“Located near the Sukawati Handicraft Market – thirty minutes from downtown Denpasar – Adi Dongker’s restaurant is usually filled with enthusiastic foodies,” reports The Jakarta Post. These fine connoisseurs come to taste the specialty that has made the establishment famous: the lawar empas, in other words, finely chopped freshwater softshell turtles stewed in spices and coconut milk or blood.
The young Balinese cook embarked on this culinary adventure after seeing on YouTube a great Indonesian chef, Bobon Santoso, known for his extravagant recipes, cooking these reptiles without complex. “I thought if he cooked this stuff and put it on YouTube for millions of people to see, that species shouldn’t be in danger,” he said. tells Adi to Jakarta Post.