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Balilicious Modern Indonesian
Category: Restaurants Indonesian Indonesian
3488 Cambie StVancouver, BC V5Z 2W8
Neighbourhoods: South Cambie, Riley Park
(604) 709-8150
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for Balilicious Modern Indonesian
16 reviews in English
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Review from Bill B.
6/12/2011
I've only had a handful of opportunities to eat Indonesian food along the west coast and this place is the best I have tasted. The depth and complexity of flavor in the coconut curries are just mouthwatering. Some people may think 5 stars may be too generous but based on my limited experience with Indonesian food, that's what I have to go with.
Other pluses are the service is excellent and the food is presented as a visual piece of art. It's an effective paradox .. the food is simple but, deliciously and visually complex. The "appy platter" is the perfect example. I just wish we had something this good down in metro Seattle!
A great place to go if you are on a low-carb or paleo lifesyle. You can make a great meal by combining a bunch of small plates .. Bali-tappas? -
Review from John G.
Vancouver, BC
3/30/2012
You really have to love a place where, when you walk in, the girl seats you then asks, "Tiger, right?"
Obviously, that didn't happen the first time I went in, or the second time. But about the third time, they knew me and remembered I always love an ice cold Tiger Beer (or four!) with my food there.
I've always loved food from southeast Asia. I've been to Malaysia and eaten at a few Malaysian and Malaysian-fusion eateries in Vancouver, (ditto Thai food) but I'd never enjoyed Indonesian food before trying it here.
Loved it.
The service was excellent. The food was the same. Doesn't matter what I've eaten here, I've never been disappointed.
I've tried all their meat skewers, the appy platter of spring rolls, roti with curry sauce, fried chicken, assorted krupuk and tempeh chips, loved it all.
Also enjoyed prawns in Sambal Belado Sauce (Signature Spicy Sambal Chili Garlic and Sweet Soy sauce as well as with the Balinese Sauce (a signature Tamarind and Chili Garlic sauce).
Their Green Beans pan fried in sambal chili garlic sauce are incredible.
And don't forget to try their curry lamb or curry or coconut chicken. Yum-my...
Then there's the beer...
It's served in pre-chilled glasses. And when you order your second beer, it comes with a fresh chilled glass.
If you order "Indonesian hot" spiciness level as I did one night, you will need several of those to help cool down the fire. You can order medium, hot or Indo-hot. Most times, I just order hot - it's plenty spicy, although sometimes I do feel adventurous...Listed in: Restaurants Where I LOVE to…
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Review from Catherine G.
Vancouver, BC
5/9/2012
I go to this restaurant regularly but not as often as I would like. I am vegetarian and love the sweetcorn fritters, the salad, I had the chocolate and avocado mousse (surprisingly delicious!), the banana dessert. The pumpkin curry is also lovely. Every time I go I enjoy everything I eat, and so does everyone who comes with me. My meat eating friends have loved the curries and the satay. Highly recommended!
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Review from Cathy S.
3/18/2011
My past experience with Indonesian food in Vancouver has not been all that great but forever the optimist, I convinced a few friends to go with me to try out Balilicious for lunch.
Upon arrival, our first impression was that the decor was authentic without being theme park - we loved the homage to Dutch colonialism in the form of the wooden shoes on the wall! The servers were attentive and very pleasant, and when my multilingual friend started to converse with them in Bahasa Indonesia, verified to be Indonesian.
We ordered various lunch specials but we all started with a complimentary ginger coffee or jasmine tea and gado gado and lumpia. I am not a huge fan of deep fried anything so I knew going in that the lumpia would not be rocking my world, but I did like the tamarind sauce. The gado gado was perfection - plated beautifully, the vegetables fresh and crisp, the little baby potatoes cooked to perfection and the peanut sauce with the perfect viscosity and not too overpowering.
With the entrees, I very much appreciated being asked the spiciness level that we all preferred and them in turn delivering what we asked. Before we even took a bite we were blown away with how nice the food was to look at and how awesome it smelled. The food's taste did not disappoint and all of our curries had deliciously subtly layered flavour . And talk about attention to detail, the vegetable butterfly that they used to garnish my plates was pickled with rice vinegar so as to complement the dish!
My friends couldn't resist splitting a coconut black rice pudding for dessert and essentially licked the bowl clean so I take that as an endorsement. We all can't wait to come back and try a lot more of their dishes. -
Review from Doug G.
10/17/2010 1 Check-in Here
Delicious, creative, and great service . . .
We found Balilicious by accident while searching this area of Cambie for another restaurant. We will definitely be back.
The service was excellent. Our waitress was full of helpful suggestions, which was very much appreciated since their menu is new to us.
We started with the chicken and pork skewers, which were delicious. On to the Opor Ayam (Coconut Chicken, with sliced potatoes and mixed vegetables in a coconut sauce), Rendang Sapi (Spicy Dry Curry Beef Brisket with potato slices), and some delicious coconut rice. The flavours were amazing, especially the Rendang Sapi which was definitely our favourite. Of course every great meal ends with a great desert, and we were not disappointed, as both the Mango Pudding and the Avocado and Chocolate pudding were amazing.
What a great find. I'd recommend reservations - we were fortunate to get a table at 7 PM Sunday. -
Review from Mark H.
4/24/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Balilicious almost makes me dyslectic reading the name. Maybe a hyphen would help.
Small, family run Indonesian with genuine though a tad shy service.
Come Sundays for 99 cent sate skewers. With 12 types, there's something for everyone. We tried the chicken, pork, and lamb ones. OK flavour, but the sauce needed more kick to it.
Other appy sampling:
Spring Rolls - Average
Corn Fritters - Great flavour, but give me more!
Beef Green Onion Pancake - Bold flavours
First time we shared the curry veggies dish. The sauce was great but veggies weren't cooked enough.
Second time we got the fried rice noodles with comes topped with a fried chicken drumstick. I guess it's their version of chicken and waffles.
Not sure if we ordered the wrong dishes, but watching other dishes come out of the kitchen was mouth watering.
Maybe a 3rd time is a charm. -
Review from Ly H.
11/18/2010
In search of a neighborhood restaurant within walking distance from our place, my partner and I are determined to try every eatery along Cambie. We walked pass Balilicious, saw that the place was packed and decided why not give it a try.
Once inside, I realized the place was packed only because its teeny tiny and they've jammed as many tables as possible into the space. I don't know about you, but one of my restaurant pet peeves is that the tables are so close together that you have to wiggle your butt pass the other customers faces and food in order to get into your seat.
Service was very attentive and the food was okay. Unfortunately, I couldn't get pass the space issue. At the table to our right, both patrons were coughing and wheezing, they were obviously nursing a cold. I kept thinking, "yikes I hope I don't get sick." I just couldn't relax and enjoy my meal. -
Review from Evilyn T.
4/6/2010 2 photos
How is it that I live so close to this place and I never go there? I was feeling a little less than motivated after the long weekend, so cooking for one tonight at dinner sounded pretty unappealing. It was also treat day at work so I found myself in the midst of a sugar crash and burn.
I stopped into Sate to put my order in and promised to return in 45 minutes after walking the most hyper dog in the world. They didn't ask me to pay, ask for my phone number, get my name, nothing. They were like "yup, no problem." So I was wondering if I would have to wait when I came back, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was ready when I arrived! And not like ready and waiting all packed up sitting on the counter ever since I left, like ready and they were just putting the spices on top. Yes!
I ordered the Sambal Terong Pengat, which is zucchini and eggplant, because obviously my body was yelling at me for veggies. I was delighted when I came home to open my take-out and see large slices of both grilled evenly. I had asked for medium spicyness, which they perfected, and the veggies laid on a bed of sprouts, so I didn't really need the rice I had ordered. I am looking forward to trying more of the veggie options since they have so many, and I was totally eyeballing the jasmine drink boxes they had in their cooler. Mom, why did you never put those in my lunch, what was that Super Socco shit? -
Review from Janice F.
1/29/2010
This place has been here for a while and I finally paid them a visit last week. Nice, cozy neighbourhood restaurant with friendly staff.
Had the chendu drink/dessert - pandan jelly (very similar to coconut jelly, except green), with lots of cream and palm sugar. It's filling and refreshing.
The had skewers on special for $0.99 on the night that I went - I sampled the chicken, beef, pork and lamb. Of the best, the lamb and pork were juicy and tasty. The coconut laksa is very mild and very milky. They use wider flat rice noodles (like hoa fun) and fresh beansprouts, some chicken and fish balls provided protein in the bowl.
Affordable and worth a repeat visit. -
Review from Gary K.
Port Coquitlam, BC
5/30/2011
I have been going to Balilicious (formerly Sate Satu) for about 5 years now and I have never been dissappointed.
Their food is always presented in a beautiful way and it tastes as great as it looks.
The owners (who work there) are friendly and always have a smile on their faces.
As for the food I recommend the Rendang (a spicy beef brisket) with a side of coconut rice. Personally I like my food very spicy and they are always willing to accomodate.
Other great dishes are their chicken coconut curry, their giant prawns, and their red curry.
I recommend the restraurant to all my friends and will continue to do so. If there is one thing that I am unhappy about it is that they used to serve fried chicken skin which was delicious, but they no longer do so. -
Review from Roanna Z.
9/27/2009 2 photos
I just needed to find a simple, inexpensive place to eat within a specific two blocks of Cambie. (Yelp search! )
Quite the parameters eh? I didn't know I was in for such a sweet treat!
Adorable inside, and almost romantic in decor Sate Satu* is so very welcoming and the service staff are really nice.
Keeping my meal small was the goal, small and tasty were the meat sticks, and a side of coconut rice. I have had sweeter coconut rice in my life, but never presented like this, in a banana leaf.
The big guy had a medium spiced Goreng fried rice with mixed vegg. (Yup, that's twice he chose vegg over meat now, hmmm...)
It was delish! as were the Cassava chips.
Not only will we be back, but we would come out of our way for it!
*Name change! Now same owners prefer Balilicious :-) -
Review from Nicole K.
2/14/2009
I would give it 3.5, but alas, yelp will not allow it...
Very cute, yummy and friendly Indonesian restaurant on Cambie and 19th. I've walked by it dozens of times before so decided to give it a go.
The sate sticks are very yummy and presented nicely. We had the mushroom and lamb.
The Balinese fish was very nice as was the yellow curry with tofu. My only criticism is that it could have been a bit spicier, but overall I would recommend Sate. -
Review from Katy F.
Vancouver, BC
11/18/2009
My colleagues and I were invited yesterday to a "social gathering" to "mingle" with our neighbours... Well, the place couldn't have been less adapted to this kind of event (but that's not the restaurant's fault)! I mean, it's a great place but it is small and the little tables are meant for couples or group of friends, not to meet random people you've never seen and might never see again.
And we had the best table too: first in the line to catch the munchies coming out of the kitchen. Why would you bother to move and "mingle" when all the good stuff is coming right at you before you've even finished your plate?
Though we only had samples of what they have on the menu, all of them were good, especially the meat balls with a kind of satay sauce, the spring rolls and the stuffed jalapenos and mushrooms.
The staff is very nice and I will try to come back for a full meal. Unfortunately it's not open for lunch so the only option is to come for dinner. -
Review from Allison G.
Vancouver, BC
8/10/2010
Really great sauces. Good service. Try the curry squash, pork satay, spring rolls. Lots of vegetarian selection. Looking forward to returning to try their desserts - avacado mousse!?! Yes please!!
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Review from Chere Michelle C.
Vancouver, BC
8/26/2010
Ok I LOVED Sate Satu, is it now by a different owner? Does anyone know if the menu is the same? I absolutely adore the tofu appy; it's cooked and golden to perfection with just the right amount of spice and literally folks, it melts in your mouth. Lots of veggie options which I appreciate...but since My Guy just alerted me to the fact it's got a new name, I'm a little worried....
Listed in: My Neighborhood
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Review from Kate L.
Vancouver, BC
5/2/2010
I have only been here twice, but both times I have been overwhelmed with the tastiness of the food, the beautiful presentation and the excellent service. My partner and I are both vegetarian, and there are plenty of dishes for us to choose from. The coconut peanuts are a great starter with a cold glass of beer, and the last time I went, the pumpkin curry was incredible. The pumpkin was tender but toothsome, and the sauce was delicious. The garlic scapes are also notable. Basically, this restaurant provides beautiful food at very reasonable (cheap!) prices. I just wish I lived closer.
