Cover Eka Sunarya, executive sous chef at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Ubud
Eka Sunarya, executive sous chef at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Ubud
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From foraging in the forest with Kubu’s chef Eka Sunarya to botanical cocktails at Ambar, Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, brings Bali’s natural abundance to the table, offering another reason to linger in Ubud
Ubud, the wellness capital of Bali, has no shortage of reasons to venture out, from its independent restaurants and galleries to the temples and markets tucked into its streets. Yet at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, it is easy to find a happy excuse to stay put.
Set in a green valley along the Ayung River, the resort looks out towards forested hills and rice fields. There is little urgency to the days here. A personal butler, known as a Patih, takes care of the practicalities, while the river and surrounding rainforest provide a welcome counterpoint to the noise of everyday life. By the time dinner rolls around, the prospect of heading into town seems far less appealing than staying in to see what the kitchen has planned.
One morning, we venture into the forest with Eka Sunarya, executive sous chef of Mandapa and the culinary mind behind Kubu. This is the land of his ancestors, and walking through it with him offers a fresh understanding of what it means to cook with local ingredients. Amidst the dense foliage, we encounter native plants that might otherwise go unnoticed, each part of a landscape that has sustained generations before him.
Above Payangan beans feature in Sunarya’s menu at Kubu, located in Ubud
Above Mangosteen used in the dessert at Kubu, located in Ubud
Payangan beans feature in Sunarya’s menu at Kubu, located in Ubud
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Sunarya, who hails from Buahan Village in Gianyar, grew up watching his mother use indigenous ingredients in her cooking. Here, that knowledge feels less like a conscious culinary philosophy and more like something lived and inherited. He points out the wild flora growing around us, connecting what we see beneath the canopy to the food that eventually reaches the table. The experience shifts the focus away from ingredients as commodities and towards their provenance, celebrating the bond between the people who know the land and the nourishment it yields.
Lunch follows in the forest, prepared on the spot with produce gathered from the surrounding terrain. There is something satisfying about dining this way, having seen precisely where the ingredients thrive. The distance between the forest and the plate dissolves entirely. What might elsewhere be labelled farm-to-table dining becomes something far more personal: a meal shaped by landscape, indigenous wisdom and an enduring connection to the earth.
It is a perspective Sunarya brings directly to Kubu, Mandapa’s intimate bamboo restaurant nestled beside the river. Working alongside local farmers to source produce within a 100-kilometre radius, he builds his menus around the region’s harvest, applying contemporary techniques with a zero-waste ethos. His cooking draws on international experience—including stints in Moscow and at luxury resorts across Indonesia and the Maldives—yet its foundations remain thoroughly grounded. After beginning his career in Ubud, rising from steward to commis chef, he returned to Mandapa in 2023 with a culinary philosophy centred on sustainability and a deep reverence for nature.
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Kubu restaurant in Ubud which serves a tasting menu with a sense of place
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At Kubu, this vision materialises in private cocoon-like bamboo structures framing the water. The kitchen pairs foraged and hyper-local produce with modern gastronomy, including precise sous-vide cookery, while keeping the integrity of the harvest front and centre. Payangan beans, for example, appear in several textures alongside a kelp garum aged for over a year. The cooking is meticulous, yet the underlying message is clear: provenance and heritage matter just as much as technique.
There is a natural resonance to this ethos in Ubud, a region long anchored in spiritual devotion, natural healing and holistic wellbeing. Its name derives from ubad, the Balinese word for medicine, reflecting the valley’s historic role as a cradle for healing plants. That relationship with the natural world extends far beyond formal spa rituals; it is woven into ancestral knowledge of local herbs and botanicals passed down through the centuries.
At Ambar, the resort’s cliffside bar, this botanical heritage assumes a spirited new guise. As twilight settles over the gorge, the atmosphere shifts towards Japanese-inspired plates and inventive mixology, anchored by the signature Taru Pramana cocktail programme. Infusions of native herbs, roots and barks bring Ubud's wild flora into the glass. It offers a more casual counterpoint to Kubu, yet shares the same profound appreciation for local terroir.
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Above Ambar bar overlooking Ubud’s lush greenery
Ambar bar overlooking Ubud’s lush greenery
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Beyond these two venues, dining at Mandapa encompasses vibrant Indonesian feasts accompanied by traditional rituals and dance, alongside bespoke private dining arranged across the grounds, from secluded riverbanks to the fringes of the rice paddies. The variety makes it effortless to spend several days here without a hint of repetition, all without ever stepping beyond the gates.
That holistic spirit is felt most vividly at the table. The morning foraging excursion lends authentic narrative to the dishes at Kubu, while Ambar presents the island’s botanical riches through an inventive, modern lens. Neither feels untethered from the landscape.
As night falls, the valley establishes its own gentle tempo: dinner beside the rushing Ayung, a nightcap overlooking the mist-hung gorge and an effortless retreat to the villa, with a Patih on hand should any whim arise. Ubud’s bustling boutiques, galleries and cafes will still be waiting tomorrow. For now, there is simply no reason to leave.
Credits
Images: Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
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