A little extra at Mama's Warung

When you ask several locals for a place to eat, and you get the same answer, either just that one place exists, or it is so lipsmacking good that you are a fool to skip it. Mama's Warung at Jalan Sukma, Ubud is positively the latter.

Mama's Warung is just a short walk away from our homestay, and we decide to check it out for lunch today. It's a small, quaint place with 3-4 small tables. We seat ourselves at the one facing the roadside, and soon a middle-aged woman approaches us. "Are you mama?" Shamin asks her. "No, I'm step-mama" comes the reply. A bit amused, we look at her menu. She has a bit of variety in there, but we settle for the must have - the national dish of course - nasi campur. We also order orange and coconut juices to go with the food.

 Shamin has had a long, eventful morning while I've lazed away, and she recounts her experiences while we await our food. Soon, the lady comes with the juices - one and a half glass each. We look at her, and she just smiles back "A little extra for you". We have dined at hundreds of places before, but this is truly a first. The food comes shortly after. Elegantly put together, the nasi campur makes us wonder why we even bother to try anything else in Bali. 

For the next few minutes, Shamin and I gobble the food without a word, occasionally looking up with a grin, each thinking the same - wow. This is the third time we've had a fantastic nasi campur meal, the first being Warung Muslim at Gili Air followed by Gula Bali at Ubud. When we ask for the bill, we get a surprise. "Is that it?" we ask, happily knowing the answer, and knowing this isn't the last time we see step-mama.