What I Did in Bali & My Thoughts on 5 Vegan Cafes in Canggu

To finish off our trip to Indonesia we flew from Semarang to Bali and it was such a nice way to wrap up the trip – it was like easing back into something familiar again and I knew all the delicious comfort food (eg. croissants, pasta, pancakes) I’ve been craving would be right at my fingertips.

Find more Indonesian vegan food adventures here:

Labuan Bajo
Bandung
Jakarta

Accomodation

We stayed at a homestay called Melati Bali Homestay in Canggu which is around an hour car ride from the airport in Denpasar. We rented a motorbike to get around and I also used it to practise riding it around an empty field when we had some extra time. There was a small pool right outside our room and we enjoyed relaxing there and practising some swimming. It was also right next to a spa called Edelweis Spa, where I got a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. A 15 ish minute walk away was The Practice and we did a Qi Gong session with Ming, which was super interesting and helped put me in a meditative, yet focused state. I really enjoyed it! Find their schedule here.

Where I Ate

The following places are all 100% vegan and all closely surrounding each other in Canggu.

Kynd Community
Find their food menu here.

There’s a cafe in Canggu as well as Seminyak. At first I got confused because a different time I visited Kynd Community but it was the Seminyak one and was puzzled as to why this one had no large outdoor area. I had the pancakes and the calamari. The waiter, in a way, warned me that it wasn’t real calamari, but it was made of flour. I nodded and told him that I knew this was a vegan cafe. When I tasted the calamari, I was expecting more of a realistic mock squid vibe but I wasn’t really getting it from this. The crunchy texture and tartare sauce was good and flavourful but the substance of the calamari was a bit underwhelming as it was thin and like thin, translucent jelly. The pancakes were divine though. It was soft and fluffy on the inside and the presentation was just gorgeous as well.

Dua Hati Cafe
Find their menu here.

This place got me reeled in because of the croissant special between 7am to 10am, but we went on a Wednesday and they opened at 11:30. Yayan had ordered from here via food delivery and he got the same bakso again as he said it was so delicious, making it Indonesian approved! He is now vegan and one thing he was missing was the taste of a comforting meatball soup that tastes authentic. I got the scrambled tofu croissant and the croissant was so good, layered, warm and flaky. After writing a Google review for them, they gave me a free grilled corn which was covered in a BBQ style sauce. The matcha protein waffle was really tasty too and it had a subtle matcha flavour and didn’t really have a chalky protein taste to it. The prices here are so affordable as well, like a nasi goreng for $3-4 AUD and they have specials on different days of the week, including days for smoothie bowls, pasta and Indonesian cuisine.

Secret Spot
Find their Instagram here.

We came here on the way back after being drenched on the motorbike after watching a Kecak dance in Uluwatu. It was already 9pm and I just wanted something cosy to eat after going through the wind, rain, and overall feeling of wetness. The last time I was here, I had a really tasty croissant with camembert and tomato and I really liked the calm vibe during the day. People seem to like coming here to work on their laptops as a space where you can concentrate. We got an almond latte to start off with. Maybe my tastebuds were off that night, but it kind of tasted fizzy? Like carbonated… they did say they make their own almond milk and I didn’t want to refuse something homemade. Then I got the jack stroganoff, which came with mashed potato, sauerkraut and pickles. I got full pretty quickly so we got the Green Bush pizza to takeaway, and it was perfectly delicious cold the next day.

I Am Vegan Babe
Find their Instagram here.

This has got to be my favourite cafe in Canggu because of the quaint setting and the quality of food always delivers. If I had to choose one cafe to keep going back to it would be this one. I got the Shakshuka which was full of umami goodness and came with some slices of buttered sourdough bread and I had it with an iced matcha. I could keep coming back here and not get bored because of how extensive the menu is.

The Sloth
Find their Instagram here.

Because I love to try ‘rare’ vegan items, I got the vegan lox which was made with carrots instead of salmon. I’ve heard of carrot strips being used as a salmon replacement and I know it sounds odd, and maybe not that appetizing, but I didn’t want to make any judgements before I tried it for myself. I really enjoyed it! The carrot strips did not taste like carrot at all as they were marinated in a tangy dressing which also loosened up the carrot texture too. I also got the french toast sticks, which I imagined would be bite sized but the portion was huge and I asked Yayan to finish it off for me. It was such a treat though. I really did miss soft, sweet bread. The cacao smoothie was also super delicious with a rich chocolate flavour and I really loved how it was a simple mix of cacao, banana, dates and coconut milk.