If all the big names in the Balinese culinary world started with small warung that expanded organically, Murni’s Warung in Ubud is definitely the first that began as a batik shop. With her American husband Pat, Ni Wayan Murni moved shop to a more strategic location on the side of a main road below the hermitage of the painter Antonio Blanco.

It started with Pat liking Murni’s black glutinous rice porridge, and Murni learning how to make Western-style breakfasts from Pat. Eventually, four tables and 16 chairs were added to the batik shop that had been catering to customers of Antonio Blanco who wanted breakfast and coffee. Murni’s consistent quality means the warung is now a culinary icon in Ubud.

100 Best Foods of Bali

by Bondon Winaro, Lidia Tanod and Harry Nazarudin, Penerbit Jalansutra, 2015