*This is part of a series of restaurant reviews we are doing in anticipation of Michelin coming to Atlanta. We have been to several Michelin restaurants around the world (nothing in the US yet), so we consider ourselves somewhat of a Michelin snob. Michelin publishes their official criteria of earning a star (or stars), which are the 5 tenets. We won’t discuss those tenets here because we do not believe WiN is a Michelin “star” type of restaurant, however, we did believe that WiN is a great candidate for a Michelin “baby star”, the Bib Gourmand. So we will discuss that in this blog.
WiN – Taste of Bali is an Indonesian restaurant with some influences of Amsterdam. Yes you read that right. When we were in Amsterdam two years ago, we noticed that Indonesian (and many ethnic) cuisine was quite popular there. In fact, my biggest regret from our Amsterdam trip was not to have tried the Rijsttafel – literally a Dutch word for “rice table”, an Indonesian meal with a variety of dishes presented and some rice on the side. When we discovered that WiN has Rijsttafel, I was very excited.
The inside of WiN is beautiful, and the menu is literally a book with a picture for every item. Every section of the menu comes with a choice to have a “combo” of dishes to share. There’s also a nice cocktail list with influences from Indonesia as well, as well as non-alcoholic options like Bali coffee, Indonesian teas and some zero proof cocktails. We ordered a Bali Jito and a Bali 75. Both were good but nothing to write home about.
What We Ordered
Chef’s Gift
We were given some complimentary Prawn Cracker with Sauce. I grew up eating prawn crackers. I like them, but I don’t consider it fancy dining. That’s ok. This place isn’t trying to be fancy, so all is well. The sauce looked like it would be tasty, but it was very mild and pretty bland.
Indonesian Chicken Soup
The chicken soup came with some shredded cabbage, shrimp cracker crumble, and slices of chicken breast. It was yummy, although nothing special.
Aromatic Mushroom Soup
Aromatic Mushroom Soup came with a variety of mushrooms, shredded cabbage, and glass noodles. It was good also, but nothing special either.
Small Plates of the Sea Tasting
This is a tasting of 3 choices from the Small Plates of seafood section. We chose Sea Scallops Dabu-Dabu, Bali Roasted Fish, and Padang Soft Shell Crab Tempura. The Sea Scallops was definitely the best dish. The roasted fish seemed overcooked, and was very tough. The crab, let’s just say, didn’t really taste too much like crab, although it wasn’t bad.
Rijsttafel
This was an order of Rijsttafel for one, and with all of the other foods we had ordered, this was enough food to feed us all. The waitress explained what each item was, from salad, pickled vegetables, to curry beef and fish tempura. Since this was our first time having Rijttafel, we weren’t sure what to expect, but once we started eating, we started drawing similarities with Korean Banchans and Indian Thalis. Obviously we are no connoisseurs of Rijsttafel, but it definitely felt like Banchans and Thalis are better options. I guess my biggest disappointment came from the fact much of the food was fried. I wouldn’t have thought Indonesian food focused on fried items, but it seemed every course we had featured fried food, even the chef’s gift, Prawn Crackers were fried.
Dessert
There were quite a few homemade dessert options on the menu. The waitress recommended the Crepe Rolls, which comes with coco sorbet. We like the rum & raisin sorbet better, which the restaurant was happy to swap out for.
This dessert was hands down the best dish of the night. Everything tasted homemade and delicious. The green crepes were filled with coconut and brown sugar. The green color comes from food coloring. This is a traditional dish from Indonesia.
Conclusion
This restaurant was a letdown honestly. Although the prices were pretty awesome and the atmosphere was nice, most of the food fell flat on flavor. If I lived closer I would go back for sure. One of the two criteria for a Bib Gourmand star is that the food must taste delicious. I just don’t think WiN hit the mark on that. We do not believe WiN will receive any recognition from Michelin.