Little K
Food for Life
When it comes to yoga in Ubud, Yoga Barn is the place to be. It also provides the ideal setting for Little K, a vegetarian cafe with an emphasis on healing foods. An offshoot of Ubud’s well loved Kafe, Little K has similarities, but is definitely its own cafe and serves up deliciously nutritious food that makes you feel good in mind body and spirit. Creating good, vegetarian food calls for thought and imagination, you can’t just throw things together haphazardly, especially when it comes to raw food, but Chef Adi gets it right on every level.
The lovely sub tropical garden setting is filled with heavy recycled wood furniture and a relaxed vibe. People drop by after yoga class, or come independently, drawn to the food, the views and the ambience. I arrive feeling tired and sluggish but with each new offering from the kitchen I revive a little, and by the end of the meal I am fully revitalised.
The journey to wellness starts with a shot of detoxifying Carrot and Turmeric juice, the taste is peppery and earthy but it gets me in a healthy mood, and I follow it with an Ayurvedic elixir, Clean Green Juice which has a raw and pleasant flavour from its blend of gotu kola , mint, parsley and coconut water. I instantly feel more alert, and am not surprised when I read on the menu that gotu kola is a medicinal herb that promotes healthy brain function. The effect was instant! I really enjoy the Vegan Burger, made with ground cashew nuts, shitake mushrooms, seeds and spices. The texture is soft, the flavour nutty and mellow, and it is packed into a pita bread with ribbons of carrot and beetroot, springy greens and fluffy alfalfa sprouts. The Macrobiotic Salad features brown rice, with steamed spinach, carrot, broccoli and cauliflower, cubes of tofu, and a sprinkle of seeds and nuts. It might not sound very exciting, but the vegetables are so fresh and tasty that they need no embellishment.
My favourite dish comes from the raw menu, Raw Ravioli, slices of marinated daikon form the outer ‘pasta’ layer, with a filling of cashew cheese, sundried tomato and a lovely crunchy pesto – the combination is superb! Thankfully eating a healthy meal doesn’t preclude finishing with a nice big wedge of Chocolate Cake. This is also raw, made with cacao, dates, and a cashew nut crust; it is rich and chocolaty, in fact, everything you expect in a cake, minus the sugar, processed chocolate and flour.
It might have a Little name, but this cafe is big on atmosphere, flavour, natural goodness – and recycling – having just received top honours (along with Kafe) for jointly achieving Ubud’s highest annual reduction in waste due to their recycling program.
Little K @ Yoga Barn
Jalan Hanoman
Pengosoken (behind Siam Sally)
Ph +62 361 971 236
holisticbali.com 