Big Stone Grill Even Bigger Flavours
Big Fish Bar & Grill is the signature restaurant at The Stones Hotel, which, if you’ve ever come across the trendy hotel brand before, you won’t be surprised to hear that this poolside grill is uber-chic and effortlessly stylish. But one of the best things about this place is the way it still manages to feel totally relaxed, despite serving up high-quality, scrumptious dishes that rival Bali’s finest restaurants.
Think Wagyu beef from one of Australia’s best suppliers, fresh seafood caught daily and served super fresh, then consider it all cooked up by Executive Chef Christopher Smith, who is as passionate about his food as we are about eating it. Ticking off all of our other boxes, it is then dished up beside the hotel’s glamorous lagoon pool, illuminated by the embers of the restaurant’s signature Lava Stone grill.
Straight off the Grill
The top quality cuisine at Big Fish Bar & Grill is proven right from the offset, with Chef Christopher’s “Wagyu Strip” starter. Thickly sliced and artistically presented, the Black Label Wagyu centres a colourful platter of caramelised pumpkin, a slick green pea mousse and chunks of thyme-infused goats cheese. Sphered blobs of a beef tea jelly melt like air in the mouth, as delicate as a foam where the flavours just tickle the taste buds before they gently disappear.
The Wagyu is cooked on the flaming Lava Stone grill, leaving it lightly seared on the outside. Chef Christopher then rests the meat for just the right amount of time, making its inner pinkness consistent throughout. It is some of the best beef I have tried in Bali, where the flavours of the meat are so intricate and complex, I have to close my eyes and slow everything down, to make sure I savour each and every bite.
Another standout starter is the Canadian scallops with tiger prawns, served atop a schmear of cauliflower purée. Plated up on a rustic black board, the prawns are grilled until sizzling and smoky. Their juiciness is quite remarkable, springy and tender to the touch. Meanwhile, the scallops are so smooth they taste almost creamy, and they come topped with a few delicate shavings of black truffles, beautifully drawing together the flavours of the land and sea. The whole dish is then jazzed up with a vibrant corn salsa, purposefully charred and tossed with a few chopped chillies.
Onto the mains and some of the best dishes are the ones made to share, like the “Big Fish Steam Pot” for two. True to its name, a giant bowl of the finest seafood is steamed together in a seasoned chicken broth, topped off with chorizo sausages and corn on the cobb. Inside the steaming mélange, whole jumbo prawns, a baby lobster and clams rest amidst the spicy perfume, crowned by a huge mudcrab whose claws are bigger than my own hands. It’s the ultimate indulgence for seafood lovers, and the perfect dish to really get your fingers sticky.
Save some space for dessert because the sweet stuff here is worth holding out for. You can find their Baked Lime Tart in our Sweet Sensations cover feature, closely followed by their ice cream sandwich served with pots of gooey butterscotch sauce and a sticky raspberry purée, made for dipping and dunking. And what’s even better is, no one will judge you when you lick your fingers clean, because these gourmet dishes are served without any pretension, to be enjoyed exactly how you like.
(www.stoneshotelbali.com)
On Monday nights from 6PM onwards, Big Fish Bar & Grill hosts its “Stockyard Steak Night”, where Executive Chef Christopher Smith teams up Stockyard, Australia’s most awarded beef supplier. Cooked to perfection on the Lava Stone Grill, a premium range of grain-fed Black Angus and Stockyard Black Label Wagyu beef is served up together with a selection of sides, delicious sauces and some live entertainment.
