Sanur is not the traffic king of Indonesia. That esteemed title goes to Jakarta, but last weekend you could have mistaken the sleepy corner of Denpasar for the “macet” capital (of the world). The Sanur Village Festival was in town and so everyone and their brother in Greater Denpasar converged on what locals refer to as “The McDonald’s Intersection”.
Of course, few events draw such a crowd without reason, and to be sure, there was something for everyone. Kite competitions sent crowds down to Mertasari (where they presumably created their own traffic jams) for aerial enthusiasts, there was a surf competition at Sanur Reef and a golf tournament for the athletically inclined, and on the main stage there was a never-ending series of music and cultural shows.
We’ll get to all that in a minute, but what festival would be complete without food? And food there was—in abundance.
On Saturday evening, two companions and I grazed our way around the Sanur Fest’s packed Main Area. One of my friends, who repeatedly expressed his dismay at missing last year’s edition and is an admitted Sanur Festival Fanboy, was astonished at how the Festival has grown in recent years. “When I was here two years ago, there was probably 20 percent of the number that are here now.”
While unable to comment on the comparative popularity of previous years, the fact that this is the 10th anniversary, and thus in some way special, was raised and I agreed that likely played a part. The point, though, is that getting from booth to desired booth was—much like the movement on the nearby bypass—slow going.
After a quick Bintang-stop, we arrived at a favorite festival haunt, Queens of India, whose tandoori chicken (again) and cheese naan did not disappoint—neither did their chicken biryani enjoyed by my Sanur Fest-loving companion.
We then edged our way through the crowd to the Sushi Tei, which, upon further research, is an Indonesia-wide chain with a number of franchises throughout the archipelago. While I did call the wisdom of eating sushi at a festival like this into question, I’d craved the stuff of late and so took a gamble with this booth. Taste aside (and this sushi was just about average), sushi is a relatively portable food and useful in festival situations such as this, especially when confronted with a massive crowd watching a Balinese dance show on the main stage.
Picking our way through the outer reaches of the crowd while consuming our salmon rolls with some sort of tempura (and thankfully no intestinal repercussions) and catching glimpses of the kids dancing on stage, we reached the other, seemingly more well-to-do side. Two of the luxury resorts in town had established extravagant tents with TV’s, snack bars, and ice cream stations, but commoners as we are, my trio moved past and onto DD Warung’s stall.
DD Warung is a Thai establishment located on Jalan Batu Sari in Sanur and one that I’ll be sure to patronize frequently. The owner, a hippy-ish Thai woman, happily served us herself and created a special taster menu of everything she had out. Beyond her friendliness, the food was fresh and delish and, on the whole, a brilliant advertisement for the main restaurant.
While my trio didn’t come specifically for the music, a quick review of the weekend’s lineup reveals the quality of performers. Famed jazz pianist, Indra Lesmana who is currently an artist in residence at Griya Santrian was among the guests as was the brilliant folk-trio Dialog Dini Hari.
Much like the roads and the crowds, Sanur Village Festival’s schedule was jam-packed with events, far too much for any one person, or family for that matter to handle. I heard from friends with children that this weekend, while tiring, is a blessing for parents in search for activities for their kids. There was a fashion show, group yoga, and, to kick things all of with true community atmosphere, a beach clean up.
The non-culinary highlight of the evening was the free Go-Jek, the new Uber-like app that has somewhat regulated the Ojek industry, from the Festival’s entrance to the MiniMart along the bypass. It was a brilliant piece of marketing and a rare bit of thoughtful Indonesian logistics.
With Sanur now returned to its none-too-lively pace, the village and indeed all of Bali can look forward to next year’s edition with the knowledge that, while it may bring macet, it is indeed a fantastic community event for all ages.
Photos at the top: Instagram @cicilaadiann (L), @kennardi (R)
