Bali’s best veggie cafe is not vegan at all

Bali’s health-food movement may have been born in the island’s spiritual capital, Ubud, but it’s come of age in Canggu.

It’s a trend-setting beachside enclave which is home to the world-famous Echo Beach and an expanding menu of vegetarian restaurants.

Popular haunts include The Avocado Factory, the organic eatery at Motion Fitness and Green Garden Cafe, Bali’s home of the raw lasagna.

Then there’s The Shady Shack Bali, a whitewashed plantation-style eatery encircled by breezy tropical plants that has been trading for nearly a decade, making it one of the longest-lasting eateries in Canggu.

An “it” place for healthy eaters in Canggu, The Shady Shack is packed every day with hipsters, digital nomads, models, yogis and surfers who are so hungry they could eat their boards. But you won’t find a sausage roll or egg and bacon in sight.

“Vegetarian restaurants have taken off in Canggu because the kind of people who come here are into healthy pursuits like surfing, gyms and yoga,” says Justin Masters, the Perth-born chef and co-founder. After cutting his teeth as an apprentice at gastro pubs back home and at Le Pèdrix Blanc in the south of France, he spent four years feeding hungry surfers on charter boats at the Mentawai Islands in western Indonesia. There he developed his signature cooking style: burgers with mushrooms and black bean patties in wholewheat buns, original fruit frappes and chunky homemade cakes.

“The Shady Shack is all about big portions, mostly vegan, though with dairy products too,” says his partner, Gypsy Wilson-Webster, who also hails from Perth. “We’re all about attention to detail, with lots of little components in each bowl and flavours from around the world: Japan, India and the Mediterranean.”

Brimming with colour, The Shady Shack’s ‘bowls’ are works of art. The “cauli” rice bowl comes with kale and onion bhajis, fresh greens, grilled carrot, charcoal tortillas, coconut spice and raw green chutney. The halloumi cheese bowl has pickled beetroot, quinoa, rocket, cucumber, avocado, tomato, roasted peppers, olives, baba ganoush, crispy chickpeas, tahini and za’atar spice.

The all-day breakfast here can be topped with “onsen eggs”. A cooking style similar to poaching from the hot springs of Japan where the water temperature remains a steady 71.11 Celcius, onsen-ing gives the yolk a creamy texture without changing its raw orangey colour.

But Justin’s finest creation has to be the ‘choc-top’ — a coconut milk-based smoothie blended with banana, dates, cashew butter, flaxseed, ginseng, maca and cacao sprinkles. This isn’t just a healthy version of an old-fashioned stomach-bloating chocolate milkshake. It beats it.

“In Ubud, it’s all about being vegan, but in Canggu, you get all types,” Justin says. “It pays to be flexible and cater to everyone.”

+ The Shady Shack Bali is Jalan Tanah Barak, Canggu. For reservations, see theshadyshackbali.com