On this page
- In Brief
- Daluman at a Glance
- Daluman Is Green, and Black Grass Jelly Is a Different Plant
- The Jelly Comes from a Climbing Vine, Cyclea barbata
- The Leaves Set into Jelly with Nothing Added
- How Es Daluman Is Made: Jelly, Coconut Milk and Syrup
- Where to Drink Es Daluman in North Bali
- How to Fit It In
- Practical Notes
- FAQ
- Sources
In Brief
Daluman is the Balinese name for green cincau, a soft jelly made from the leaves of a climbing vine, Cyclea barbata. It is served cold as es daluman, over ice with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.
The fresh leaves are kneaded by hand in boiled, cooled water until the water turns dark green and foamy. The liquid is strained and left to stand, and it sets on its own into a soft, trembling jelly. The jelly is then cut into pieces for the glass.
Es daluman is the everyday cold drink of Balinese warungs and markets, at its best at midday, when north Bali is hottest. In the north, look for it at warungs in Singaraja and at Pasar Anyar, the city's market. In Lovina it is sold at the Pasar Intaran market on the beach.
Daluman at a Glance
- What it is: A green leaf jelly, called daluman in Bali and cincau hijau elsewhere in Indonesia
- The plant: Cyclea barbata, a climbing vine of the moonseed family (Menispermaceae)
- The drink: Es daluman, the jelly with coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and ice
- How it sets: The leaves' own gelling fibre, mainly pectin, with no gelatine, no agar and no cooking
- Texture: Soft, wobbling jelly in cold, sweet coconut milk
- Where in the north: Warungs in Singaraja, Pasar Anyar market, Pasar Intaran in Lovina
- Best time: Midday, when it is hottest
Daluman Is Green, and Black Grass Jelly Is a Different Plant
Daluman is the green grass jelly, soft, raw-made and the colour of the leaves it comes from.
Travellers who know grass jelly from Chinese or Taiwanese desserts sometimes expect a black, firmer jelly cut into cubes. That one is black cincau, which comes from a different plant, Mesona. Indonesia uses a third plant as well, a shrub called cincau perdu (Premna).
The Jelly Comes from a Climbing Vine, Cyclea barbata
The jelly comes from the leaves of Cyclea barbata, a climbing plant of the moonseed family.
It is native to Southeast Asia and often grows wild. Indonesian Wikipedia's entry on the plant describes it as happiest in shade, in damp ground, at around 800 metres. It is grown from seed or from stem cuttings.
Across Indonesia it is known as cincau hijau, green cincau. It has a string of regional names too, among them camcao in Javanese and camcauh in Sundanese. In Bali it is daluman.
Leaves of Cyclea barbata, the vine that daluman is made from, photographed in Hong Kong. Photo: CYL / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
The vine has a long life as a medicine too. A 2022 review in the Sasambo Journal of Pharmacy records traditional uses in Indonesia and neighbouring countries, among them treating malaria and care after childbirth. It notes that the stems, roots and leaves contain alkaloids and flavonoids.
The authors are careful to add that more research is needed to confirm how effective and how safe those uses are.
The Leaves Set into Jelly with Nothing Added
Nothing is added to make daluman set, because the leaves carry their own gelling fibre.
Food scientists who have studied the plant identify the polysaccharide behind the gel as mainly pectin. Pectin is the same family of fibre that sets fruit jam.
A 2023 study at Universitas Semarang compared jelly made from fresh leaves with jelly made from dried leaf powder. It found real differences between the two:
- firmness
- colour
- taste
- how quickly each set
Fresh leaves are what the markets use.
How Es Daluman Is Made: Jelly, Coconut Milk and Syrup
The method is simple and physical. State radio's Singaraja station, RRI Singaraja, sets it out in three parts.
The jelly. Fresh daluman leaves are washed, then squeezed and kneaded in boiled water that has been left to cool. The kneading goes on until the water foams and turns dark green. The juice is then strained and left at room temperature to firm up.
Kneading takes real strength, and the Balinese word for it is ngulet. The Singaraja writer Dian Suryantini reported on a daluman workshop at Pasar Intaran in Lovina for tatkala.co. The students taking part found the leaves would not give up their juice until they squeezed hard.
The coconut milk. Coconut milk is heated gently with a pinch of salt and pandan leaf for fragrance. RRI suggests using milk from a grilled coconut for extra depth.
The seller who led the Lovina workshop told her students where good coconut milk starts. It takes a fully mature coconut, grated, squeezed and strained by hand.
The syrup. Palm sugar, gula aren or gula Bali, is boiled with water until it thickens. Some warungs colour a plain sugar syrup red instead, as one Singaraja seller described to Kompas.
The glass. The jelly is cut into pieces and spooned into a glass with ice and syrup. The coconut milk goes over the top.
Green cincau jelly with ice, coconut milk and red syrup, the market-stall version of the drink, here in Jakarta. Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Where to Drink Es Daluman in North Bali
Es daluman is a warung and market drink, sold where locals eat lunch.
Warungs in Singaraja
Kompas visited a small roadside warung in Banyuning, a neighbourhood of Singaraja. Office workers come in at lunchtime for es daluman alongside plates of pork rawon, tipat cantok and chicken soto.
The owner told the reporter it is the drink customers ask for more than any other, and that most glasses go at midday. The best warungs in north Bali lists places to eat in the same spirit.
Pasar Anyar, Singaraja
Singaraja's central market is one of the places detikBali names for es daluman made the local way. That means coconut milk and Balinese palm sugar (Map).
Combine it with a walk through Singaraja's old town.
Pasar Intaran, Lovina
Pasar Intaran is a small market normally set up on the beachfront in Lovina's tourist area (Map).
There tatkala.co met Ibu Wayan Mariastini, who has sold es daluman at the market for a long time. She taught a workshop in making it one Sunday morning. Ask locally which days the market runs.
How to Fit It In
Es daluman is best as a break in a hot day on the coast or in town.
Pair a morning in Singaraja with lunch at a warung and a glass of daluman. Or stop for one at Pasar Intaran after an early swim.
Three guides cover what goes around it:
- The drinks of north Bali has the other drinks of the north, from arak and tuak to the coconut-water rujak yeh kuwud and the herbal loloh.
- What to eat in Bali covers the dishes to eat alongside it.
- Bali street food covers the snacks.
Practical Notes
- Go at lunchtime. That is when warungs sell most of it.
- Bring small notes. Warungs and market stalls deal in cash.
- Ask for less sugar (gula sedikit) if you prefer it less sweet.
- Drink it on the spot, while it is cold.
- Ice: if you are careful about ice, ask for it without (tanpa es). Bali belly has the wider advice.
FAQ
What is daluman? Daluman is the Balinese name for green cincau, a soft jelly made by kneading the leaves of the Cyclea barbata vine in water and letting the green juice set. It is usually served as es daluman, with coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and ice.
What is daluman made of? Only leaves and water for the jelly itself. The leaves contain a natural gelling fibre, mainly pectin, so no gelatine or agar is added. The drink adds coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and ice.
What is daluman in English? Green grass jelly, or green cincau. The plant is Cyclea barbata.
Is daluman the same as grass jelly? It is a green cousin. The black grass jelly of Chinese and Indonesian desserts comes from a different plant, Mesona. Daluman is made from fresh Cyclea barbata leaves kneaded in water, and it is soft and green.
Where can I drink es daluman in north Bali? At warungs in Singaraja, such as around Banyuning, at Pasar Anyar market in Singaraja, and at the Pasar Intaran beach market in Lovina.
Is daluman healthy? It is mostly water and plant fibre, and the jelly has been studied for its antioxidant compounds. A review of the plant's traditional medicinal uses concludes that more research is needed on their effectiveness and safety. The coconut milk and palm sugar make the drink rich and sweet.
Sources
- RRI Singaraja, Recipe and method for making es daluman at home, 19 July 2026, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
- tatkala.co, Dian Suryantini, Learning to knead daluman at Pasar Intaran, 24 March 2026, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
- Kompas, Es daluman, Bali's refreshment at a small Buleleng warung, 19 November 2024, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
- detikBali, Five tasty, cheap foods in Singaraja, 30 November 2024, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
- Wikipedia, Cincau (tumbuhan), for the plant's family, habitat and names, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
- Febrianto and others, Cyclea barbata L. Miers: traditional use, phytochemistry and pharmacological activity, Sasambo Journal of Pharmacy, September 2022, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
- Saputri, Rohadi and Fitriana, Comparing gel from fresh green cincau leaves with gel from leaf powder, Jurnal Teknologi Pangan dan Hasil Pertanian, 2023, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
Read next: the drinks of north Bali, the best warungs in north Bali and Singaraja's old town.
