The menu says Babi Guling, but what arrives has none of that glossy crackling skin, and no blood sausage either. This ¥88 "Bali Roast Suckling Pig" has been reworked into a roast pork platter with jackfruit, rice balls, prawn crackers, and long beans, all piled with sambal and fried shallots. The pork itself is juicy and well-seasoned, and the crispy shallots add crunch—it's genuinely tasty—but if you're walking in with expectations of the classic Bali dish, better to reset them now. It's the most honest summary of the whole restaurant: Holy Spice borrows the names, the spices, the ingredients, but what it's actually making is something closer to pan-Asian than authentic Indonesian.
This is OHA Group's latest project, landing on Fuxing Road in Xuhui in the same old space that once housed the group's earlier venture, Maolago. Design has always been this team's strong suit, and here they've turned the space into a colorful dining room draped in palm leaves, with the loose, easy feel of a Bali beachside café. Upstairs there's an actual working rooftop herb garden supplying the kitchen, and the furniture has been repurposed from the group's other locations.
The meal opens with a welcome drink built on galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, and lemon verbena—a thoughtful start. From there, the menu is a mixed bag. The roasted eel with foie gras (¥88) has almost nothing to do with Bali, but it's the most memorable dish of the meal: smoked eel laid over a rice cake that's crisp outside and chewy within, topped with a thin slice of frozen foie gras. The eel is rich and full of umami, the foie gras rounds out the fat and flavor—off-theme, but delicious. The beef skewers (¥62 for two) come close to perfect, with generous chunks of beef layered between white mushrooms, pickles, green peppers, onions, and dressed shiso leaves. The citrus notes come through clearly and the seasoning is spot-on, though the shiso leaves are grilled a touch too long, leaving a faint bitterness at the finish—an easy fix.
