Bale Jukung: Tropical Hut Cafe in Lombok Utara

A Hidden Tropical Hut: Bale Jukung of Lombok Utara in West Nusa Tenggara Province

I got a reference for this place from a senior colleague who occasionally happened to hang out in this place. January 2020, after a long courtesy meeting with the Mayor of Lombok Utara and District Development Agency (BAPPEDA), me and 3 other colleagues from Mataram and Palu Office decided to take a break. Bale Jukung is located near the junction to Mina Tanjung Hotel, you will not miss it, as a signboard with traditional fishermen boat is hanging outside the entrance.

Once you enter the place, you will find the main Cafe Hut and several separate constructions that dominate with local traditional housing design. The Cafe Hut has a bartender table with chairs and tables for the guest made from sturdy and thick woods. The Cafe is designed as open space, so even in the heat of the summertime, you can feel the breeze of the fresh ocean breeze as it located 200 meters near the coast of Mina.

The interesting part of the cafe that caught my eyes, was the local products that are displayed on a wooden shelf. You can find various unique products of Lombok Utara in the display, which include moringa (superfood) powder (https://www.instagram.com/medodolamoringaklu/), virgin coconut oil, honey, woven cloth, and coffee. I would definitely recommend you to buy these products as they are useful for daily consumption, added value for buying these products would be supporting the fairtrade for the farmers and gardeners in Lombok Utara.

Local Products from the Farmers and Gardener in Lombok Utara

Traditional design and open space concept of the cafe are not the only ones that make this place comfy for hang-out, working, or just relaxing. The menu in this cafe is also tasty and made from local products as well full with spices, but no need to worry if you don't like spicy food, you can just ask the owner/chef to make it a bit light and mild. I order what they called Holy Drink ( a mix of lime, mint, and honey) and Coconut Chicken (which unfortunately I forgot to take picture of this meal). The drink is so refreshing and the meal is so awesome, I would say that the chicken is tender and crispy with fried coconut shreds, tamarind, and galangal. 

Holy Drink

While waiting for the others finishing their meals, I decided to have a tour around the cafe. The cafe also has 2 traditional houses that are functioned as Bed and Breakfast (BnB). The rate for a night varies from 300K IDR (15$) to 400K IDR (20$), the difference is on the facility of the room with or without AC. 

Kayangan Room without AC

Room with AC

Near the Kayangan House, you will find some public facilities, such as Souvenir Shop and Live Music Corner. The souvenir shop also sells some traditional products and merchandise, including a woven and knitted purse, hat, coffee, etc. 

Live Music Corner

Local Souvenir Shop

We continued our field trip and we bid our adieus to Mba Nina Hernidiah the owner of the place who has a dream to expand her BnB by constructing more traditional houses with different designs based on regions in Lombok, as part of promoting and preserving the Lombok culture and tradition. If you are planning to have a short summer break or gateway in Lombok Utara, you might want to stay in Bale Jukung. For reservation, kindly contact Mba Nina on her mobile phone +628123874336/+6281937616728. I will update soon for the recommendation of tourism sites in Lombok Utara, which are mostly panoramic and agro-tourism. One place that you might want to visit and don't want to miss it, would be Chocolate Village Senara. The review for the place can be seen in https://yuniarti4drr.blogspot.com/2019/06/chocolate-factory-in-small-village.html

Me, Ibu Nur (our gender and government relations staff), and Mba Nina, owner of Bale Jukung