily, the line was all up on top, waiting for the inclinator, and we were shown to a 'temporary' table, one without the spectacular views of the ocean and the bar. That area is the sole domain of hotel guests, but at the moment it was full. After 15 minutes, we were moved up there, and seated next to this young American couple. Leslie had her back to them, but was close enough to eavesdrop. Apparently, they were really douchy, according to what Leslie picked up from their conversation.



Leslie deep in eavesdropping mode as she listens in on the douchy couple seated behind her



Lily with her orange peel dental grill

Leslie and I - smiles on our face knowing that our kids will be gone back to the room in just moments

Liam with his usual non-toothy smile

After an hour, we sent the kids back to the room, where they ordered from room service, and we retraced our route back past the adult pool to the Kisik seafood restaurant, situation on a bed of sand, with just a few tables, the best of which were just on the edge of the drop down to the ocean lapping at the rocky shore. It was one of those restaurants, one with which we've had an negative experience while staying at the Capella Pedregal resort in Cabo and dining at its signature restaurant, El Farallon.



From the archives - a photo of the El Farallon restaurant in Cabo

You choose your seafood, caught fresh earlier in the day, and pay in 100 gram increments. At El Farallon, the seafood looked kind of nasty and was terrifically over priced. We ended up a large tab, but left with a bad taste in our mouth.

At the Kisik, the experience was a very positive one. Though horribly overpriced compared to probably any other restaurant in the country of Indonesia, the service was so wonderful, the atmosphere was very casual, that while we paid as much (or more) than in Cabo, we left satisfied

Nice touch - if they spelled our name correctly (they did apologize profusely even before we sat down)

.

Now, you may wonder, from the title of this post, what did I have as an entrée that has set my personal record for the most expensive one I've ever eaten? Well, while looking over the fresh seafood selection, and being American, never really having grasped the concept of connecting costs per 100 grams, I saw nice Rainbow lobster that was crawling around in a large barrel. Sold on its succulence (over another, less expensive type of lobster), I was suddenly in the mood for lobster. Why the hell not? I'm on vacation!

Diners blow into the conch to summon the servers. Ok, I made that up.

My always stunning wife

After a few drinks, some yummy soups and salads, our entrees arrived. Leslie choose a very reasonably priced beef tenderloin, bypassing even the more expensive Wagyu option (the 'caviar of beef'; As the myth goes, farmers of the Japanese sourced Wagyu add beer to the coddled cows' food and massage them with sake to prevent muscle cramps). My lobster was prepared in a couple of different ways, with lots of easily accessible meat (no ripping, tearing or cracking required), and a variety of sauces. It was delicious. It was also 1,300,000 rp. Sound expensive? A mind numbing $130 for my lobster entrée.



This is it. Yep. $130 worth of lobster. Yep. I'm an idiot

Though a wonderful experience for the two of us, this highlights how expensive this resort is, across the board. It's so large, and so isolated from any highly trafficked tourist areas, they can get away with the high prices. Just for comparison, a few days later in Ubud, our entire family enjoyed five hours of spa treatments (massage, facial, mani, pedi, some milk hair wash situation, and some medieval candle ear wax removal ritual) for the same price as that damned lobster.

Local smooth jazz band playing the Rock Bar as we made our way back up the inclinator

We're finishing up our five night stay in Ubud as I write this, and my wife and I both wish we bypassed the Ayana for more time here. More on the magic of Ubud in future posts.