Guests at the iconic Seminyak hotspot Starfish Bloo are in for a purposeful surprise as W Bali Seminyak’s Culinary Director Chef Norberto Valdez Palacios and his team serve an organic menu inspired by the bountiful offerings of the sea and plantation – straight to the table.
“I want to focus on giving the restaurant a soul and a purpose, and now we are building a teaching experience for the guests of the ocean and the garden,” Chef Norberto shares, as he explains the new “ocean and garden” concept of Starfish Bloo.
Launched last February, Starfish Bloo has successfully turned around a former Pan-Asian restaurant concept that’s been around for almost 12 years and revamped it into a more conscious dining experience, focusing on seafood that is sourced 100% from the Indian Ocean, and an extensive vegetable menu from starters to entrees picked fresh from their continuously growing garden.
“When I started here at W Bali Seminyak, the garden was not there. Our team slowly developed the garden and now we source our vegetables from there,” shares Chef Norberto.
With a distinctively local flair, expect their all-day dining menu to include seafood that is fresh from the Indian Ocean, dishes using freshly hand-picked vegetables grown in their own garden, and rice varieties harvested from nearby paddy fields. With this kind of experience, guests become more conscious of food sourcing and the environment.
Although it seems such a sudden shift in concept, Chef Norberto shares that this is “a well-planned change,” one that gives Starfish Bloo its own character, and sets it apart from other dining establishments within the W Bali Seminyak as well as in other Seminyak beachfront restaurants.
“We have a restaurant that is in front of the ocean. We used to be Pan-Asian and seafood as our concept. I am a chef who likes to focus on something, to choose one thing that we are going to do best,” and the choice is to focus on locally sourced seafood that not only gives the freshest produce but also helps the local community thrive, as well as place focus on the different restaurants within the W Bali Seminyak grounds.
Starfish Bloo adapts a more sustainable approach, one that Chef Norberto describes as “open,” in line with their “whatever, whenever concept” to be as welcoming to the demands of the growing market who are more conscious. Guests who are looking for meat options can find perfectly cooked organic beef at FIRE, another restaurant at W Bali Seminyak.
Chef Norberto incorporates this change into the Starfish Bloo concept based on his experience at W Maldives, where he was stationed before Bali. “I made a big change in my mindset when I began to dive while in the Maldives, and I saw the ocean and the issue with plastic. I was also surprised with the production of beef which has a huge carbon footprint, and that’s when I started to be more conscious of the way we are cooking.”
One dish that Chef Norberto is proud of is the Zero Waste Pumpkin, where everything is utilized, “from skin to seed.”
“I don’t think I am changing the world, but I am planting a seed with the chefs and with the team. One example is the Zero Waste Pumpkin dish, where my team has discovered how we can do this [zero waste].”
Some of the crowd favorites include starters such as Beetroot Tortellini and Soft Shell Crab also entrees such as Seared Local Tuna Steak with sesame chili oil and Grilled Barramundi.
The beverage team has also made a conscious effort to complement the changes in Starfish Bloo’s dining menu. Guests can expect that the beverages also have a strong focus on the locally sourced, grown, and zero-waste selection of cocktails, using leftover fruit skin, and vegetables to create indulgent drinks.
With this change, Starfish Bloo allows its guests to dine with a purpose, and to feel the soul of the restaurant come to life with every bite.
Starfish Bloo
W Bali – Seminyak
Kerobokan, Jl. Petitenget, Seminyak, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
