Bayleaf

Forget the airfare, Aussie roughnecks and additional shopping expense, this is as good as a real Balinese experience (perhaps even better). By night it's a torch-lit garden setting where the smells of tamarind, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, coconut and marinating meats on the grill transport you to more exotic shores. By day, it's less atmospheric, with a more urban outlook, but still well worth a stop. Stay chilled under whirring ceiling fans while evocative Balinese music plays softly around the indoor-outdoor dining. Presentation is everything, with steaming bowls arriving on platters decorated with palm fronds, colourful whole chillies and stalks of lemongrass. Satays arrive on smoking mini-barbecues, much to the delight of any younger diners. Nothing, it seems is too much trouble for the smiling staff. A couple of simple dessert options are on offer but the focus is elsewhere.