2 Labuhan Jukung Resort

Located right in front of the iconic Krui Left, this state-owned cottages are the rightest choice for surfers as well as sight-seeing travelers.

Away from traffic and the lush and shady situtation are other reasons why you should choose this place to stay in when you are in Krui town next season. The air is cool all day long and you can check the surf right in front of your doorway any time.

The platform cottages are made of concrete for its columns and floors, but the wall, the handrail and the stairs are made of wood.

However, right now there are only two units of building where you can stay in, each consist of two rooms, and each room can take two people. So if there are eight people in your party, you can see if yu can fit in. 

PS: If you stay in this cottage, you'll be charged per person, not per room.

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0 Pizza Burger

Fed up with Indo food (nasi goreng, sate, bakso, soto, mie ayam, etc.)? Now you can try western food. There is a food house in Krui where you can order thing like pizza, burger, pancake, fish and chips, etc while, at the same time, you can also enjoy nasi goreng. Yes, this food house also has nasi goreng (western style). According to Pras, the proprietor, the nasi goreng they sell is different from traditional Indonesian nasi goreng that you can have at other food houses. “We have western flavor that make it different from Indo nasi goreng,” he says.  

If you are in Krui, and you feel like craving for some western food like what you usually have in your hometown, you can come here. It’s clearly located by the main road in Serai (the block of town where the airport is). It’s a stone throw after the junction of the road to the airport if you come from Karang Nyimbur (south), and it’s before the road junction if you come from downtown Krui. (Notice the ‘Pizza Burger’sign shown in the picture above).

According to Pras, he has western customers come to his food house to have something to eat. “Now I am waiting for some surfers. They will be coming here this morning,” he said. “Now this food house is quite well known among westerners.”

Yes, there are reasons why western people like eating at this place. The food is good and the price is reasonable. You can have a giant chunk of burger for a peanut like the one that I had the other day. And if you don’t feel like eating there, you can order a takeaway.   

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0 Balin Pilih

When the night falls, the main street in Krui turns dark, of course. But thank to the street lights, the darkness is not so prevalent in the town center. Plus, the lights from the traffic make ornament to this small town, and even more lights. Though it’s not as simmering as in big cities, the light in Krui is enough to indicate that the life in this town goes on into the night. But the older the night is, the quieter the street. There is hardly any local traffic in the middle of the night but the long way Lorries and buses.

And when the night falls, verandahs of stores in the main street turns into a parade like  food stalls. Along the main street, in the town center, you can find many food stalls that sell many kind of food like bakso (meat balls or fish balls), nasi goreng (fried rice), soto (soup with rice), sate (grilled sticks), pecel lele (fried catfish with chili and vegetables), and many things.

The one that I frequently visit is located by the bridge, near the mosque, in the town center. This food stall occupy the front verandah of what in the day time is an electronic store. This stall which names Balin Pilih sells many fried things like fried chicken, fried cat fish, fried tempe, etc.

The Fried Lele that served with a bowl of soup and some ground chili with various vegetable, raw and boiled, is called ‘pecel lele’. This menu is popular all over Indonesia. And uniquely, this pecel lele is only sold in street vendor like this. If you happen to visit a street food stall, you have to try this.

I like the food they sell in Balin Pilih because they taste special, different from the other vendor nearby. And if you have tried some pecel lele before at other food stalls and you found them no good, then you have to try this one.    

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0 RM Lesehan Sari Rasa

RM Lesehan Sari Rasa, (Sari Rasa for short), is most favorite lesehan in Krui, south Sumatera, for the time being. This restaurant has a distinguish flavor which is different from other restaurants in the town. Everything they have, they have it different.

As other restaurants in town, RM Lesehan Sari Rasa offers fish and chicken as their main menus. Although these main menus is the same as other restaurants, but they taste different. If you are used to eat at other restaurants, you should try this one next time .

And if you don’t like much fat in your dish, then you should come here. The grilled fish and the fried chicken are almost dry when they come to your table. Grilled fish which is often juicy at other restaurants, here they are almost dry, too. And so is fried chicken. While other restaurants serve succulent fried chicken, a bit wet with remains of cooking oil in them, here you cannot see the wet parts, they are dry inside out, even the bone is dry too.

Lesehan, as you know it, is a restaurant with pedestal table (see picture). It is the kind of restaurant where you have to sit on the floor. If you cannot sit on the floor, then lesehan is not your choice.

All dishes you order (fish or chicken) will be served with vegetables (see picture). Some of the vegetables like cabbage buds and chayote are boiled, while some others like cabbage and small eggfruit (terong) are raw.

Lesehan Sari Rasa is located in downtown Krui, about 3 hundred meters pass the market, on the right. It is right in front of the office of Krui Putra bus that goes to Jakarta at 2 pm everyday. If you leave for Jakarta at 2 pm, you start from this office. Take a note to the old building in the opposite.

And like other lesehan, you have to wait for some minutes before your order come to your table.

(This article, and so are other articles in this blog, is not a commercial ad, this is merely an information based on my own experience.)  

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0 Bakso Podomoro

Bakso or meatballs, or whatever you call it, is the most popular dessert in Indonesia. You can find this foodstuff almost everywhere in Indonesia. Wherever you go, whether to a small town or to a big city, you can find a bakso stalls located by the main street.

Bakso is made of balls that can be made of meat or fish and strands of white noodle (bihun) as the main side ingredient, and yellow noodle as an additional side ingredient. Strands of white noodle always come with bakso in your bowl, while yellow noodle is additional, depending on your like. Bakso man usually ask you whether you want some yellow noodle or not. If you don’t, then your bakso will only come with strands of white noodle.

Balls made of meat is so called ‘meatballs’ which itself often used as an equal word for ‘bakso’, while balls that made of fish is rarely called ‘fishballs’. Balls of meat is called ‘bakso daging’ in Indonesian, while balls of fish is called ‘bakso ikan’. Make sure your choice (‘meatballs’ or ‘fishballs’) before you order a bakso. You can ask, “Bakso apa ini?” (what kind of balls do you have).

When a bowl of bakso come to your table, it is usually still in plain condition. The bakso and the strands of white noodle look plain in plain water. You need to add some tomato sauce, soy sauce (kecap), some salt, and some chili according to your like. Only after you put some sauce in it the water will turn its color. Be careful not to put too much chili in your bowl because it will turn very hot, so hot that you will not be able to finish them. All this sauces are usually already on your table.

Bakso is of course not a main course. People eat bakso as a dessert. They eat it in between the main meals of the day. However, to be sure, if you eat two or three bowls of bakso, you will get your stomach full, and then you can consider it as your main meal.  

In Krui, Bakso Podomoro is most demanded. People from every parts of town eat or take away bakso from here everyday. Although the place is a little bit in hiding, people never fail to find this place. If you eat the bakso right away, they have some nice and comfortable tables under the shady tree. Unlike the other food stalls, they place the tables in the open air, in the yard, making an enjoyable place to eat. And if you need a takeaway, they’ll put the bakso in a plastic pouch

Bakso Podomoro is located in Pekon Seray, not far from Krui Left. If you come from Krui Left, and take the beach road heading to The Peak, then it’s on your left. It’s just after the first bridge, on the dirt road to the left. Notice the sign on the junction to the dirt road, a few meters from the first bridge. And if you are on the main street, take a note of a dirt road junction after a bridge near a mosque. If you come from Karang Nyimbur, it’s on your left, and if you come from Krui, it’s on your right.***

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0 Sate Padang

Sate Padang. This image is not the product of the man in the picture below. I took this picture from a website (www.makanmana.net) because I forgot to photograph his product. But Sate Padang made by the man in the picture below is exactly the same as above for sure. 

Other than eating at a restaurant (warung makan), you can also try gerobak dorong (push cart). Gerobak dorong does not only sell desserts like bakso (meatballs) and mie ayam (chicken noodle) but also something for main meal like sate padang. Sate padang is like other sates (sate kambing, sate ayam), it’s a stick grilled chicken served with sauces.  But sate padang features different sauce (bumbu). Unlike other sates, sate padang uses coconut oil in its sauce. The coconut oil and other ingredients turn the sauce yellow, which make it looks more appetizing. Unlike other sates, sate padang is the only sate sold in gerobak dorong.

Sate padang is just like its name, it’s originally from Padang, west Sumatera. It’s typically sold by Padang people, and only features chicken for the sticks. Sate padang is like other sates, it’s served with lontong (rice cake). But unlike other sates, sate padang served in a plate matted with banana leaf, which makes it even more unique.

In Krui, you can spot a gerobak dorong which sells sate padang only if you stay in downtown. Unlike other sates, sate padang is not found at restaurant, but at the street vendors only. This man goes down the streets in Krui everyday, from 2 o’clock p.m until it finish at about 11 o’clock, except in Ramadan. Sometime he finishes much earlier, and you’ll have to wait for the next day to have some.

Sate padang is much cheaper than other sate. You can have a plateful (ten sticks) of sate padang for about Rp.10.000.

If you have tried other sates and you kind of like it, then why not try sate padang, too. You’ll taste something different for sure. 

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0 'Laa Tansa'

Located about 22 km from the town center of Krui, this café can be reached easily on your way to the surf, since it’s located right at the gate of Karang Nyimbur breaks. Everybody who surfs Karang Nyimbur must know this café, if they ever turn their head right or left on their way to the surfs, either by bike or by car. It’s highly visible, it’s on your nose just before you get to the surfs of Karang Nyimbur.

‘Laa Tansa’ nest in a beautiful location. It’s by the beach, right in front of the vast Hindian ocean with a frontal ocean view, no fringes. The expose location allow the wind to blow constantly all day which makes the place even more comfortable. You don’t need any AC because this natural AC is all what you need.  If you need to take much hang out, this café is the right choice.   

You can have rice, boiled noodle, fried noodle, fried chicken, etc, and of course nasi goreng (fried rice) for a reasonable price. And you can also have some juice of any kind of fruit.

Laa Tansa is a kind of café where the food served on a pedestal table, or lower table  (called lesehan, in Bahasa). Some people prefer this because they can stretch their legs as though they sit on the floor. The floor is made of wood covered with fine carpet.

Truly, ‘Laa Tansa’ is the right choice where the location matters much.

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0 Where to Eat

Lesehan

THERE are many places where you can have something to eat in Krui, whether a big meal or only a dessert. You can have a big meal (with rice) at restaurants, and have some desserts like bakso (meatballs), mie ayam (chicken noodle), or soto (soup) at footstalls line on the street.

There are two types of restaurants in Krui: table restaurant and lesehan. Table restaurant is a restaurant with tables and seats as common everywhere, while lesehan is a restaurant where customers sit on the mat floor with pedestal tables (lower tables).

There are two ways you can have your meal at the restaurant: Do it yourself (DIY) and waiter service. "Do it yourself" means that you'll have to take the rice and the side dishes by yourself and pile them on your plate as you like, while "waiter service" means that you just wait on your table waiting for the waiter plonk the everythings you would like on your table. Here are some popular restaurants in Krui with their typical food and services:

Bakso

Rumah Makan Abu Sutarno*** (Table/Waiter Service). Located at the opposite of  Sempana Lima Hotel. Rumah Makan Abu Sutarno (R.M. Abu Sutarno) is a table restaurant with sate kambing (goat sticks) as their main menu. Beside sate kambing you can also have some roast chicken, fired chicken, fried fish, and desserts like bakso and soto.

Rumah Makan Singgalang*** (Table/Waiter Service). Located next two doors north of R.M. Abu sutarno. This restaurant serves Padang food (labelled: Masakan Padang). Masakan Padang is typical Sumatran food with fatty sauce (coconut oil) and chili (sambel). Here you can have fried chicken, rendang (beef cooked with thick coconut oil), ayam pedas (fried chicken laden with chili). Rendang is special dish in Padang food restaurant (Masakan Padang).

Rumah Makan Pakde Yoyo*** (Table/ DIY). Located about two hundred meters north of R.M Abu Sutarno. This restaurant has a lot of things to offer (read my article about this restaurant).

Rumah Makan Uncu Rina*** (Lesehan/Waiter Service). Located right at the opposite of Rumah Makan Pakde Yoyo. This restaurant has almost everything similar to Pakde Yoyo menus.

Rumah Makan Pondok Kuring** (Lesehan/Waiter Service). Located in Seray, about two kms south of town center. Pondok Kuring is excellent in anything grilled and roasted seafood. This restaurant has Blue Marlin sticks, which is unique to this town.

Rumah Makan Ceria Laay*** (Table/DIY). Located remotely about 6 kms north from town center, on the way to Jimmy’s. This DIY restaurant offers as many as the restaurants in town have to offer. But this restaurant has more vegetable. 

Rumah Makan Prambanan (R.M. Prambanan)*** (Table/DIY): This big motorist restaurant with a large parking area is located in Pasar Minggu, about 52 km south of Krui town. This is the only restaurant where you don’t have to worry about parking your rides, and the largest one you can have too. Even if you come with two buses, three cars, and twenty bikes, you still don’t have to worry where to park. The wide space inside this restaurant is a plus too that will make you feel more relax.

Rumah Makan Sari Rasa (R.M. Sari Rasa)**** (Lesehan/Waiter Service). Located in town of Krui (passed the market, right on the opposite of where Krui Putra big bus (coach) to Jakarta start). Although the building is not interesting, but the way they serve the meal is interesting. Check out how they serve the rice in a traditional basket. Since this restaurant is a lesehan, the food is cooked by order (and so is the other lesehan). This means that you,ll have to wait for a moment for them cooking the food you order. So if you are in a hurry, you’d better go to a table restaurant instead.  


Sri Maju Lesehan**** (Lesehan/Waiter Service)--Located by the rice field, in Way Redak, about 3 km away from Krui town center. This small bamboo house restaurant has only three tables. While the room is not spacy enough, the roast chicken and the roast fish are good. The rice is served in a bamboo basket, together with what you order (chicken things or fish) and vegetable soup, or sour vegetable soup (sayur asem). However, if you come at night, the vegetable soup may have run out, but you still can have chicken or fish with some cucumber and other raw vegetables instead.


A meal is quite a bargain in Krui. If you have Rp. 20,000 in your hand, you can have a meal with a piece of fried chicken or fish and a melon juice, but if you aren't sure, you can ask the price first. Enjoy your meal, folks. And remember not to fart at the dinner table.

(If you ask me which one appeals to me more than others, the stars may indicate my opinion. It's only my opinion though. You may have a different taste.)

Important words

Spoon  : sendok

Fork     : garpu

Eat with spoon  : makan dengan sendok

Eat with hand: makan dengan tangan

Take away: bungkus
Hand wash: cuci tangan
Spicy/Hot: pedas

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0 Pakde Yoyo Restaurant

IN THE TOWN CENTER, just a stone throw from your hotel, before the bridge to the market, you can indulge yourself a luxury of a good Indonesian food, together with drinks, juices of various fruits.

If you are heading northward (going to Jimmy’s or Drew's from Krui), the restaurant Pak de Yoyo is on your right, on the mouth of an alley. Restaurant Pakde Yoyo is cozy with constant blow of ceiling fans and fancy tables made of good quality wood. The food is tasty with various kind of flavour, bears all the quality of Indonesian good cuizines.

Ayam Bakar (Roast Chicken)

Ikan Bakar (Roast Chicken)

Lele Bakar (Roast Catfish)

Restaurant Pakde Yoyo is well known for its unique flavour in Krui and around. They have more to offer than what you can imagine, with unbelievably cheap prices. Here you can have tendon meatballs and fish meatballs, and any kinds of noodle (chicken noodle, fried noodle, boiled noodle, etc) and sticks (goat sticks, cow sticks, duck sticks) with prices range from Rp.10.000 to Rp.17.000. and also any kind of juice for only about Rp.5.000, enjoy it.

Download here for complete menu of Pakde Yoyo restaurant. The menus are all subject to rareness due to lack of raw supply from the market. When the storm comes, the fishermen do not go fishing, that's why ....

Download Menu

More photos

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1 Welcome to 'The Jack'

Fed up of food at the restaurant across the road? You can go to 'The Jack' at Labuhan Jukung, in town. Here you can have fried catfish with vedgetables (called pecel lele), roast chicken (ayam goreng), meatball (bakso), Mpek-mpek , and many. Mpek-mpek is like meatball made of fish, eaten with watery sauce (see pictures).

The cozy situation with a beautiful scene of the mountain will make you feel nice, beside its cheap price. Here you can have a meal with fried catfish for only Rp.12.000, and Rp.2.000 for an mpek-mpek.

Pecel Lele. The pecel lele is also special.
The way they serve it on a wooden 
plates is interesting.

Nice Location

Enjoy it, Man.

Mpek-Mpek. This Mpek-Mpek is special
for it's different from other Mpek-Mpek in town.
Check how you'll enjoy the water sauce.

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