#42 A City A Story Photo Weekly Contest #12 Dirty Duck Restaurant 🦆 🇮🇩 脏鸭馆的美食故事

All content by @ItchyfeetDonica , images of food by Canon Kiss X3, others by iphone 7

What's up Steemians! Today I would like to introduce you a restaurant in Bali, Indonesia, which doesn't only boast traditional duck dishes and idyllic tropical setting, but also has an interesting story to tell. This restaurant is called Bebek Bengil, best known for its authentic crispy duck dishes since 1990. Just like QuanJude Peking Duck Restaurant in Beijing, Bebek Bengil is a big draw for visitors to Bali island.

大家好！今天我要给各位介绍一家印尼巴厘岛上的餐馆—— 脏鸭馆。这家餐馆不仅有久负盛名的特色鸭肉菜肴和热带风情满满的庭园，还有跟脏鸭有关的有趣故事。就像全聚德烤鸭之于北京，很多人来到巴厘岛也会尝尝这家颇具特色的脏鸭餐。

When I lived in Bali, I went to eat regularly in this Dirty Duck restaurant located near my homestay in Ubud. There's also a branch in Nusa Dua by beach. Now it has expanded to outlets outside Bali in Jakarta, including the main restaurant in Menteng.

As you can see from the photo above, its gate is not so big, while there's a whole new world inside. After you pass through the main dining hall, the winding path leads you through the lush green garden to an open field of rice. You can also choose to enjoy your meal in the traditional Balinese cottage here, in this well manicured garden or by the lovely rice field. At the same time, there are a flock of ducks enjoying their meals in the mud of the field.

I heard about the story of these ducks from the owner of my homestay in Ubud, and now I see them in person(duck). But of course these ducks are not really the same ducks in the story of 1990, since a duck can normally live a few years up to 15 or 20 maybe(sorry that I don't have any experience with old ducks) . So it comes to the name Dirty Duck restaurant. Why is it so? When I opened the menu on the table, the story was also printed on the first page:

When we were building the restaurant, we thought long and hard of a name. Many suggestions came from our friends, but none seemed just right. We knew we wanted a Balinese name that translated well into English.

One tropical monsoon morning, when the original restaurant was almost finished, a flock of ducks from rice fields across the road ran quacking and squawking into the restaurant, and across the floor and tables. They left their muddy, webbed footprints all over the place. They were our first guests, these 'Dirty Ducks'.

It's said that another reason the restaurant is called Dirty Duck is: when the ducks are fried and grilled, their skins turn darker and look dirty.

我住在巴厘岛时，这家脏鸭餐厅的乌布店离住处不远，所以常常去大快朵颐。岛上的另一家分店在努沙杜瓦的海滩边。现在脏鸭馆已经走出巴厘岛，在首都雅加达也开设了分店。

从上图可以看出，餐厅门脸不大，而进去后其实别有洞天。穿过食客云集，人头攒动的前厅大堂，再沿着曲折的小径绕过绿意葱茏的热带花园，便来到一片广阔的稻田。花园里和稻田边的亭台中也摆设了传统巴厘岛式的餐桌和软垫，供食客盘腿用餐。稻田里，几只鸭子🦆在泥水中悠闲自在地觅食。

去之前就听乌布民宿的主人讲到这些鸭子的故事，来到饭店后，打开菜单，第一页就印着脏鸭馆名字的由来，主角自然是这些鸭子们🦆，或者更确切地说，是这些鸭子的前辈们 ; )。（我好奇地随手查了一下，据说鸭子的平均寿命为5到15年。掐指一算，就算是这些鸭子中的老寿星，可能也很难从餐馆开业的1990年活到现在吧。所以说此鸭非彼鸭。）回到故事的主题来，那么为什么叫“脏鸭馆” 呢？

当初餐馆在建时，我们就为起名而苦思冥想，很多朋友也给出建议，却没有一个合适的。我们一直想起个传统的巴厘名字，同时译成英语也要很恰当。

一个刮着热带季风的清晨，餐厅就要完工之时，一群鸭子从马路对面的稻田里呱呱呱地奔过来，穿过地板和桌子，一时间，到处都留下泥泞的蹼状脚印。这些脏兮兮的鸭子们也成了我们餐厅里的第一批客人。

其次，鸭子在油炸、烧烤的烹制过程中，表皮颜色变深，看上去脏脏的，也成了被称为“脏鸭”的一个原因。

One time when I was waiting to be served, I spotted a lizard in the garden:
有一次在等上菜间歇，我在花园里还看到一只黄腹蜥蜴：

What you see in the photo below is the renowned signature Dirty Duck dish. It is half a duck steamed in Indonesian spices, deep fried for a crispy finish. It is served with sautéed potatoes or rice, and Balinese vegetable salad.

下图第一张就是有名的原味脏鸭。这些鸭肉先由印尼的特色香料腌制，再通过油炸制成。鸭肉鲜美，表皮脆嫩有弹性，脂肪含量低，搭配微煎的土豆或米饭，就着新鲜的辣椒酱料和巴厘岛蔬菜沙拉，别有一番风味。

What I like the most is the Bebek Bakar Sambal Hijau(Grilled Duck with Green Chili Sauce) in the head image and the last photo below. Comparing to the dry original Dirty Duck, I prefer the more succulent meat when it's grilled. So I usually ordered this one when I came to Bebek Bengil. The different sorts of sambal(Southeast Asian sauce made from chili peppers or/and other ingredients) aside are awesome as well. I will write a post about making these fresh sambals in future.

On their menu, you can also find other duck dishes such as Duck Breast with Wine Sauce, which is more western like. But whatever I ordered there, it's always served a big portion, along with great service.

而题图和下面的这张图里是我最喜欢的烤鸭配青椒酱和土豆饭，个人觉得这烤出来的鸭肉相比口感很干的油炸原味脏鸭更加可口多汁。所以我去脏鸭馆总是点这道菜，还会特意要求加上旁边的几种辣酱。这些鲜辣的酱料对我这个无辣不欢的人来说自然是必不可少，将来我会写写怎么制作这些辣酱。

菜单上还看到有西式的红酒鸭胸和其他鸭肉做成的佳肴，足以满足各种口味的需要。值得一提的是，这家脏鸭的口味并不是次次如一，去过的几次，同样的鸭肉菜品，有时候吃起来很赞，有时候吃起来却有些腥味，不知道是鸭子本身的缘故还是烹饪的问题。对我来说，这家餐厅的优点主要在于其传统特色，食物分量，服务质量和用餐环境。

However, the best flavors, in my opinion, are usually found in local markets, on street stands or at locals' home kitchens, but not in this kind of famous restaurants among tourists. So, next time I'm going to bring you to a local market in Bali and learn from a local chef how to cook the authentic cuisine. Stay tuned and until next time! =)

当然，最好吃的本地菜通常都在某街边小巷里，而不是在这种驰名游客的大餐馆。下一次我会带大家去一家当地的菜市场看看，跟着本地厨师学做印尼菜。敬请期待！=)

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!steemitworldmap -8.517834 lat 115.263708 long Bebek Bengil Ubud Bali d3scr