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Bo & Bun Restaurant Review: Seminyak, Bali
Bo & Bun Review: established in September 2014, is an Asian eatery that leans heavily towards Vietnamese cuisine but is presented with the elegance of a French bistro’s dining decor. This eatery has garnered success by fusing exotic flavours from across Asia using locally sourced produce and high-quality ingredients.
Their pursuit of excellence extends not only to the menu but also to every aspect of the dining experience. Their kitchen team ensures each dish that leaves their kitchen is flawless, while the front-of-the-house staff dedicate their time and energy to addressing all customer needs and demands promptly and with care.
The curated menu at Bo & Bun is a reflection of the chef’s passion. They are not trying to offer everything they can cook. Instead, they’re focused on presenting dishes that the chef personally loves to prepare and eat, ultimately aiming to make their diners eagerly plan their next visit.
However, it is important to note that not all experiences have been positive. According to a TripAdvisor review, one customer felt rushed during their meal, and unfortunately, two of their companions suffered from food poisoning after their visit.
On a brighter note, the “12-Hour Pho Bo” and Vietnamese Salad are reportedly some of the customers’ favourites at Bo & Bun. Their Pho is cooked for 12 hours straight with bone marrows, along with various herbs and spices, intensifying the beef flavour.
It’s clear that Bo & Bun has attracted a dedicated following over the years for their commitment to quality food and service, albeit with some isolated hiccups along the way. It’s always advisable for potential patrons to consider all aspects before planning their visit.
Not wandering too far from the villa we chose a restaurant for our Christmas dinner. How did we choose it? We walked past it, and it looked cool, we looked on TripAdvisor and it rated good. But there was no room at the Inn.
So I researched further and booked us into Bo & Bun Restaurant, Seminyak, Bali. Funny though as we walked past the other, it was empty and they were trying to drag people in off the street. After our dinner, seven people all concurred that we were so happy the other place was ‘full’ because our Christmas dinner would be up there with the best dinners ever.
I kid you not, Bo & Bun Restaurant, Seminyak, Bali, is up there as one of the best restaurants ever visited by family Kennett. The food is of this world, as you will see from the photos below.
The staff are wonderful, albeit a little forgetful when it gets busy, the ambience is incredible, and the decor is stunning, but the Christmas music could do with some work AKA a few more songs in the tape loop, please. But all in all this place would be given an easy 9 out of 10. It is quality and should be a MUST visit for anyone in Seminyak/Bali. You simply have to.
TripAdvisor rates this as #41 of 473 restaurants in Seminyak. OK, OK I have not eaten at #1-40, but I would have this placed higher up the leaderboard. It is seriously some of the very best Vietnamese food I have eaten, both in and out of Vietnam.
The presentation was exquisite (I hope my photos do it proud). And the value for money $$ was exceptional. This restaurant is one of three under the Group called Eat Company.
Next door is Prin-ci-ple, and they also have Lantern pumping out Indian fare. Stealing from their website now – I LOVE this kind of thing… It’s food passion, and this belief surely came out in what we ate tonight…
“Established in 2014, EAT COMPANY started as a humble idea to create and collaborate personal hospitality and honest food. It is our passion and purpose to consistently harness the two together and create something everyone loves and enjoy” The act of eating is an intimate, pleasurable, and emotional experience which we aspire to communicate to each of our customers.”
When it comes to EATING and HOSPITALITY, we believe in creating a unique and exciting experience for all our guests. We want to build brands that people will recognised and associated with quality and originality.
With this idea in mind, EAT GROUP is continuously finding new ways, using the latest technologies and modern techniques, to build and deliver fresh and eclectic concepts to you!
Without further ado, let’s get into it ,shall we…
How happy we are and a VERY Happy Christmas to all our family and friends wherever you are across this big wide world. Bring on the food garcon!!!
Another thing just to call out here is that there is no plastic at Bo & Bun Restaurant, Seminyak, Bali, and again I am loving that. Bamboos straws, wooden stirring spoons in the drinks etc. In fact I heard later that it is a massive push across the whole of Bali. Something that stood out again when Mary and I shopped in Ubud. Lady asked me if I would like a bag, I said no let’s save the trees shall we.
She then offered me what I thought was a plastic bag, and of course I said that’s even worse to offer me plastic. Imagine my surprise when she said they are not plastic, they are made from Cassava. Amazing.
See what I mean. We are sat behind that planter front left. Watching the Seminyak world pass us by this Christmas night. Luckily we did end up booking a table because this place was rammed in 30 minutes of us sitting down. Get on Chope guys if you don’t want to disappoint, believe me you don’t want to miss out on eating here…
Amy and I had the original (this one), and Ollie had the lemon grass version. This is Bo & Bun’s 12-hour Pho. This is without doubt one of the very best ever Pho‘s I have eaten. It is quality. Everything is fresh, super fresh. The broth is fragrant on steroids, and the meats melt in the mouth.
That 12 hours surely is a big part of this dish. It is truly the best – if I could bath in it I would have. If we come back, sorry when we come back, this is 1000% on my repeat order list. Bo & Bun – best EVER!!!
But wait there is more. Ollie and I cannot resist a share dish. Here is Bob & Bun’s 18 hour Banh Mi Thit. Yes EIGHTEEN hours. The pork belly in this literally does melt in your mouth, slow roasting for 18 hours will do that to you ha ha. This was off the charts good. A stunner of a Banh Mi, just a stunner.
I would eat this again and again and again if I could. Stellar!!! It’s complex too made up of Vietnamese baguette, pork belly slices, pickled carrots & jicama, cucumber, pate, mayo, whole coriander; sliced chili & fried wonton skins. BRING IT ON BO & BUN….
Fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls stuffed with prawn, coriander, mint, cucumber, pickled carrot, lettuce and all served with a hoisin peanut dipping sauce. Oh yes!
Mary gets stuck into this beauty. Vietnamese pork chop and jasmine rice. I had some of this and believe me folks, this is some of the very best grilled pork I have ever eaten. I love Joe’s Indonesian grilled pork over here in Katong, Singapore, but I tell you this is up there. Quality dish. Look at that charring, OMG heavenly.
The pork chop is slowly marinated in lemon grass and then grilled to perfection, served with pickled carrots & jicama, fried egg, cucumber, and Nouc Cham dipping sauce.
Sh!t picture sorry, but BeBe gets deep in to their Thai green curry. Apparently this was also killer. This is packed full of flavours as you’d expect with coconut milk and green chili thick unctuous broth, chicken breast, vegetables, Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves & steamed rice. Kaboom!!!
You know me by now. Desserts are not my gig. BUT here they became my gig. I kid you not, we ordered THREE for sharing. It was something we just had too – and you would/will too. Read on. This one is on steroids; Dark chocolate Marquise with sea salt. Yep those last two words in the same sentence with dark chocolate had me at hello.
This chocolate was HIGH % coco so bittersweet, and then crunch and you get sea salt and then a salt hit on the back of your tongue. Holy shit this is GOOD GOOD GOOD. Then try the strawberry sauce, a little of the ice cream and this biscuit ‘dust’ = double holy shit. We all got stuck into this one. Interstellar good. OMG!!!
Ollie gets stuck in to Banh Flan, a Vietnamese-French crème caramel of smooth vanilla custard, dark caramel, Vietnamese coffee and crushed ice. You sort of mix it all together DIY-like. Oh yes indeed!!!
Goodness gracious me. Toasted Coconut & Pandan Crème Brulée was a must, come on you know me and creme brulee as my must have dessert if it is on the menu. French baked custard, infused with coconut and pandan leaves, and a double crusted brulée with this biscuit crunch. Holy cow. Amaze-balls.
This is seriously a top of the shop creme brulee, no doubt at all in my mind of that. Sorry to nudge in to a Bo & Bun review, but the KING of creme brulee’s is yet to come when we visit a restaurant in Ubud – see blog for Spice. But back to this one, it it surely up there easily with the best of the best. An absolute cracker of a dessert!!!
So there you have it folks, my review if this quality establishment.
I cannot big-up Bo & Bun Restaurant, Seminyak, Bali, enough. It is seriously a Die Die Must Try restaurant. 10,000% we’ll be going back to hopefully have the same culinary experience.
It is is so bloody brilliant here, we just loved our Christmas dinner. It is a package – offering the very best in food+drinks+people+ambience+decor.
All in one it, stands heads and shoulders above others we have frequented. We ALL left happy, smiley and talking about the experience. In fact we were still chatting days later about our dinner, and doing that all important advocacy of recommending it to all and sundry.
Long may Eat Company, and Bun & Bo continue. Don’t forget to book up folks, this place is RAMMED at all sittings, get there, get stuck in, and you will absolutely – ENJOY!!!
Here is a list of the food items and prices (in IDR) extracted from the Bo & Bun Menu:
- Bao Gao Pork Belly – Twice cooked pork belly on steamed buns with crushed peanuts, pickled cucumbers, hoisin sauce, fresh coriander, and chili. (2 pcs) – 65k
- Pandan Chicken – Thai boneless chicken wings wrapped and fried in pandan leaves with Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce. (4 pcs) – 55k
- Bo&Bun Bulgogi Fries – Stacked fries, chopped kimchi, beef bulgogi, Siracha garlic aioli, scallions, coriander, and white sesame – 90k
- Vietnamese Spring Roll – Deep-fried rolls stuffed with chicken, shredded cabbage, wood ear mushrooms, and glass noodles with Nouc Cham dipping sauce. (2 pcs) – 45k
- Korean Fried Chicken Wings – Double-fried wings with spicy Korean sauce, sesame seeds, and fresh coriander. (7 pcs) – 55k
- Fresh Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls – Prawn, coriander, mint, pickled carrot, and lettuce with hoisin peanut sauce. (2 pcs) – 45k
- ‘Roll Your Own’ Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (Pork/Chicken/Tofu/Prawn) – Fresh cucumber, coriander, mint, pickled carrot & jicama, bean sprouts, lettuce, glass noodles, Hoisin peanut sauce – 75k
- Thai Fish Cakes – Pounded red Snapper fillets, kaffir lime leaves, snake beans, red curry paste, and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce. (4 pcs) – 55k
- Try Everything! (1/2 portion each) – Can’t decide? Try all Bo&Bun bites in one plate with a half portion of Bao Gao/Pandan Chicken/Spring Roll/Fresh Paper Rolls/Korean Fried Chicken Wings – 145k
- Banh Mi Thit (Lemongrass Chicken/Pork) – Vietnamese baguette, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly slices, pickled carrots & jicama, cucumber, pate, mayo, whole coriander; sliced chili & fried wonton skins – 80k
- Banh Mi Thit (18-hour Pork Belly Slices) – Vietnamese baguette, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly slices, pickled carrots & jicama, cucumber, pate, mayo, whole coriander; sliced chili & fried wonton skins – 95k
- ‘The 12 Hour’ Pho (limited daily supply) – Beef broth, sliced tenderloin, beef meatballs, rice noodles, coriander stems, sliced onions, side of fresh bean sprouts, mint, Thai basil, and lime – 115k
- Spicy Lemongrass Pho (limited daily supply) – Spicy beef broth, sliced tenderloin, beef meatballs, rice noodles, coriander stems, sliced onions, side of fresh bean sprouts, chili, Thai basil, and lime – 110k
- Tom Yum Goong Noodles – Tom Yum broth, rice noodles, seafood, lemongrass, galangal, onions, Thai basil, lime, coriander, and chili – 85k
- Thai Green Curry – Coconut milk and green chili thick broth, chicken breast, vegetables, Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves & steamed rice – 80k
Please note that the prices mentioned are subject to 10% Government Tax and 5.5% Service Charge.
Bo & Bun Restaurant, Seminyak, Bali Address & Telephone
- Address: Jl. Raya Basangkasa Br. Basangkasa No.26, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
- Telephone: +62 859-3549-3484
