See how 6 Canadians took our cuisine abroad

Randy’s

Randy’s, a small open-air restaurant on a beach-bound street in Sanur, Bali is an authentic family spot. Randy is the name of the owners’ eldest son and the menu tells the story of how his parents, Canadian expat Penny and Balinese-born Wayan, serve up both of their childhood favourites. The family portraits on the walls make it feel like walking into the living room of proud parents.

The extensive menu has traditional Balinese fare such as pepes, staples like nasi goreng and countless vegetarian options. The Canadian dishes are comfort food for the homesick and hungry, such as shepherd’s pie made using Penny’s French Canadian mother’s classic recipe.

Seeing as it was about 35°C during our visit, we opted for the lighter sweet and sour tofu/tempeh and homemade sausages with fries. The tofu was perfectly spicy, while the sausages were the right combination of crispy and juicy.

I confess that it was a treat to eat real fries. While it may seem idiotic to eat something western in a culinary destination like Bali, the existence of Randy’s illustrates a certain point.

One of the main reasons to travel is to try as many different flavours as possible, but sometimes a taste of something familiar is incredibly comforting and in turn provides greater appreciation for the contrast.

Randy’s proves that catering to westerners isn’t always bad. When done right, it can illustrate how well cultures can complement one another and, if done very well, it can tell a story.

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