A tiny noodle warung on Batu Bolong, a food-obsessed founder and bowls of homemade Sichuan-style noodles that have developed an inconvenient tendency to appear in my dreams.

If La Bianca belongs to sunset, Agung Beach Club belongs to the morning: breakfast on the sand, Mount Agung across the water and the easygoing island world of Papa Louis and Yanti.

Part ceramic store, part workshop and part refuge from Jimbaran’s traffic, Jenggala is one of those rare places where shopping can quite happily turn into an afternoon.

My first real escape into Bali’s nature began at Nienté, a quiet guesthouse hidden near the jungle in Tabanan, where Italian food, good wine and silence make the rest of the island feel wonderfully far away.

I thought the demolition of old Bingin Beach had taken Lucky Fish with it. Then the team, the smiles and, most importantly, that extraordinary grilled squid reappeared in Uluwatu.

A little corner of France in the heart of Seminyak. Chef François is where I go when Bali suddenly makes me miss proper cheese, charcuterie, homemade French classics and the kind of sandwich that tastes like home.

Hidden in a quiet pocket of Ungasan, Eywa Retreat is a lush boutique hideaway where lumbung-style villas, warm hospitality and an ambitious restaurant make the rest of the Bukit temporarily disappear.

Created by Fanny and Morgan, La Bianca is a beachfront Lembongan restaurant where chef Nicolas Codani’s Mediterranean cooking meets one of the island’s great pleasures: dinner beneath the trees at sunset.

Hidden beneath the cliffs of Pecatu, Nunggalan is the Bali beach you have to earn: a steep walk down to sand, open ocean, grazing cows, hammocks, reggae and the wonderfully improbable Bikini Bottom.

A modest local spa in Jungut Batu where I Wayan Rantau and his team have turned reflexology and massage into something far more precise, consistent and therapeutic than the setting might suggest.

A modest burger joint in Jungut Batu, an excellent homemade bun, a perfectly smashed patty and one dangerously subjective conclusion: JJ’s may serve my favourite burger in Bali.

Just thirty minutes across the water from Sanur, Nusa Lembongan offers mangroves, beaches, marine life and something increasingly difficult to find on mainland Bali: a slower rhythm.

Choose your seafood from the stalls, carry it to a nearby grill and let lunch drift into beers and endless conversation beside Jimbaran Bay. Kedonganan is one of Bali’s great food experiences.

Part perfume laboratory, part curated shop and part creative playground, Fragrance Atelier is a Seminyak address where you can follow your nose and leave with a scent entirely your own.

Four bedrooms, generous open spaces and an attention to construction still surprisingly rare in Bali make Villa Toupai one of my favourite houses for bringing friends and family together.