What: The Banyan Tree
Where: 39 Beaumont Street, Hamilton
Prices: Entrees, $11.90 to $15.90; mains, $17.90 to $26.90 (entrees can be ordered as mains); desserts $9.90 and $10.90
Chef: Ketut Sandhi Artha
Extras: Rice, $2 or $3; salad, $7 or $9.50; rosti potatoes $6 or $8.50; bread, $4.50; prawn crackers, $1.90
Wines: BYO only; $2.50 per bottle corkage
Hours: Dinner Monday to Friday, 5.30pm to 9.30pm and Saturday 5.30pm to 10.30pm; lunch Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 2.30pm
Vegetarian: Noodles, curries and gado gado all have vegetarian options
Bookings: 4961 4257
Bottom line: Two can eat well for about $80
It forms part of the coat of arms of Indonesia, the structure of this epiphytic fig tree symbolising the unity of one country with its many far-flung roots.
In this case the roots have reached as far as Beaumont Street, Hamilton, where the tree has given its name to this charming restaurant, which means you don't have to go back to Bali to get your gado gado, nasi goreng or ayam bakar bumbu Bali fix.
There aren't too many places here to recreate those holiday memories so it's not surprising that the place is packed on a recent Saturday night. But the service is fast and efficient, and it's no trouble for the waiting staff to find time to explain unfamiliar dishes.
As with most Asian food it's best to go with a few like-minded mates and share lots of dishes. But singles or couples are not disadvantaged. Nasi campur ($24.90) provides a selection of Balinese dishes together with fragrant jasmine rice and prawn crackers. On this occasion the platter holds a pile of be sampi (Balinese-style beef rendang), a couple of chicken satay skewers, three tiger prawns and some stir-fried broccoli, carrot and zucchini. The tender char-grilled satay comes with a spicy peanut sauce; the beef is bathed in coconut cream-enriched sauce, the whole infused with lemongrass, coriander and chilli; the prawns' (sambal udang goreng) sweet flavour is enhanced by garlic, onion, chilli and kecap manis.
With a larger appetite or more friends you can't go past the chef's specials. Ikan pepes ($26.90) is a neat rectangular parcel of banana leaf which lends its subtle fragrance to the already spicy filling of fish and prawns. The whole package is char-grilled and served with more stir-fried vegetables broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, zucchini and jasmine rice and is redolent of lemongrass, onion and quite subtle chilli. In fact, it is OK to ask for whatever level of chilli you prefer. If you don't specify, the flavours will be mild.
Gule kambing ($24.90) comprises lamb, slow braised with fresh herbs and spices and a generous side of jasmine rice and more vegetables. Large pieces of fall-apart lamb shoulder are bathed in a caramel-coloured coconut milk-thickened sauce, which could have been a bit more spicy, but that is more our fault than theirs we forgot to ask.
The dessert menu is a predictably East-meets-West mix. There's a tangy lemon cheese cake and a banana pancake with vanilla ice-cream (both $9.90) as well hot banana in filo with a butterscotch sauce made with palm sugar ($10.90).
Wild black rice pudding with coconut cream, banana and vanilla ice-cream ($9.90) threatens to push the saturated fat level into overload but we're sharing and we don't do this every day. The black sticky rice is nutty with a slight crunch and with the coconut cream and the sliced banana redefines rice pudding.
With a little bit of imagination and a warm, humid Newcastle night, you could say you'd been to Bali too.
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