Gianyar Night Market

Top choice in East Bali


The sound of scores of cooking pots and the glare of bright lights add a frenetic and festive clamour to Gianyar's delicious and wonderfully aromatic pasar malam (night market), where some of the best street food in Bali is on offer. Scores of stalls set up each night in the town's main street and cook up a mouthwatering and jaw-dropping range of dishes, including delectable babi guling (spit-roast pig stuffed with chilli, turmeric, garlic and ginger).

Much of the fun is just strolling, browsing and choosing. Street chefs serve everything from fragrant bakso (meatball) soup to sate (satays), coconut sweets to piseng goreng (fried banana). The average cost of a dish is 20,000Rp; with a group you can sample a lot and be the happier for it. Peak time is the two hours after sunset. Best of all, the night market is only a 20-minute drive from Ubud: a driver will bring you here for around 150,000Rp, including waiting time.