Order at the Market
Picture yourself at a bamboo stall on LOCAL FOOD STREET in Sekotong, and order in Indonesian. The cook says something; you pick one of two or three replies. Six steps, about a minute. Pick a reply that does not fit and you will see what it means and when to use it, then you can choose again.
Pick your reply
If scripts do not run, the tables below give the whole conversation and every phrase.
Ten phrases for the stall
The phrases from the six steps. Tap one to show it large, so you can simply show your screen at the stall. The greeting changes with the time of day, and line 4 with the dish you chose.
Listen appears only when your device has an Indonesian voice.
The whole conversation
See the whole conversation as a table
| Step | The cook | Your reply (any of these works) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Greeting | Selamat sore.sla-mat so-reh · Good afternoon (about 3 to 6 pm) | Selamat sore.sla-mat so-reh · Good afternoon (about 3 to 6 pm) |
| 2 What is it? | Mau makan apa?mow ma-kan a-pa · What would you like to eat? | Ini apa?ee-nee a-pa · What is this?Pakai babi?pa-kai ba-bee · Is there pork in it? |
| 3 Choose | Mau yang mana?mow yang ma-na · Which one would you like? | Bakso satu, ya.bak-so sa-too, ya · One bakso, pleaseNasi goreng satu, ya.na-see go-reng sa-too, ya · One nasi goreng, pleaseSaya mau ini, satu.sa-ya mow ee-nee, sa-too · One of this, please |
| 4 Spice | Mau pedas?mow puh-das · Do you want it spicy? | Tidak pedas, ya.tee-dak puh-das, ya · Not spicy, pleaseSaya alergi udang.sa-ya a-ler-gee oo-dang · I am allergic to prawns |
| 5 Price | Ini, ya. Silakan.ee-nee, ya. see-la-kan · Here you are. | Berapa harganya?buh-ra-pa har-ga-nya · How much is it?Berapa semuanya?buh-ra-pa suh-moo-a-nya · How much altogether? |
| 6 Pay and thank | Kembaliannya lima ribu.kum-ba-lee-an-nya lee-ma ree-boo · Your change, five thousand. | Terima kasih.tuh-ree-ma ka-see · Thank youMatur tampiasih.ma-toor tam-pee-a-see · Thank you (Sasak) |
Good to know at the stalls
- Cash, in small notes
- Cards hardly work at warungs and stalls. A Rp100,000 note may be more than they can change, so carry a few notes of Rp20,000 and below.Lombok Money and Payments
- No pork
- There is no pork at the village table. The great majority of eateries on Lombok do not handle pork at all.Things to doLombok Food Guide
- Assume no alcohol in the village
- In fishing villages such as Sekotong, village eateries and shops generally do not sell alcohol.Can You Drink Alcohol in Lombok?
- Spice never goes to zero
- Even when you ask for no chilli, what was ground into the base stays. Sambal on the side is the surest way.Lombok Food Guide
- Choose food served hot
- Pick dishes heated in front of you and served hot; avoid raw food, food that has gone cold and ice of unknown origin. The food stalls at SEMELAR MARKET keep to hygiene standards so visitors from abroad can eat with confidence.Things to do
- Allergies are hard to get across
- Asking a stall to leave out peanuts, prawns or shellfish is hard to get across exactly, and sambal often contains fermented shrimp paste. With a serious allergy, choose a place where the food can be explained to you.Lombok Food Guide
The stalls and market at Semelar Beach
- LOCAL FOOD STREET11:00 to 22:00, closed Mondays
- A street of bamboo food stalls hung with lanterns. From late afternoon, villagers and travellers share the same tables.
- SEMELAR MARKET10:00 to 22:00, closed Mondays
- A market of street food, everyday goods and souvenirs: Lombok salt, original T-shirts. The stalls change with the seasons.
About the dishes
- Bakso
- A beef-bone soup with meatballs. In one of our team’s YouTube videos (September 2025) it is introduced as an everyday Lombok dish, typically with one large and four small meatballs. It varies by stall.
- Nasi goreng
- Fried rice, cooked in the wok and served hot. Choosing dishes fried or grilled in front of you and served hot lowers the risk of an upset stomach.
- Es campur
- Shaved ice with coconut, jelly and palm sugar, introduced in the same video as an everyday Lombok dish. If ice worries you, start with something hot.
About prices
We have not yet confirmed the village stalls’ prices in any of our articles. “Lima belas ribu” (Rp15,000) in the game is a number for practising listening.
For reference, our guide to eating in Sekotong gives one reported example from Mataram, the provincial capital: street stalls at Rp15,000 to 30,000 a plate (about US$0.85 to 1.70). It is a single example, not the going rate in Sekotong (as of October 2026).
Roughly US$1 = Rp17,800 (September 2026).
Read next
- Lombok Food GuideSpice, hygiene, halal and daily food costs
- Lombok’s Local DishesAyam taliwang, plecing kangkung and how to order sate
- Things to doHours of the stalls, market and cafe, and what you can do in the village
- EnquireAsk us about a stay
Sources for this page
- Lombok Food GuideTidak pedas, ya and the other spice phrases, bakso and es campur, halal, allergies (as of August 2026)
- Lombok’s Local DishesSambal on the side, small notes (as of September 2026)
- Can You Drink Alcohol in Lombok?Village eateries and shops and alcohol (as of September 2026)
- Lombok Money and PaymentsCash and small notes (as of August 2026)
- Things to doWhat LOCAL FOOD STREET and SEMELAR MARKET offer, their hours, the village table
- Where to Eat in SekotongA price example from Mataram, choosing food served hot (as of October 2026)
- VideosOur team’s videos, including Lebaran with a Sasak family, where Matur tampiasih comes up
The spice phrases come from our Lombok Food Guide; the rest of the Indonesian on this page is simple everyday expressions. The only Sasak is Matur tampiasih, from one of our team’s videos.
