Golden turmeric chicken soup — Indonesia’s favourite comfort bowl
Explore the Dish
Soto ayam is a fragrant yellow chicken soup coloured and perfumed by fresh turmeric, lemongrass, lime leaf and galangal. Found at warungs all over Bali, it is a light, restorative bowl of shredded chicken, glass noodles, bean sprouts, boiled egg and crisp fried shallots, brightened with a squeeze of lime and a spoon of sambal.
Every region of Indonesia has its own soto, and in Bali you will most often meet the clear Javanese-style soto ayam — turmeric-gold, gently spiced and topped with koya (a savoury cracker-garlic dust) at some stalls.
It is the kind of dish locals eat for breakfast or a light lunch. Served with a separate bowl of steamed rice (soto + nasi) or with lontong (compressed rice cake), it is filling without being heavy.
Soto is one of Indonesia’s defining comfort foods, with roots in Javanese and Chinese-Indonesian cooking. As people moved between the islands, soto ayam travelled to Bali and became a warung staple served from dawn.
Warungs around Pasar Badung
📍 Denpasar
Morning soto stalls near Bali’s biggest market — cheap, fresh and busy with locals.
Local warungs, Ubud & Sanur
📍 Ubud / Sanur
Almost every neighbourhood warung serves a turmeric soto ayam in the morning.
Food courts & night markets
📍 Island-wide
Indonesian food-court stalls do a clean, tourist-friendly soto with rice.
| Venue Type | IDR | USD (approx.) | INR (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street cart / warung | 15,000–30,000 IDR | $0.9–$1.9 | ₹85–₹165 |
| Local warung (sit-down) | 36,000–54,000 IDR | $2.2–$3.4 | ₹200–₹300 |
| Mid-range restaurant | 60,000–96,000 IDR | $3.8–$6.0 | ₹335–₹535 |
| Hotel / tourist restaurant | 105,000–180,000 IDR | $6.6–$11.2 | ₹585–₹1000 |
Some warungs make a vegetable or tofu-tempeh version with the same turmeric broth, but classic soto ayam is chicken-based.
“Ada soto sayur?” — Is there a vegetable soto?Jain note: Balinese cooking uses garlic, shallots and shrimp paste (terasi) widely. Jain travellers should ask for dishes without onion, garlic and terasi — easiest at vegetarian warungs in Ubud.
No — the broth itself is mild and aromatic. Heat comes from sambal served on the side, which you control.
Classic soto ayam is chicken-based, but some warungs offer a vegetable or tofu-tempeh soto with the same turmeric broth. Ask “ada soto sayur?”
At a warung, roughly ₹80–₹160 a bowl. Tourist restaurants charge more.
Most often for breakfast or a light lunch — many stalls sell out by early afternoon.
Soto is a spiced turmeric chicken soup; bakso is a meatball noodle soup with a clearer beef broth. Both are warung classics.
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