Bali & Indonesia Travel

Indonesian Food Allergy Card

Create a bilingual English–Indonesian food allergy card for warungs, restaurants and resorts in Bali and across Indonesia.

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Free to create · $8.99 unlocks every language, every template and unlimited re-downloads

Eating in Bali and Indonesia with Food Allergies

Indonesian food is built on sauces and pastes, and the two most common are exactly what allergic travellers fear. Peanut sauce (bumbu kacang) coats satay, gado-gado and pecel, and turns up in dressings and dips; shrimp paste (terasi) is ground into sambal and many curry and stir-fry bases, where it cannot be seen or tasted as shrimp.

In Bali, a warung may cook everything in one wok with a single batch of sambal, and staff often speak limited English outside the resort areas. A card in Bahasa Indonesia names the allergen and the local forms it takes — bumbu kacang, terasi, kecap — so the cook can check the paste, not just the plate.

Common Allergen Risks in Indonesian Food

Peanut sauce

Satay, gado-gado, pecel, ketoprak and many salads use bumbu kacang. It is also served on the side as a dip, so ask even when a dish looks sauce-free.

Shrimp paste in sambal

Terasi is fried and ground into most sambal and many spice pastes (bumbu). Kerupuk udang (prawn crackers) are served with almost every meal.

Soy sauce and wheat

Kecap manis, the sweet soy sauce on nasi goreng and mie goreng, contains wheat as well as soy — a problem for coeliac and soy-allergic diners.

Candlenut and coconut

Candlenut (kemiri), a tree nut, thickens many curries and spice pastes. Coconut milk (santan) is in most curries, soups and desserts.

How to Create Your Indonesian Allergy Card

1

Select your allergens

Peanuts, shellfish and tree nuts are pre-selected — the most common risks in Indonesian food. Change them to match your own list.

2

Keep Indonesian as the card language

The card prints Bahasa Indonesia for the kitchen with your English underneath. It is understood across Indonesia, including Bali.

3

Set your cross-contact rule

Choose whether shared woks and frying oil are acceptable. Small warungs usually share both.

4

Preview free, then download

Check the wording in the live preview, then download the printable PNG/PDF for $8.99 — every language and template included.

Eating Safely in Bali and Indonesia

  • Bali: sate lilit and sate ayam come with peanut sauce by default; ask for your satay "tanpa bumbu kacang". Resort restaurants handle allergy requests better than street warungs.
  • Sambal: almost every table has sambal, and most contain terasi (shrimp paste). With a shellfish allergy, ask for sambal without terasi or skip it entirely.
  • Nasi campur: the mixed plate combines many small dishes from shared pots. It is hard to verify — choose a single cooked-to-order dish instead.
  • Tree nuts: candlenut (kemiri) is ground into many curry pastes, and cashews appear in stir-fries. Ask about the spice paste, not just the visible ingredients.
  • Emergencies: dial 112 or 118/119 for an ambulance in Indonesia. International clinics in Bali (Kuta, Seminyak, Ubud) have English-speaking staff.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I say "I have a peanut allergy" in Indonesian?
"Saya alergi terhadap kacang tanah." Say "kacang tanah" rather than just "kacang", which can mean any nut or bean.
Is Indonesian the same as Malay for an allergy card?
They are closely related and mostly mutually understood, but food words differ. This card is written in Bahasa Indonesia for Bali and the rest of Indonesia.
Is the Indonesian allergy card free?
Preview is free. Downloading the printable PNG/PDF is $8.99 one-time and covers every language, every template and unlimited re-downloads.

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Now on iOS

AllergyCard — Available on the App Store

The AllergyCard iOS app lets you show your allergy card offline, speak your restrictions aloud in the local language, and access an emergency screen — all without Wi-Fi. Free to download, available in 174 countries.

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Free to create and preview. Printable PNG/PDF is $8.99 one-time.

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