I went to Bali Buddha yesterday. It's a restaurant that sells food for vegan. But it also provides Indonesian food that contains chicken and vegetables. The Bali Buddha restaurant is located on Jembawan street across from the Post Office. When I was there I saw a lot of foreign tourists dining or just drinking tea. Before entering it, I took some pictures of the building whose grass roof design was similar to the traditional house of Lombok. The roof is made of alang-alang grass. The thickness of the alang-alang grass is around 20 cm to allow the roof to keep the raining water. Because of the water content, it will not be burned easily. In addition, it will provide cool shelter for guests who come to Bali Buddha cafe and restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The foods served in this restaurant or cafe are less spicy than the main stream Indonesian food. That's why very few Indonesian travelers visit it. One the first floor, we could see a small shop selling daily need products that are manufactured under the fair trade and cottage industry schemes. Agricultural produce that are sold in Bali Buddha are grown without using pesticides and other chemical fertilizers. The management of Bali Buddha are committed in providing organic produce or food that are environmentally friendly.

I like the interior of the restaurant. It was constructed of natural materials such as wood, bamboo and grass. The dry grass of alang-alang thatch that was used as roof creates an environmentally friendly atmosphere inside the restaurant even during the hot sunny days.

There is a notice board at the outside wall of the cafe where expatriates put ads and other information that foreign travelers may need such as rooms for rent, villas in Bali, or massage service and spa resorts in Ubud.

Free copies of Bali Advertiser can also be obtained from brochure shelves at the shop of the cafe near the cashier desk. The shop is on the right side of the entrance stairs. I sat on the second floor. My dinner consisted of soto ayam, and bread. Because I was suffering from influenza, the waitress in Bali Buddha recommended "teh tolak angin" whose ingredients are ginger extract, lime juice, turmeric and other tropical roots that are effective in fighting cold ailment. The taste of the tolak angin tea was bitter with peppermint flavor. A small glass of honey was also given to sweeten the tea.

When I ate the soto ayam, I felt that its taste was less stronger than the traditional soto ayam that is usually consumed by Indonesian people. Perhaps this was the taste that was more acceptable to Western tongues. After eating the soto, I ate two slices of bread with strawberry jam and peanut butter in the middle. It was good. They provided a knife and a fork but I didn't use them. I took the bread by my hands and ate them right away. This was the better and faster way to eat the bread.

There is a small shop on the ground floor. Visitors can buy organic groceries, cakes, bread, and even baby diapers in the shop. Besides operating in Ubud, Bali Buddha café can also be found on Banjar Anyar - Kerobokan; Banjar Wanagiri of Nusa Dua; and Batu Bulan of Br. Denjalan (where its head office is located).

Tourists like to go to Bali Buddha because they know that they will get healthy food and drinks for the money which they spend there. As a company, Bali Buddha supports several CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs. Some of them are Say No to Plastic, Waster Disposal and Management Project  in Ubud, and a Gentle Birth Project in Denpasar. by Charles Roring