A warung is a small and plain mom and pop type of eatery found in many cities and villages all over Indonesia. If a warung has been in existence for more than 50 years in Denpasar, Bali (not in Ubud, Kuta, or Seminyak), there must be some elements for success there. I am about to find out what these elements are at Warung Wardani in Denpasar.

Limited choice

Entering Warung Wardani I was glad there were some seats left and no sign that says “Maaf Sudah Habis” Sorry, We Are Sold Out. Mostly that is the case.

I went straight to the counter to order nasi campur, the signature dish of this famous warung, a plate of steamed rice with several side dishes. A glass covered counter hold a display of what dishes are available for the day.

Warung Wardani does not have much on the menu. In addition to nasi campur there are soto babad (traditional tripe soup), gado-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce), nasi kare (curried rice), and soto ayam (traditional chicken soup).

There is a snack counter where customers can choose different kinds of chips such as tempeh chips, shrimp chips or herbal drinks and soft drinks.

My plate of nasi campur arrived in less than 5 minutes. A half portion of rice that I asked for, one stick of beef satay, one stick of fish satay, a piece of opor ayam (chicken in coconut milk), udang goreng tepung (batter-fried shrimp), a spoonful of kering tempeh (deep friend, sweet and crunchy tempeh), a cube of jackfruit, a piece of chayote and a bunch of seasoned string beans.

A drove of visitors came in while I was beginning to eat. Some business people, a group of tourists, families with children, all seemed at ease sitting on simple red chairs in a room without air condition in a very hot afternoon. All were fixed on their foods.

Eating the nasi campur was similar to savoring a nine-course degustation with different textures and tastes. Warung Wardani does not need a flavor thesaurus to pair different ingredients resulting in a plethora of succulent tastes. I skipped the hot sambal (chili sauce), a must condiment for many; for fear that the chili will disguise the variety of tastes in the nasi campur.

Choices of drinks on the menu are limited to es campur (iced fruits & jellies), es dawet (iced jelly with palm sugar), es jeruk (iced orange juice), es teh (iced tea), es sirup (iced syrup), es daluman (iced natural jelly), es buah (iced fruit coktail), es kelapa muda (coconut iced drink).

The es dawet that I ordered was a little bit different than the one I used to have in other places. While the traditional es dawet is a mixture of tear shaped rice flour, palm sugar and coconut milk. The Wardani version has rice flour, palm sugar and syrup in the glass. Interestingly the drink was not too sweet even with the syrup, but the taste is less fatty compared to the traditional one.

I tried to take a mental note of my experience at Warung Wardani, and concluded that the elements for success that makes it survive over five decades is its simplicity, A no-nonsense approach of presenting fresh and delicious choices of food.

Warung Wardani opens from 08.00 AM to 04.00 PM provided the food is still available. Closer to 04.00 PM, however, visitors were still entering Warung Wardani, a testimony to a timeless eatery.

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Images: Omar Niode Foundation