Would you love to travel to the beautiful island of Bali in Indonesia, but are worried about food allergies? Travelling with allergies can be nerve wracking at the best times. Especially if your destination uses lots of common allergens in traditional cooking and has different health care than you might be used to. Find out more about how we managed travel and eating out in Bali with food allergies with practical tips for navigating local cuisine, food shopping and more.
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Planning for Bali with food allergies
We love travelling, but with multiple food allergies to manage, it takes careful planning. Before visiting Bali we checked the local Indonesian food allergy labelling laws, available health care and hospitals, and researched other allergy travellers’ experiences.
While some of our family had learned a little Indonesian, none of us is fluent enough to be confident about managing allergies in another language. So we downloaded the Google translate app and organised food allergy translation cards from Equal Eats in advance (more about these below).
And we alwys take out comprehensive travel insurance that covers allergies and anaphylaxis as soon as we have booked our trip. We usually use Cover-More Travel Insurance for overseas holidays.
Choosing where to stay in Bali
We manage multiple food allergies, including egg, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame and fish, which are really common ingredients in Indonesian food. So as we always do when travelling, we booked to stay in a self-contained apartment in Bali with its own kitchen facilities, rather than a hotel. We rented a villa in Sanur, which was close to several supermarkets including Market City in the Icon Bali Mall. This meant we could shop easily and cook our own meals if needed.
Another factor for choosing our accomodation was being close to a hospital. There are several hospitals in popular Bali tourist areas. We stayed close to the Bali International Hospital in Sanur. This was important to us as I had heard stories about the traffic congestion in Bali making it difficult to travel by car or ambulance to a hospital if needed. (Some Bali travellers actually recommend using a motorbike to get to hospital, even in the event of a severe allergic reaction where medical advice is not to allow the person to stand or walk. A motorboke is simply much quicker in a traffic jam).
We also carried multiple EpiPens (together with our travel and anaphylaxis action plan) in case of a reaction. EpiPens aren’t available in Bali, so we took 6 with us to be on the safe side. Be aware that if you need to use an adrenaline autoinjector, you may not be able to replace it.
Food allergy labelling laws in Indonesia
Indonesia’s food labelling laws require food providers to label food allergens clearly in the Indonesian language. Labels must to state in bold “Contains allergens” with a list of the relevant allergy ingredients. They must also also declare shared production facilities.
Top allergens
Indonesia’s labelled allergy ingredients is not as extensive as the European Union, Australia or the USA. Labels must list:
- gluten (from wheat, rye, barley, oats, or spelt);
- shellfish;
- fish;
- eggs;
- milk;
- peanuts;
- tree nuts;
- soy; and
- sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a concentration of more than 100 parts per million).
One common allergy ingredient that doesn’t need to be listed in bold – and which was relevant to us – is sesame. This made us a little nervous, as sesame is often used in Indonesian food, including sesame oil. It’s also worth noting that gluten must be listed, but not wheat.
Food allergy awareness in Bali
Despite the fact that we had our own cooking facilities in our villa, we ended up eating out every day during our time in Bali. We did eat breakfast at our accomodation and kept the dfridge well stocked with drinks and snacks.
With multiple allergies to manage, we chose to eat at resorts and restaurants that catered to western tourists, rather than many local warungs. This was because we manage allergies to ingredients that are commonly used in Indonesian foods, including egg, peanut and fish.
To our surprise, most of the restaurants we ate at were very allergy aware. In fact, most were much better than at home in Australia. Many asked if we had any allergies without prompting, and they were very attentive to our needs. All the staff were happy to take our allergy translation cards back to the kitchen to discuss safe foods with the chef. Some even made suggestions of suitable options on the menu to chose from.
At multiple restaurants, staff came back to double check if ingredients like green peas or black beans were safe for our family member with peanut allergy. This understanding of legume allergies was not something I have ever seen at home.
Allergen menus
While allergen menus are not compulsory, many of the restaurants we ate at had allergy labels on menu items. That said, the labels were more limited than we encountered in Europe. It was common for menus to label foods containing:
- gluten
- egg
- dairy
- nuts
- fish
- shellfish
Some menus also included mustard and celery. As well as food allergies, menus often listed beef and pork, alcohol and vegan and vegetarian items. “Nuts” was not split into peanuts and tree nuts.
Allergy menus were a good starting point, but we always disclosed all of our allergies and asked about ingredients before ordering.
Local languages and allergy translation cards
It’s always a good idea to try and learn a few simple phrases in the local language when visiting another country. Polite greetings and please and thank you are always appreciated. But unless you are fluent in the local language, allergy translation cards are a must.
Most of the places we went to spoke very good English. But where English is a second language for most people, it’s important to have clear and correct Indonesian words for any allergies and an explanation of their seriousness so nothing gets lost in translation.
The local language of the Balinese people is actually Balinese – or Basa Bali. However, Bahasa Indoensian is the official language. We chose to take allergy translation cards in the official language of Bahasa Indonesia.
Equal Eats cards
I ordered customised digital cards from Equal Eats with our multiple allergens translated accurately into Indoensian. The cards have English on one side and Indonesian on the other. There is also a request to ensure that our dish is free from the allergens and some notes on avoiding cross contact iwhile making our meal. I also printed hard copies to give serving staff to take back to the kitchen and show the chef.
Allergy translation cards were so helpful. We found that servers took the time to read and understand and took the card back to check with kitchen staff every time.
Traditional Indonesian foods
Unfortunately our family member with food allergies couldn’t really try many of the traditional local foods in Bali. Many of these dishes contain peanut, eggs, fish, fish paste or fish sauce and some are cooked with or finished with sesame oil. We also had to be conscious of cross contact with these ingredients in other dishes.
To make up for this, we tried all the wonderful tropical fruits for our taste of local foods instead. We feasted on fresh rambutans, bananas, longans, pomelo, snake fruit (and even tried some durian).
And of course enjoyed whole fresh coconut to drink.
Where we ate in Bali with food allergies
As we were staying in Sanur, many of the places we ate at were located here. We did venure out to Ubud and Seminyak as well during our short stay.
These are definitely ‘tourist’ venues, and they may have changed since our visit, so be sure to check. But some of the restaurants and cafes that were able to cater to our multiple allergies included:
- The Glass House – tasty breakfast and really good coffee, with service so good that we went back again for dinner.
- Soul On The Beach – an eatery right on the sand of Sanur Beach, where we stopped for lunch of pizza and cool drinks
- Rib Warung Steak – I was a little nervous here as they had bowls of peanuts on the tables, but the staff were reassuring and cooked a great steak and safe sides for our family member with food allergies.
- Maya Sanur Resort – Tree Bar – very allergy aware with an allergy menu and attentive staff, in a beautiful beach front spot. We stopped for lunch and cool drinks.
- Cork French Tavern – probably the best meal of our trip at this French restaurant on the main road in Sanur. Wonderful wagu beef steak, pasta and more. Allergen lablelling on the menu.
- Soya Japanese – the staff here were wonderful with allergies, making suggestions of safe options, checking with the kitchen and even confirimng if legumes other than peanuts would be safe. We had a delicious feast of Japanese food.
Other parts of Bali
In Seminyak we had great service from:
- Double 8 Rooftop Cocktail Sunset Bar – asked up front about allergies and had allergens listed on their food menu
- Santorini Greek Restaurant – vibrant and busy Greek restaurant that was able to cater to our multiple allergies
And in our quick Ubud visit we ate at:
- Ada Ubud – stopped for a late breakfast here near the Sacred Monkey Forest, where staff were attentive and helpful with allergies
- The Blue Door – staff went over and above to ensure allergy needs were met with our pizza lunch
Food shopping in Bali
As were were staying in a villa with our own kitchen and a fridge, we could prepare our own meals when needed. Our villa was very close to Market City supermarket in Icon Mall, so we could easily shop for ingredients for cooking and snacks.
As well as the big supermarkets like Market City and Grand Lucky, there were lots of small convenience shops selling snacks (including overseas brands). We found plenty of allergy friendly options at the supermarket, including packaged foods with with good labelling. Many labels were in English, but if not the Google Translate app was a big help.
Thoughts about Bali and food allergies
As a first time food allergy traveller to Bali, I was quite nervous about navgiating allergens like peanut, egg, sesame and fish. I was also worried about healthcare access if something should go wrong. However, with careful planning, it’s definitely possible to enjoy a wonderful holiday in Bali with food allergies. We were surprised at the level of allergy awareness in the places we ate at, and there are plenty of supermarkets selling safe options if you chose to self-cater.
Just be sure to plan well, pack your allergy translation cards and have your Google translate app ready to go, carry enough epinephrine and medication with you for your trip, and make sure you have a plan if things do go wrong and you need urgent medical care.
More tips for travelling with allergies
Don’t underestimate the importance of ensuring you have travel insurance that actually covers your allergies. We take out insurance for pre-existing medical conditions at the same time as we book our trips. You can read more about travel insurance for allergies in our post – Travel Insurance for Allergies: What You Need to Check.
We also never travel without our amazing allergy travel cards from Equal Eats. You can read more about them in our review, or head over to Equal Eats and use our discount code ALLERGYSPOT for 10% off your order.
For more practical tips for holiday planning and staying safe while you are away, have a look at our tips for safe travel with allergies.
And don’t forget to subscribe for more allergy tips and food allergy friendly recipes.
