The garden is a prelude to the meal — Bali NXT Experience Journal ②

Last time, in a piece titled "The Night That Swallowed Me Before I Could Even Take a Photo," I wrote about the moment I stepped into the space called NXT. (You can read the previous entry here → https://vietnam2519.livedoor.blog/archives/46772873.html) This time, I'd like to talk about the "entrance" to that night. After enjoying two dishes at a table in the main dining room, just as I was thinking that the full-fledged course was about to begin… A staff member said quietly: "Please leave your belongings as they are, and come this way." Where I was led was the grounds spreading out at the back of the building. The night had grown completely deep, and as I made my way forward, lighting the gravel underfoot with a flashlight, I arrived at an herb garden. Could it be that NXT's garden is a space like a "prelude" meant to attune the body before the meal? — I found myself reflecting on this once again. As I walked through the garden, the humid air enveloped my skin, and the faint scent of earth rose up. Tall leaves finely fragmented the light of the lamps, and shadows swayed slowly.

The food didn't come out right away, but the staff kindly introduced us to the herbs grown here that actually go on to transform into the dishes on our plates. The leaves and flowers picked right before our eyes looked as though they had been breathing on the soil just moments ago. We smelled the aroma, touched the leaves with our fingers, and tasted a little. A quick nibble. The flavor is rich. The aroma is strong. In that very moment, the experience has already begun.

There are restaurants in the Nordic countries that do not treat a dish as an isolated experience. It's a way of thinking that regards the land's seasons, the wind, the humidity, and even the scent of the soil as an extension of a single plate. Noma in Copenhagen is known as an emblematic example of this, and its stance of presenting cuisine not as "the finished form on a plate" but as "the story of the land itself" is said to have had a great influence on the world's culinary trends. (Reference: https://noma.dk/ ) When I stood in the garden of NXT, I felt the influence of that philosophy. Soil, water, leaves, wind. These are not decoration, but the very premise of this land. What grows here is tasted here. A device that makes you understand that inevitability not through explanation, but through sensation. I tried to take a photo, but I gave up. Because even if I captured it, this continuous atmosphere would not come across, and I felt that the precious sense of elation would be cut short. Gently picked herbs, dressed with a dressing carrying a faint sweetness and acidity, were combined by the staff right there on the spot.

Savoring each bite, wrapped in the garden's scent

We also had an herb-based broth soup. Truly nourishing

And so, once again, we found ourselves heading back to the main dining room. There's a lot of moving around, but as you take in the flavors and aromas, your mind is spinning at full throttle too. A restaurant isn't just a place to relax after all, I realized. Perhaps the evolution of a restaurant isn't only about updating culinary technique. Where does the act of "eating" begin? A redefinition of that. From the very first step at the entrance, NXT presents you with that question, and before you know it, it draws you into an experiential restaurant. Next time, back to the main dining room once again. I think I'll write about what kind of storytelling device the "main table" — appearing after the prelude that is the garden — turned out to be. If you'd care to join me... A night where the performers change with every dish — Bali NXT Experience Journal ③ Relocation Life Ranking