RAPUAN CILI RESTAURANT & SWIMMING POOL

Notes: This is kind of a funny concept: a restaurant AND a swimming pool. It's not a hotel. It's a restaurant - and a swim pool. Nevertheless, here's my review.

Any time your driver "recommends" that you see something or eat somewhere en route to a destination, you know it's a tourist trap. Likely, they get a small cut or referral fee. I didn't mind this stop, however. And Rapuan Cili is a tourist trap but a beautiful one at that. The Rapuan Cili is located in Ubud and is placed smack dab at the top of a canyon and some gorgeous rice paddies. Of course!

The beautiful view came with a price tag. I like to spend maybe $4 to $5 on a decent meal in a southeast Asian country. Here, you'll pay double. In the U.S., $10 is average at a lower end restaurant. In SE Asia, $10 is big money!. You know something? The place was beautiful and it was worth staying for the experience (of saying we did what happens to most tourists who have drivers who aren's straight up!). Sure, we could have said no but we would have missed out on the turtle-shaped oven and the beautiful interior of the building.

The food quality was pretty good - not great. My friend and I both had the mei goreng ayam dish - fried noodles, eggs, chicken and fried prawn chips. There was a small plate of peanuts served with our drinks.

I don't know if I would recommend this restaurant because it was such an obvious tourist trap. However, it was cool. So, I'm 65/35 on recommending this place. Just be warned this may/probably will happend to you (but not if you read this and head my advise).

Contact: Jalan Raya Mas, Ubud, Bali
Ph: 62 0361 982 605

Hours: Daytime and evening

Cost: Rp40,000 to Rp70,000

Accessibility: The Rapuan Cili Restaurant is not wheelchair accessible. There is a flight of stairs up to the entrance.