Kwee-Zeen at Sofitel Bali

Arriving at Sofitel’s spectacular lobby, we walked down the stairs to Kwee-Zeen restaurant which features multiple cuisine sections from a wide array of fresh sushi and sashimi at the Japanese to a selection of dim sum and dumplings at its Chinese steam section and much more in a Asian hawker way.
Comfortably seated at the spacious, indoor/outdoor restaurant, I opted for a well needed cup of cappuccino to start with – to refresh myself after the drive from Canggu. You see, I’m one of those “But first, coffee” kind of people.

The gourmet dining starts as a plate of scallops arrives on the table, beautifully decorated with saffron chips and fish roe on top. Sweet tasting charred scallop with rich herbs melted happily in my mouth, which was a perfect appetizer.
Arriving next was yet another mouth-watering dish, sous vide lamb loin cooked to perfection. The juicy, tender and rich flavoured meat was beautifully served with delicious potato cake, glazed vegetable root and rosemary juice on the side – it tasted heavenly to the very last bite.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, a one meter wooden tray filled with Indonesia’s best signature dishes was served before my sparkling eyes. As a proud Indonesian, Indonesian food is life and what was served before me was that and beyond – it felt like, a celebration of life.

The one meter signature platter dish that we ordered from the menu featured my all time favorites. A bowl of simply delicious oxtail soup with the meat falling off the bone tender, flavorful ayam bakar marinated with a mixture of herbs and sweet soy sauce, Balinese traditional sate lilit, veggie stir fry and perhaps one of the best beef rendang I’ve ever had. As common as it is to find in local warungs on the island – finding a “proper” rendang has always been a long journey to take, so to find this tender, flavourful rendang is absolute happiness for me!
Also part of the set is Udang Balado, prawns in spicy chilli sauce which was simply delicious!

And of course, the whole set comes with a basket of yellow rice which happened to be one of the best I’ve ever tasted in Bali – as we all know that a lot of Indonesian dishes are based around rice, and in this case yellow rice is also known to be served on special occasions and celebrations. To top it all off, the platter also comes with a selection of toppings such as shredded chicken, fried peanuts and of course what is Indonesian food without sambal? The sambal matah was my most favorite of all.

A delicious strawberry and lemon panacotta made it a very happy ending. All in all, Kwee-Zeen is an authentic and delightful dining experience with ambience and amazing cuisine to bring you back for more. As well as Indonesian, the menu and food stations also feature delicious Pan Asian cuisine from all over the region.
Kwee – Zeen
Sofitel Bali, Nusa dua
Ph. +62 361 8492888
[Rachma Nineth]