Bali Diving Guide-Turned-Hawker & Lawyer Wife Closing Balinese Stall After 9 Months

Balinese hawker stall The Warung at Lau Pa Sat started regularly attracting crowds soon after it opened in June 2023 when 8days.sg featured it. People were drawn to its hearty home-style Balinese dishes like Ayam Betutu (slow-cooked chicken), as well as the owners’ quirky love story. Singapore-based Indonesian-Chinese lawyer Juliana Widjaja, 42, opened the stall with Balinese ex-diving guide I Wayan Suka, 30, after they fell in love during a diving trip in Bali and got married. But after less than a year of operations, the stall will close for good on 22 March 2024. 8days.sg speaks to Juliana to find out why.

The lawyer who helps her hubby at the stall whenever she’s free tells 8days.sg that shutting the biz is “bittersweet”. She adds that “it’s sad to let it go as business is doing really well, but life happens and we’re really excited about what’s next”.

But how does Suka, who cooks all the food here, feel? “He feels the same as me,” shares Juliana. “Bittersweet too. He is very pleased to have been able to set up this stall in Singapore, especially since he feels that traditional Indonesian food is not very fairly represented overseas when Indonesia has over 17K islands with so many different types of cuisines. But he says his priority has always been to support me and my [law] career and he’s very excited about what’s next too”.

She tells 8days.sg their reason for closure off the record, hinting at her work commitments, and says she will update us with more details in due time. So watch this space. 

Recouped $40K investment & made a profit within 8 months

Juliana reiterates the stall isn’t closing down due to poor business. In fact, she says, “there’s still always a queue at lunch time, and the food sells out fairly early in the evening everyday”. She adds: “We’ve had to adjust our closing hours and say ‘until sold out’ because of that”. The couple have already recouped their $40K investment on the stall and have made a profit within these eight months. 

The couple’s unusual love story

While Suka didn’t have any professional F&B experience prior to setting up Warung, he grew up cooking regularly at home with his family. He used to be a diving guide in Bali, where he met Juliana who was on a diving trip there in 2019. The two stayed Instagram friends during the Covid-19 lockdown period which hit soon after, then met again and fell in love when travel restrictions were lifted. Suka later relocated to Singapore after marrying Juliana, who works in a law firm here.

Try these dishes before they close shop

There’s still about a month to drop by The Warung for their tasty offerings like Ayam Betutu ($8.90) and Mujair Nyat Nyat ($14.90), deep-fried tilapia marinated in house-made rempah. Don’t forget to accompany your meal with their two shiok condiments - a fiery sambal matah (a Balinese staple) and sambal embe, made with caramelised fried shallots, garlic, chilli padi and lime.

While it’s a pity that The Warung is shutting down so soon, Juliana says they “hope the stall inspired people to try more authentic Indonesian food beyond the mainstream [types of dishes]”. As for whether they have plans to reopen the stall in future? Juliana says: “Not currently, but never say never, right?”.

The Warung’s last day of operations is on 22 March 2024. Stall 63 Lau Pa Sat, 18 Raffles Quay, S048582. Open Mon - Fri 11.30am till sold out, Sat 12pm till sold out (closed on Sun). More info via their Instagram. 

Photos: Kelvin Chia

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