COCONUTS HOT SPOT — The teeny tiny white shack on the southern end of Ubud’s Jl. Gootama is indeed (as their website proclaims) a jam lover’s paradise. Their addictive additive-free tropical fruit jams are made from natural ingredients mostly harvested from their own yard, and the exotic variety of flavors they offer is simply mind-boggling. Not only do they offer any tropical fruit combos you can think of (guava-grape, mango-banana, pineapple-passion fruit, the list goes on and on), they also use uncommon and most probably unheard of fruits native to Bali such as bignay and kaliasem in combination of with exotic local spices like chili, clove, and cardamom.
Knowledge of such ingredients is what Wayan, the Balinese half of the dynamic duo owners, brought to the table when they started the shop back in 2011. While the French co-owner Michele worked her magic by means of traditional low sugar French recipes to create the non-sugary jams that let the amazing flavours of the fruits and spices shine through.
Photo: Confiture Michele
You might find the endless options daunting at first. After all, how could you possibly tell if you’d like the taste of kaliasem cardamom jam? You haven’t even seen the actual fruit in your life! No worries, the friendly smiling staff at the shop will indulgently let you sample before you buy one (or several) of these little pot of wonders.
On my last visit, I couldn’t resist the heavenly smell of their freshly made pancakes. Made from scratch with buckwheat flour instead of the usual wheat-based variety, the combination of the hearty yet light texture and the nutty flavor was the perfect compliment to their vibrant jams.
FIND IT
Jl. Gootama N. 26
Ubud, Bali
9am-10 pm daily
Photo at the top: Flickr
