Tembaga, Ubud

Down an Ubud side street lined with head-height marigolds is Bambu Indah, a luxury eco resort and series of beautiful, uniquely-designed bamboo homes and spring fed swimming pools.

Tembaga is Bambu Indah’s signature restaurant, a large open-air former barn, built of bamboo, copper and stone, and an unforgettable dining experience devoted to helping you live longer.

Designed as an extension of the natural environment, the restaurant’s edges blend with biodynamic garden beds of okra, dandelion and chillies, bamboo archways and banana trees.

Tembaga is Malay for copper, and the essential mineral is used throughout the design and execution of the space, from the copper cups that the waiters pour rosemary infused water into, the salt and pepper shakes, and the single disc of copper on our table settings to use as a natural hand sanitiser.

I was surprised to learn from the menu that copper is good for us – it boosts immunity, is vital for heart, brain and hair health, is full of antioxidants and helps us absorb iron. 

The menu offering is healthful too; all food and drinks are gut friendly and anti-inflammatory. To further demonstrate this, long farmhouse tables are lined with purple sweet potatoes, turmeric and ginger – all known to support a long life.

Mushrooms and fermented foods play a large part in the menu for their health benefits, and the restaurant grows its own mushrooms underground.  

After a refreshing palate cleanser of a turmeric juice shot, my main meal was nasi bakar campur - rice from local farmers wrapped in banana leaf with sides of fermented vegetables, smoked mushroom sates, free range egg, tempe and sambals.

Other offerings include sautéed cauliflower “rice”, Rendang beef and mushroom curry, mushroom sate, and Balinese Grandma’s Hug a deliciously nourishing sweet potato curry, all cooked over a traditional Balinese wood fired stove.

The whole experience was flawless. Our waiter was delightful and catered for our every ask, and every inch of the food was delicious.

After eating we wandered around Bambu Indah, exploring the wonderland of bamboo homes and permaculture gardens. And a wonderful gift shop selling jewels and pottery by local artisans, copper miscellanea and incense.

You could easily spend a whole day there.

Tembaga is a wonderful showcase of Ubud’s best local ingredients, and conscious and sustainable food scene.