Bale Raos: Eat Like A King (Literally)

As an Indonesian, of course you know that Yogyakarta has its own kingdom, and it's called Keraton. The current ruling King is Sultan Hamengku Buwono X and his Queen is GKR Hemas. That, we all know.
But little did I know, after 22 years of becoming an Indonesian citizen, and an admirer of the simplicity and elegance of Yogyakarta, there is this awesome restaurant just right in the yard of the Keraton. Bale Raos, a royal cuisine restaurant. Here you can enjoy the King's and Queen's favorite dishes. In short, eat like a king slash queen. Now tell me, with a tagline like this, who cannot be tempted to dine here?

The restaurant is located in Kagungan Dalem Kemagangan area, claimed to be the closest access to Kedaton area, the main Keraton area. The place was simple and neat, and it was outdoor so you'll probably feel like you're eating on a house terrace. A really neat and cool house terrace. And do you know that feeling when you look at a dish menu, and you just know that you would love the dishes? That was the kind of feeling I got when I look at the menu. The dish title was completed with description written underneath, and price. Menus with descriptions and prices. Now that, is a menu.

I visited this place twice during my stay in Yogya, but I only got the chance to cover the second visit, so maybe I won't be able put up photos for some dishes I'd write here.

My family wasn't really the appetizer kind of people, so we skipped the appetizers and go past the main course and dessert.

Paru Ragi

IDR 20000

Lombok Kethok

IDR 22500 

Garang Asem

IDR 22000 

There was another meal that I tried out on the first visit, but I don't have the picture here. It's Urip-urip Gulung, rolled catfish fillet, served with Mangut sauce. I really love it! First, because it was catfish. Second, because it tastes like Unagi. Talkin' about food twist!

And then there came the desserts..

 Manuk Nom

IDR 7000

Tapak Kucing

IDR 7500

 Rondo Kepomo

IDR 7500

Puding Gulo Gosong

IDR 7500

My sister had three plates of Tapak Kucing all for herself. That's how good it was. And do you notice how affordable all the dishes were? Our second visit's bill was not more expensive than IDR 150.000ish. Three main courses, seven plates of desserts, and a few glasses of cold drinks. Mineral water is on the house. For dessert, I recommend you to try Manuk Nom and Rondo Kepomo. The first is a pudding made out of fermented rice and eggs. The texture was smooth and you can't smell the fishy egg smell at all. The latter is something similar of caramel pudding, but it's not caramel. I forgot what  it was made from, but I'm pretty sure it involved cinnamon and Javanese brown sugar. The taste was sweet with a just amount of bitterness from the burnt sugar, enough not to make you feel sugar-sick.

As a non-drinker, I was interested to try the Beer Djawa, because it doesn't contain alcohol. It's made of spices and natural ingredients, it makes the drinker feel warmer, but not too drunk. It was surprisingly nice! I personally recommend to add some sugar, otherwise it'll feel too bland. But maybe that's just because I like sweet. If you don't like sweet, then not adding sugar is okay. 

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Beer Djawa

IDR 14000

The one word I can use to describe this place and the dishes was: neat. The food was simply made with heart, with simplicity yet definition. It is a your-momma's-cooking kinda dish. The prices are highly reasonable and affordable for a "King's Food", you wouldn't feel being ripped off at all. I would simply come back around for more. Till' we meet again, Yogya!