25 years ago I spent a few years travelling in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. I was on a beach in Koh Tao and an old woman came up to me. She had a bamboo pole over her shoulder and hung on one end was a polystyrene box and on the other end was a metal pan. She asked me if I was hungry in very broken English and if I wanted seafood bbq. I said yes and got up to look in the box. There was nothing in the box except some bottles. I laughed and shrugged my shoulders as if to say you’re being funny. She cackled and put her hand on my shoulder and said “you relax” and made me sit down. Then she just walked into the sea! Four or five minutes later she appeared with two prawns about the size of my forearm and a massive lobster. Then she disappeared again and returned with some firewood and for the next 30 minutes I watched her set a fire in the metal pan and she cooked the seafood and prepared it all with the oils in the bottles. She then sat cackling and laughing at me as I devoured and slobbered my way through the best meal I’ve ever had in my life!! When I finally finished she asked for the equivalent of $2 and I gave her $10! The only sad part was that I never saw her again but I’ll never forget her for as long as I live!
I think you meant uptight, rather than upright in your comment, but the only thing I'm sure about here is that the one thing that isn't going to up or tight after this vid is... Sonny's bowles! Damn! I love Sonny going above and beyond in his vids, but there are limits! Never mind all that though... His wife had to film all of that, but she'll also have to live through all the aftermath and talking to Sonny through the bathroom door for a day or two... I guess the couple that cleaves together heaves together or something like that...
I think it's fantastic that he is critical and honest when the time is right. I appreciate him sharing the good and the bad, instead of 'sugar glazing' everything like some do.
Haven't met an Aussie yet who didn't come away with severe food poisoning in Bali. You're a brave man. I can taste the smell of the market thru my monitor
Ahhh Bali Belly. 3days laid up in the hotel with toilet door open then a week of being scared to fart. I know it well. Been there twice & the 2nd time I only ate from fast food chains. Got sick in Thailand too but it was more like a hangover for half a day. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos no issues at all
I like how honest this guy is. Yeah it might be a developing country whose food preservation / handling isn’t like the west but that doesn’t mean they are absolved of criticism. He’s not a dick about it, just very blunt even if his delivery is a bit cheeky. He’s more transparent then other exotic food reviewers for sure
Thank you for being honest and not fake with what you like, hate, love, etc. Youre the best food guy on youtube due to how real you are with your opinions
yes is not good thing to support NKRI Indonesia acting as a colonial terrorist killing innocent lives using the money they get from tourism and stupid bules from Australia..?
I think that's part of the reason for his success. He doesn't hide the truth or try to sugar coat his opinions. Just a normal dude with an educated pallet telling it how it is unlike countless TV shows
I worked in a fruit & veg shop when I was a kid, and the shop also had a wet fish counter. I can still remember the manager teaching me about the fish counter and he said that a good wet fish counter should never smell of anything except sea water, and if the fish counter smells fishy then the fish isn't fresh 👍
So true. If it smells fishy then it's not fresh. Other countries don't have the same health and safety standards as the big countries. They think its probably safe but I would never eat anything from there.
yeah, just like that profoundly overrated twerp Mark Weins who's closing in on 10mill subscribers. Ever damn thing he puts in his mouth it's like he has an orgasm in his pants. No, sorry, not every food you eat is worth an 'Oh Wow! Ughh...
My parents are from Indonesia but I was born and raised in USA. Every time I go to Indonesia I always get food poisoning even though I am very cautious about my food. Bali is the most popular tourist destination and is still like this, imagine the rural locations and villages 🥲 I always love watching your videos, thanks for all that you do 😊
@@robery4008 How did you deal with the stench? Did you just say pew a lot straight to the people’s face? Did you strewn your bowels all over the place ?
The rural areas could be better, honestly. It really depends on the population density. If there aren't too many people, nature can be pretty good about dealing with the waste quickly and cleanly. The problem with markets like this is that a ton of trash gets piled up, and the usual scavengers can't get rid of them because humans consider them pests. You go to a rural area where there's not too much trash being generated in the first place, and wild animals can get in to deal with the junk, it'll probably at least smell a lot better.
Thanks Sonny! as an Indonesian now that you've revealed everything I really hope we can realize that we really need to improve our hygienic standards. Also in Indonesia everything changes if it goes Viral!!! so thank you!!!
I lived in Bali for almost two years,Bali is no doubt one of the best place to lived, beautiful places and extremely nice people but as Indonesian I really hope that our people will give more attention about hygiene and cleanliness especially in tourist destinations place's,for government please buy more garbage trucks, garbage will always be the main issue in every place around the country and it seems our government doesn't even care about it. It's kinda embarrassing to see a Bali the jewel of Indonesia In That condition,hope you enjoyed your trip in Bali sonny and sorry if u ever encounter unpleasant experience during in my beloved country ❤
I don't think more trash trucks is the answer. They should try government-sponsored composting, a ban on plastic, and localized dump sites like in rural areas in the US. Then find any property owner with trash on their property
Waste management is always the main problem here in Bali and Indonesia in general, we don't really have a proper procedure on how to handle it from the smallest level which is perfectly pictured in the video. Anyway, great video as always, Sonny. Enjoy your time in Bali!
We should let Japan stay a bit longer to implement their strict garbage sorting and recycling system. But then again we also fucked up the Dutch’s sewer system anyways.
I'm in bali and yeah the hygiene leaves a bit to be desired and I'm not the fussiest around, my cars normally looks like someone lives in it but here in bali some places are let's say eye opening. That said, there's smooth too, you just gotta be careful, as for seafood, you're better than me bro, the squid 🐙 you ate almost killed me 😂
Man, that first meal looked incredible. I'd be worried about elevated hepatitis risk with the blood cockles, and pass on those, but everything looked thoroughly cooked and delicious.
@@hakob8345 No I meant that when people watch the teaser everyone can't wait for the episode to air. So it is genius how they upload on their second channel right after so people get to see a new episode after the teaser.
Just want to say I love how no matter where you go you film an absolute banger and always share all aspects of the culture. Hoping I get to visit som Bali at some point
I spent the best 7 weeks of my life riding around Bali on a bicycle, had a permanent homestay in Ubud and just took off on my bicycle and when it got dark I started looking for a room for the night, I ended up in places where the tourists never go and had many great adventures staying in the locals houses as a „guest“, the thing is I cannot remember ever having the trots or being ill at all, and I was there to get away from my intense life working in Germany where in one year I did 321 concerts and drove 130,00o Kilometers leading to me having a stroke, Bali was the perfect medicine, my cheeks were double the size when I got back, butt cheeks from cycling, face cheeks from smiling the whole time, was a bucket list for me and it went way beyond my expectations….
You are right about choosing a "right" cook in the Kedonganan Market. Sometimes the ones you choose right down the street doesn't provide a good grill/bad seasoning. I usually choose the one down in the alley on the front of the market, that one spot provides the best grills and seasonings most of the time I eat in Kedonganan. Good video!
As someone who currently lives in Bali, I am very impressed by Sonny’s hygiene, I always think “Oh it’s gonna be fine I’m not going to become sick because of this” and then 5 minutes later I have an explosive stomach
I am life long resident of Bali. We are against even basic hygiene and never refrigerate meat or seafood. A lot of visitors will try to silently say things like pew or yuck or gross. We are used to this especially the stench of our city and people.
I dont know to which fish market you went to but you need to go to the main sea food market in denpasar and you need to be there at 3-4 am. This is when you wanna buy, straight when it comes from the fishermen. After lunch time their goods have been hanging out a while and the ice has melted, like you guys said as well there was nyepi the day before. Best way to get fresh fish overall, if you didnt buy it straight off the fishermen/at the market in the morning, is to get it from a local supplier who sources and keeps a proper cold chain a.k.a a local firm.
I was in Thailand 2000 ish ..... I was on a island . I had a choice of banana boat ride or a fishing boat took you around the island for 8 Royal British pounds ( 10 dollars ) . I was with my friend and his girlfriend who I met out in Asia ( they were travelling for 1 year ) . We chose the fishing boat .... First they took us out into the ocean - gave us all on the boat ( about 6 of us ) a old oil plastic container with fishing line wrapped around it . We put squid on the hooks and all threw it into the ocean . I haven't got a clue what fish were coming out of the water. But they were tropical yellows , greens etc and massive one was caught . We didn't know what the tour involved to be honest- we were just on a boat . After the fishing the Thais running the boat threw us Beers from the cooler ( included in 8 pound price ) . Then we went to a reef and snorkeled, while the boat crew made huge Thai salads and cooked the mountain of fish we caught ( all included in price ) . We ate the lunch with more beer and water ( again all for 8 pounds ) . Then we went to another beach with bars , on the far side of the island . We had run out of beer - so we bought the next beers from the restaurant and shared it with the boat load and crew . Then off to a sea sanctuary just off shore . No health and safety In Thailand around 2000 . Squared planked 4x4 planks that you walked along without rails . Inside the squares were giant stingrays, massive man eating sharks etc etc . I couldn't walk the planks as I was still pissed from the night before and all over the shop with balance As I have said many times all this only cost 8 pound ( maybe less ) ...it was amazing . I personally hate fish but lobster, prawns ,caviar. But the BBQ was amazing and the fish which I had never seen before ( tropical ) was fantastic . Best tour/excursion I've ever done in Thailand
Sonny tip for seafood don't eat any type of shell fish if it's dead make sure it's still moving fish is ok if it's cought that day,I would try to catch a fisher man in the docks before they go to sell to market.
Not sure who recommended you to go there as even local tourist don't go there unless if you aiming for cheaper prices only. Just go to regular restaurants in Jimbaran Beach (slightly pricey by 20-30%) but more hygienist, clean & tastier with beautiful beach sunset experience.
I honeymooned in Bali, and even as an adventurous food eater I felt the need after witnessing food hygiene standards to play it safe. Little did I know despite taken precautions I would have the worst bout of food poisoning of my life. I genuinely thought I was going to die on a toilet at one point. The advice I'd give anyone visiting here, stick to hotel food, otherwise you'll likely give birth to your own intestine.
As a local with really weak stomach i'd recommend the same lol I doubt its really food poisoning just you cant handle the new food/spice Always bring stomach medicine
That's definitely not what you want on a honeymoon! I travel to Bali regularly, never had the dreaded Bali belly, my tip is probiotic load a few weeks before you travel there and you should be fine. I eat a mix of hotel and restaurant food and always have great meals.
You should generally avoid shellfish like mussels etc. they can contain some pretty bad toxins there etc. I saw one guy get sent to the ER after a bowl of mussels. Everything you eat should be thoroughly cooked. The Mahi-Mahi is generally great.
I hade similar experiences in Indonesia. 2 very memorable times. 1 in Lake Toba and another one on Flores Island. We arrived to the little departure city in ;lake Toba at like 3am and my buddy hired one of the kids to help him fish on the lake. For $5, the guest house we were staying at cooked all the fish they caught along with veggies and rice. On Flores, I ate some squid with ink still in it and it looked like the squid you passed on. I was sick for 3 days, very dehydrated from fluid loss. Fun memories although partially unpleasant hahaha
I was on Diego Garcia in the early 80’s. We would catch *HUGE* parrot fish, easily 3+ times the size of Sonny’s fish. They were awesome! Huge beautiful fillets.. Some of the more brave, or foolish, guys would dive the reef at nite for monster lobsters. The area hadn’t been commercially fished and we weren’t supposed to be ocean side so the fish were huge and not afraid. The lobster tails were so big we’d slice them into lobster tail steaks and throw them on the grill. Our barracks grill was going around the clock with our Hawaiian and Filipino sailors cooking some great food.
*Now that; my friend, is a fish story with fundamental assets: 1. Gigantic size, 2. Prep possible only with these proportions, 3. No pictures anywhere ever of lobstaz this size.* *"Lobster tails were so big we’d slice them into lobster tail steaks and throw them on the grill."*
@@1nvisible1 actually I do have a bunch of photos from back then. I was a young sailor so all I did was take photos, drink, eat, fish and go to work occasionally. If you really do doubt me just let me know how I can get copies to you. I’m in many of the photos see you’ll see I’m not making any of this up.
Sunny, there are around 100 restaurants lined up from that seafood market. Some are excellent (like Kampoeng seafood restaurant), and give you heaps of choices for seasoning. You went to very basic grill places. All places are $1.50/kg to cook your seafood too.
Found your channel because of soup # 5😂😂😂. I always look up Andrew Zimmern videos, and now I am binging your videos. Keep up the good work my friend. You do amazing work
Sonny you should go to Sulawesi. They are well-known for the best seafood preparation and cuisine in Indonesia. they only give sambal, they don't add any sauce while cooking it. while the Sumatran style is too much seasoning for me.
Bali is very beautiful i visited and stayed there for a while and learned "abasa indonesiia", loved it ! But now overfishing is visible at this market, in Burma fishermans told us, they don`t catch Parrot fish, `cause this are coral cleaners and very important for oecosystem. I never forget some words from a journalist who visited markets and he was thinking loud : " oh my God, who is gonna eat all this food ??" 🤔🥴Good episode Thanks a lot ! 👍🙏
ware i live fish is crazy expensive, even the frozen or processed stuff, so i love to live vicariously through you and see all the wonderful seafood the world has to offer, one day i hope to travel the world and eat many of the different amazing foods youve shown me
I had a wonderful time in Bali. A few days before I was leaving, I got the worst food poisoning I ever had after eating at a well-known restaurant in one of the main tourist areas in Kuta!!! They call it Bali Belly. it's a wonderful country, and I hope to go back, but they have food sanitation and water cleanliness issues. if you go, you need to be on point with your immune system, be very careful what you eat, and take an arsenal of meds to be prepared...in my opinion.
@@socringe2217 Listen here bucko, food poisining doesn't depend on gut biome and there's so much wrong in the video, I'm surprised people don't regularly die from the food or preparation. Maybe they do.
@@YukonMonamee i just suggested it?? Its because foreigner's stomachs arent familiar with the bacteria that are present in the country's food so if they get food poisoned its exponentially worse. I didnt invalidate the comment in any way.
@@teknoid5878 betul, tapi ini saya maksudkan secara umum. Saya waktu ke Parepare mampir ke warung rumahan saja ikannya segar, diolah minimalis, sambelnya juga pas. Kalo tempat semacam jimbaran memang lebih terkontrol ya kondisinya
ini pasar ikan bro. tempat turun ikan dari kapal nelayan.. Klo mau enak, bisa beli ikan dsni trus bawa ke resto/warung seafood ditempat lain. jgn minta dimasakin ditempat. Di Jakarta juga ada pasar ikan begini. di lantai atas nya ada resto/warung yg bisa diminta masakin. dan style nya macem2. Klo yg paling gw suka sih yg chef nya Chinese.
cuma butuh kesadaran tentang higienis aja sih soalnya orang luar sangat memperhatikan itu, seperti yg terlihat di video itu dapurnya kotor banget nonton aja udah gak nafsu makan yg bagian cumi & gurita
Just went there today. Indoor area is much better. Got fresh Mahi. Looked great, on ice. I inspected it and chose the one I wanted. Fileted on the spot including remove skin. About US3/pound for perfect filet meat ($6.50/kilo). One medium size Mahi was 1.5 kilo of filet. Took it home, will have Mahi bbq tomorrow.
This man’s genuine respect and thorough thoughtfulness is truly great to see. This place has great seafood IF YOU fish on your own and prepare your own. But that’s it lol.
yes is not good thing to support NKRI Indonesia acting as a colonial terrorist killing innocent lives using the money they get from tourism and stupid bules from Australia..?
Looked like 2nd kitchen with the octopus and squid was really a hit and miss. Sometimes it depends on who’s cooking on the day. I find that from time to time at some places, it depends on who is cooking so you choose the days you go there.
A tip when selecting a fish, if the eyeballs are clear and in good condition it means the fish is fresh. If the eyeballs have a misty discolouration its an older fish.
Yeah I thought it came out of the food which would have been a nightmare! - but if you drop the speed to 0.25 - you can see if comes in from the side at high speed and bounces off. Thank goodness.
That lobster and parrot fish had my mouth watering! When I was stationed in South Korea there was a guy who barbecued and sold half chickens on roadside. That was the best BBQ chicken I've ever had and to this day I try to make it the way he did. Looked sketchy at first, but never made me sick.
Yeah, Bali is not a place to go for seafood. I was surprised that the Balinese don't really eat seafood, and when I enquired about it I was told that there are socio-religious aspects to it- threats always came from the sea, it is easy to get sick from it, and there is some relationship between the elevation of a Balinese temple and it's holiness (the underwater pura whose name escapes me being the least holy, followed by sea temples like Uluwatu, all the way up to the most holy which were the mountain temples like Besakih) which bleeds into the people's perception of seafood. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that however. BTW My favorite food discovery in Bali was sambal bongkot...
My daughter got violently ill in Bali, she was left alone in her hotel room on a drip which wasn’t administered properly, thankfully another kind doctor came to her 7 hours later and realised the drip is not inserted correctly, he put in a new one and a few hours later she managed to move slowly and get herself out of there, it was a nightmare.
Fun fact about parrotfish, they eat coral and shellfish so their intestines and fecal matter are incredibly stinky, which is why that guy said "stinky" lol. For most other fish stinky entrails are a sign of bad health and you prolly wont wanna eat the fish, but for parrot fish its the norm and meat is more often than not ok to eat! Its also great fried, parrotfish is super underrated in terms o fish
My favorite place to eat in bali. I can choose whatever seafood i want. Best time to visit is at the sunset and better to eat at the dock because you will get the sunset as well the view of the planes that will land or take off from the airport. This place is near the famous Jimbaran seafood restaurant.
Went there with mates ,got fish,prawns, squid, scallops. Took it down the road to a Cafe/bar to cook for us. Couple of beers on the beach. Best feed of seafood I've ever had
Sonny I have been watching you for years after your appearance on Guga Foods. I enjoy your commentary. You eat a lot of strange foods, this was the first episode whereby you ate the squid an actually said the squid wasn’t good. We need to see more of that in future shows. It keeps it real. Keep up the good work.
The thing about shellfish is, if it's not alive when you buy it, it's not worth the risk. Take it from someone who ate the sweetest crab meat I've ever tasted. It was on a construction barge in Egypt. Half hour later I was scouring from both ends at once, and hallucinating too. Not a good start for a new contract.
Can we all just take a moment to give credit to the fact that as a tight knit community of likeminded people who take moments together, we all agree with this comment?
Not that long ago he was talking about how he got food poisoning but didn't mention from what.. wonder if it was this episode that got him. Those kitchens cooking his food were wrank as hell.
1:01 Indonesia is one of the shortest country. The average height of an Indonesian man is around 62 inches (5' 2"). So it makes sense for those umbrellas to be placed at lower heights.
Anyone else notice the cheeky fly at 6:42 that darts in and grab a taste. At first I slowed it down because I thought it had emerged from within the cockle 😲 Just shows the production quality of BEFRS content.
this show is just as good as Man vs Food or even Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern and they have way more help from the travel channel. truly insane how good this show is.
You are so amazing watching your RU-vid channel makes me feel so happy I love looking at all the cultures that you get to go to. I’m so jealous. I hope you have a amazing time going around the world and trying different food❤❤
We have the world's largest cuttlefish, 'Giant Cuttlefish' where I live in Whyalla, South Australia. They're protected, so you can't eat these ones, Sonny! 😊 But you can go swimming with them!!!
I was actually there the exact same day, bought craps, oysters, mussels and a red snapper and had it cooked at a nice restaurant down the street. All was very fresh and so so tasty. Definitely not a bad experience for me. Can't wait to go back someday
Sonny: "Looks at the trash right behind the preparation area." Yeah welcome to SEA. I remember a coffee shop with an equally filthy back alley where all the rubbish, washing, and raw food prep was being done. Didn't have any undercooked food that time and it was probably the main reason why I didn't end up bedridden from diarrhea the next day.
All I can say is when you watch the way they cook seafood in Japan and S. Korea, and then you watch this where everything is cooked the same way. It's like watching stereo and mono. The detail and care into preparation, presentation, is as varied as the prices. It's kind of like you get what you paid for.
Love this video thank you for sharing. Keep the videos coming I loved it! Food looked amazing made me very hungry lol. Guess I will go cook me something to eat now
We went to Bali last year and insisted our tour guide to take us to where the locals eat such as street food. He was hesitant at first and usually brought us to restaurants which we did not prefer because we want to try real Balinese food. He caved in and brought us to small canteens and local street food. The food was great and a lot similar to Filipino food. Even though there were lots of flies and insects in those places, we did not have the infamous 'Bali belly' and we're fine all throughout the trip.
It depends which vendors you go to. Make sure to go to real balinese ones as in the ones that arnt islamic vendors because they dont serve authentic bali cuisine, they serve the java food. And from my experoence being there, the islamic vendors their hygine is ALOT worse than the balinese vendors.
@@nazgul7914 why do you Muslims have to make everything about us Hindus? Can't you just accept criticism like a civilized human being for once and shut up about your religious insecurities?
@@boulderbash19700209 fatty intestines, very buttery and good with rice, crawfish crabs and i think most shellfish have it but some small crabs not so much, they usually call it mustard as well highly recommend if your not squeamish
one of the things i love about sonny is that hes brutally honest hell say if the food is bad unlike mark weins that it seems every thing that he eats is always good never ever have i heard him say that the food is bad 😂
@@Jake-sl2xj well if you have high iq and eq you will have a tendency to know weder the food is bad or good by his expression. Even though he still smiling but you will know the food is bad
2:24 Hemoglobins are protein in blood, I think what you want to say is myoglobins which have similar functions to hemoglobins but present only in muscles.
