Tucked away in the lush, verdant surrounds of Ubud, MOKSA is the latest wholly plant-based, vegan restaurant to open on the island, turning home-grown health food into gourmet specialities in a vibrant and relax setting.
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A restaurant that creates and presents healthy food in the most extraordinary and inspiring of manners, in a space that inspires beauty and creativity, MOKSA is Bali’s newest vegan eatery that uses only plant-based ingredients to curate its complex, gourmet cuisine.
Taking the farm-to-table concept to a whole new level, MOKSA not only serves up fresh and healthy creations from nearby, specialty farms, Executive Chef Made Runatha and co-creator Made Janur Yasa have gone ahead and created their own permaculture plot on the grounds of the restaurant, growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices that are then freshly plucked and popped into every recipe.
Open for brunch until dinner, MOKSA’s breakfast menu draws in Ubud’s health-conscious foodies with gorgeous creations like the tempeh Benedict – a vegan twist on the classic that sees a sun-dried tomato crust with spinach, avocado, tempeh bacon, caramelised onion and a melted vegan hollandaise. There’s also the vegan tofu omelette with onion, mushrooms, baked baby tomatoes and leafy greens from the garden, and the Lightly Orange Muesli with maple syrup, cinnamon, seeds and coconut milk.
As lunch and dinnertime swing around, hearty signatures like the coconut pad Thai, pumpkin cheese ravioli and jack fruit tacos are the standouts, whilst the Asian Spring Pasta with shaved golden squash linguine, a handful of greens, shiitake mushrooms and an almond curry sauce with spiced cashews is our clear favourite.
Though vegan cuisine rarely meets the lips of fine-dining aficionados, MOKSA is as sumptuous and scrumptious as you’d expect from one of Ubud’s best new restaurants, and it just so happens to come with a little extra love.
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Meet Executive
Chef MadE Runatha
Executive Chef Made Runatha began studying the art and science of healing cuisine while working for the renowned wellness centre, Fivelements. With a vast knowledge in both European and Asian cuisine, combined with his years of experience in hotel restaurants in Bali and overseas, Made found himself facing a brand new challenge: How to make healthy food taste great again. Made began researching everything he could, from macrobiotics to Ayurveda. He went on to study at Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, USA and, under the tutelage of master chef and founder, Cherie Soria, known as the “Mother of Gourmet Raw Food Cuisine,” he later became the world’s first Indonesian certified Gourmet Living Foods chef. Combining his passion for learning with enormous creative talent, Made has become one of the world’s top chefs dedicated to mastering the endless flavours, textures and techniques of plant-based, raw vegan, “living foods” cuisine, as well as an endless palette of exquisitely cooked vegetarian dishes. Developing MOKSA has been the manifestation of a long lasting dream for this distinguished chef.
