WHAT IS A KELONG?

The picture above depicts what a kelong is, a platform (usually wooden) on top of the ocean. Seafood around Batam is usually fresh anyway but having it in this kind of setting feels more fresh right? This seafood kelong is located by the Nongsa Beach. So if you are tourists staying in the resorts near Nongsa, you might want to give this a shot.

THE FOOD

Overall, the food here are good with some excellent dishes. My favorite is this Black Pepper Crayfish. Some call this Slipper Lobster but the locals call this “Hepo”. The sauce is simply too appetizing that makes you want more and more. Not to mention the fresh Crayfish.

This calamari is pretty good. Golden crispy crunch with soft chewy inside. Marination is just decent. Eat this with the “sambal” aka chili sauce for extra kick.

You can never go wrong with steamed seafood when they are freshly caught off the sea. Some extra seasonings wouldn’t hurt too.

Can’t go wrong with this classic dish. Salty flavor from the butter glazing through all of the succulent prawns. Not the best but still worth your time

As a bonus, the calming ocean view while eating these fresh yummy seafood. Across this kelong is actually the location of “Pulau Putri” (Princess Island). You can take a boat over and enjoy a quiet time in that small island.

You can also check out this article about Sumber Rezeki for more pictures on the restaurant and food

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN

Lada hitam = Black pepper
Hepo = Crayfish/Slipper lobster
Ikan = Fish
Rajungan = Flower crabs
Sotong goreng tepung = Calamari
Udang = Prawns
Mentega = Butter
Stim = Steamed
Goreng = Fried

#HALAL

PRICE: Can’t remember but very reasonable here

LOCATION: Sumber Rezeki Seafood

– This is NOT Rezeki in Batu Besar

– Nongsa Beach turn left before reaching Batam View Resort

– When in Nongsa Beach area, just ask people there

– There are only 2-3 kelong seafood here

– This kelong is located near the boats going to Pulau Putri (Princess Island)

HOURS: Lunch and Dinner

This is the stall. Located inside Long Shu Siah Kopitiam (previously Kopitiam Penuin) just next to Gideon Hotel in Penuin – Batam. It is widely known that this stall is the anchor of this coffee shop!

Just like most other Tanjung Pinang (TPI) style of noodle, you would expect some tomato and chili sauce in the mix. . Noodle texture is good and I love the fishcakes. Bbq pork (chasiu) is just normal for me.

Soup and fish ball are actually really good. A rather generous portion. Many wanton noodles in Batam, regardless of styles and origins, do not focus much on their soup. This stall is different. The soup is very fragrant and flavourful. My guess is the the minced pork used to boil soup.

One bowl is never enough here. Especially if you are into tomato sauce kinda base for wanton noodle

Can you see the abundance of tomato sauce mixed with lard? Can you feel the sinfulness? I am salivating just looking at this picture. This is good good and good. May be a little too oily for some of you but it did not bother me at all

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN

Kedai = Shop
Kopi = Coffee
Mie = Noodle
Pangsit = Wanton

#NONHALAL

PRICE: Rp 20,000

LOCATION: Kopitiam Long Shu Siah (previously Kopitiam Penuin)
– Komp Penuin Center Blok OA No 1-2
– Behind Gideon Hotel in Penuin
– 5-7 mins walk from BCS Mall, I-hotel Baloi, and BCC Hotel
– Tourist Friendly Location

HOURS: 06:30 – 12:00 (estimate)

TELP: 0778-453699

STEAMED FISH NYONYA STYLE

Must try. I would come back here just for this dish. A fantastic peranakan touch that is super rare to be found in Batam. In fact, this is probably my first time seeing this in Batam. Price depends on the type of fish and weight

GOLDEN PUMPKIN CALAMARI

Very very good. Another rare dish in Batam. Sweet, fresh, and fragrant pumpkin sauce all around crunchy calamari. An excellent combo with this fresh squid.

ICE FIRE CHICKEN

Very good. I would rate this fantastic just because of the sensation. Hot chicken served on a bed of ice. When I bite it, I could really taste hot and cold together. Talk about Yin and Yang! hhahhaa

HOTPLATE TOFU

Almost very good. Common dish but cooked to a high standard. I was told that the tofu was made fresh from soy. Maybe I heard wrongly but the inside was silky smooth while the skin got this rugged sexiness to it

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT

Their food made my tummy super happy but these people definitely made my time special. Here is a special shout for you guys who made my dining experience fine and thank you again for putting up with my awesome children:
Yogis, Johan, Abhi, Yeni, Dede, Rio, and Ika

CONCLUSION

Highly recommended if you love seafood with a different twist. If they keep the quality consistent, then I am confident you will enjoy as much as I did. For more information please contact Montigo Resorts Nongsa directly at 0778 7768888 or visit their website here.

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN

Ikan = Fish
Stim = Steamed
Sotong = Squid
Labu = Pumpkin
Es = Ice
Api = Fire
Ayam = Chicken
Tipan = Hotplate
Tahu = Tofu

NASI AYAM CHASIO

This BBQ Chicken Rice is such a great find for me. I cannot believe I did not try this earlier. The bbq chicken is sweet and has good marination. Chicken rice is salty and has strong flavor. The chili sauce is sweet, sour, and a little spicy. Mixing these together, yummy! I was totally satisfied with this dish

NASI KARI 

This curry rice looks simple but tastes sophisticated. Mix of fried chicken, peanut with anchovies, spicy long beans, spicy potato, and egg. Then that curry sauce on top of the rice. Can you imagine the flavor? I think they will get many new regulars soon. Of course, consistency is always a big variable in F&B. But so far so good.

AYAM CABE IJO

Another one of my favorite dishes here. For many of us, this chicken in green chili is going to be quite spicy. I could not finish the whole thing because the chili burnt my lips. If you are into yummy spicy food, I recommend you to try this. But my favorite here still remains the “chasio chicken”

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN

Ayam = Chicken
Nasi = Rice
Chasio = Chinese BBQ
Kari = Curry
Cabe = Chili
Ijo = Green

#HALAL

PRICE: Rp 16,000 – 20,000

LOCATION: Kedai Tjai Kie
⁃ Baloi Abadi Blok A No 5, Batam
⁃ Di jalan ke arah Taman Kota Mas, belok kiri masuk ke gerbang Permata Residence
⁃ Deretan ruko pertama di sebelah kiri, disitu lah dia
⁃ Sekitar daerah Permata Baloi
⁃ Nanya orang di sekitar sana kalau ga ngerti or telpon yang punya

HOURS⏰: 07:00 – 19:00
– The bbq chicken and curry rice are usually sold out around 14:00 – 15:00

TELP☎️: 085264076606

“Bagan” is the name of a remote city I do not even know where and too lazy to google. But what I don’t need google to tell me is Bagan-style Wantan Noodle is generally sweet tasting.

Bagan Noodle is one the most old-school style of Wantan Noodle in my opinion. Its sauce main base is lard/pork oil and that is where the sweetness comes from. Add some old school “chasiu” aka bbq pork and that is it. Ingredients are simple and straightforward, but the taste is nothing short of satisfying

This is easily top 3 “Mie Bagan” in Batam for me. I am hooked and definitely going to come back for this. And with Sate Sumatra and Oyster Omelette there, no wonder this Guan Guan Coffeeshop is always crowded during evening

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN

Mie = Noodle
Pangsit = Wanton
Kedai = Shop
Kopi = Coffee
Kopitiam = Coffee Shop

#NONHALAL

PRICE: Rp 18,000

LOCATION: Mie Bagan Apiau
– In Guan Guan Kopitiam
– Komp Srijaya Abadi Blok B No 1, Nagoya
– Near Lucky Plaza
– Same stretch as Ayam Bakar Bu de and Old Place
– Opposite Vegas Nagoya
– 15 mins walk from Nagoya Hill Mall
– 5 mins walk from Harmoni Suite Hotel and Formosa Hotel

HOURS⏰: 15:00 – 23:00

THE REVIEW
PLACE – The place quite easy to find actually. It’s located at Jalan Setia Budhi. Nasi Ayam Ahok right in front of one of famous dry Bak Kut Teh (will share to you this place next time, promise).

FOOD – The chicken is tender and delicate. The soy sauce is fragrant and I bet you must visit here and try some. They serve 2 type of chickens; steam and fried. In this visit, I choose steam one. The chili tends normal, but the rice wins my heart.

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN
Nasi = Rice
Ayam = Chicken
Kecap = Soy Sauce
Rebus = Steam
Cabai = Chilli

#HALAL

LOCATION: Nasi Ayam Ahok
Jl. Setia Budhi – Tanjung Balai Karimun
Kepulauan Riau
(nearest hotel: Paradise Hotel, Hotel Wiko and Hotel Satria)

HOURS ⏰: 06.00 – 20.00

THE REVIEW
FOOD – As you may know, they serve two kinds of carrot cake. The white and black one. My favorite is black cha kue. They use sweet soy sauce and it smells so good. Really really good! If some of them put sweet soy sauce while they cook, in here they put the soy sauce after the finish cooking (approximately 2-3 minutes before they serve it). So this cha kue is not too dry and little “charred”. The portion fits in my small tiny stomach. LOL!

PLACE – Oh I love the place! Many kind of foods are offered here, fried rice, fried noodle, fried kwetiau, curry rice, wanton noodle, and many many more! You can order wanton noodle and eat at fried rice stall. Serious! They do have high in tolerance.

ADD IT INTO YOUR DICTIONARY
Cha Kue = Fried Carrot Cake
Nasi Kari = Curry Rice
Mie Pangsit = Wanton Noodle

#HALAL

PRICE: 10,000 IDR for a plate (available take away)

LOCATION: Jl. Usman Harun No. 17 – Tanjung Batu Kundur; Kepulauan Riau
(Usman Harun road is filled with food sellers in the morning)

The omelette was crispy at the edge and soft in the middle. It was fragrant. Mainly salty with a little spicy punch (can add more chili if you want). Overall, this plate of oyster omelette should be able to satisfy most tongues. I personally think it can fight with the big boys in this department. I apologize for the loss focus in this picture. But seriously, come and try this if you like Oluak

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN

Oluak = Oyster Omelette
Pedas = Spicy
Sedikit = Less
Sangat = Very

#HALAL
.
PRICE: Rp 25,000
.
LOCATION: Oluak Achen 789
– In Guan Guan Kopitiam
– Komp Srijaya Abadi Blok B No 1, Nagoga
– Near Lucky Plaza
– Same stretch as Ayam Bakar Bu de and Old Place
– Opposite Vegas Nagoya
– 15 mins walk from Nagoya Hill Mall
– 5 mins walk from Harmoni Suite Hotel and Formosa Hotel
.
HOURS⏰: 17:00 – 23:00

Okay, it turns out the place is located right next to the Bak Kut Teh Siang Hwa. Lol, this is really funny. Because I just can’t stop staring at Bak Kut Teh Siang Hwa label and wondering when I will be going there to eat. *pinky promise* Among those 8 menu that they offers, I do really curious with Pork Porridge and Bak Kut Teh. Someday I will try their porridge, YES!
Let’s talk about this place. The owner said that her place ever published by one of Singapore media, called Channel U. And I understand why. Because the food is sooooooooooo delicay!!

THE REVIEW
FOOD – The soup is savoury! Damn good!! I love the soup! The combination of both herbs and spices is blended well together! And I kinda regret why I didn’t order the dry one. You must try the dry one. It wins my heart. As you can see, the ingredients for dry bak kut teh is consists of chili padi, ginger, garlic, and a bit soy sauce. The ingredients of bak kut teh roughly as same as other place. But the flavour is completely different. And I recommended you also to come and visit this place.

TIPS
I suggest you to add some tofu skin to complete your bowl of bak kut teh. Same as my suggestion before, if you interested with dry Bak Kut Teh and quite confuse on deciding which one you should order, don’t worry. Just order the dry one, and simply ask the waiter to provide you a bowl of empty Bak Kut Teh soup. It’s FREE!

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN
Kembang Tahu = Tofu Skin
Sup Ikan = Fish Soup
Sup Kambing = Lamb Soup
Bubur = Porridge
Bubur Ikan = Fish Porridge

Of course #NONHALAL

LOCATION: Jl. Trikora (Beside Kedai Kopi Siang Hwa Bak Kut Teh)
Tanjung Balai Karimun – Kepulauan Riau

PRICE: Dry and original both are same Rp 35.000-,
Additional Tofu Skin : FREE

What’s the next place to eat in Tanjung Balai Karimun? See below image and stay tuned!

Bak Kut Teh is usually contains minced pork, pork’s belly, meaty pork ribs, frozen pork blood and pork liver. You can choose one of them, actually (I can only eat minced pork).
Bak Kut Teh is usually eaten with rice or noodles (but unfortunately noodle isn’t available here) and often served with strips of fried dough (youtiao/cha kueh) for dipping into the soup. Light soy sauce or dark is also offered with chopped chili padi.

THE REVIEW
PLACE – What I love having lunch in here? The atmosphere! Since its located at the corner of the block, this place is very conspicuous and easily searchable. Moreover, the circulation of air in this place is pretty good and not too hot. Can you imagine if you were in this place when raining and enjoy a bowl of Bak Kut Teh soup?
FOOD – Actually Bak Kut Teh Simpang Empat has a good taste of soup (both herbs and spices). Fair enough, not special. But, the minced pork is the best!! They add chopped carrot inside it! Can you imagine how tasty it is?

TIPS
If you interested with dry Bak Kut Teh and quite confuse on deciding which one you should order, don’t worry. Just order the dry one, and simply ask the waiter to provide you a bowl of empty Bak Kut Teh soup. No charge, and you can enjoy two kinds of Bak Kut Teh at the same time :p

LEARN YOUR INDONESIAN
Nasi = Rice
Cha Kueh = Strips of fried dough
Cabai Rawit = Chilli padi
Wortel = Carrot

Of course #NONHALAL

LOCATION: Bak Kut Teh Simpang Empat
Jl. Trikora No. 5B – Tanjung Balai Karimun
Kepulauan Riau

PRICE: Dry and original both are same Rp 35.000-,
Rice Rp 5.000-,

This is actually already the umpteenth times I flew to Batam and I always had a very good time there.
During those days, I even hardly remember what hunger feels like. Lol.

Our first day started with waking up at 4am as we were going to board the earliest flight to Batam that morning. Kuala Namo airport is no longer a stone’s throw away, so we were required to head to the airport at 5am morning and the flight was at 7am. What an early bird deal!

Right from the airport, we then proceed to the hotel and check-in.
For the lodge, we stayed in Biz Hotel during the previous visit and we enjoyed it quite much, hence we embarked on the very same hotel again this time.

We were 8 persons in total and we need 3 rooms with 2 extra beds. Photo below is our home for 2 nights, the superior room at rate Idr. 430K per night, additional Idr. 250K for the extra bed. As per our request, we were given the high-floor and no-smoking rooms. Rooms were clean, quite and comfortable. 2 rooms were connected to each other by a door which was very convenient for us to be able to hang out and go from room to room, meanwhile the other one was just on the opposite.

Check-in was done and off we went to have our breakfast. The clock was showing 10 am and our stomachs were growling even harder than before. We need FOOD, FOOD and FOOD!

And well, Eatern Food Court was our first stop.
From the first time we were introduced to this FISH SOUP WITH TARO last few months, we can’t wait to go back again. So the breakfast was settled at there again. A crowded, bustling, no air-cond hawker center.

As shown in the pics below, fresh whole/fillet fish were displayed on trays, with no ice under it. We picked 3 kinds of different fish and ordered the kitchen to prepare them in 3 different dishes : fried, soup and spicy-sour.

Ohkayyy, so here were our orders. Lets dig in!

– Fish Soup with Taro – Idr. 140,000 (feed 4-6 people)
Plunging taro in the soup is one unique way to create rich flavor in this thick fish soup. The semi-mashed taro cubes and the fish blend so well together. Best eaten when still hot (with or without rice). I’m drooling by only looking at this photo, omg!

– The deep-fried fish – Idr. 30,000/pc.
Cannot think of any words how to describe about this very simple deep-fried fish. The fish itself was already very tasteful and of very good quality. Paired them with chopped green chili, tasted damn good!

– Fish soup bee hoon – Idr. 30,000/bowl.
There’s not much I can write about this. I personally didn’t have any special impression to this, but the friends claimed that this was pretty decent. Clear broth, big chunks of fish flesh, well-cooked bee hoon and the flavors were powerful as well.

– Spicy and Sour Fish – Idr. 50,000 (personal serving size)
Personal serving size, but everybody managed to pinch at least a bite to taste. Fish was unquestionably fresh, but the sauce wasn’t the type of spicy-sour sauce I expected for. For us, who are Medan-based, this spicy and sour sauce couldn’t make it to our expectation. Nevertheless, it worth our tummy space.

– Dry wonton noodle (Idr. 18,000), prawn noodle and curry noodle (cannot remember the price)
Prawn noodle (bottom left) was almost tasteless whereas the wonton noodle (top left) was way too sweet.
The curry noodle (right) was unexpectedly the best dish we had that morning.

Acccording to Batamliciouz himself, this hawker center has garnered quite a lot of regulars as well as the tourists. Overall, we came out from this place feeling all satisfied.

That’s all for this post, I’ll definitely come back again with my other travelogue stories. See ya in Part 2!

Location : 

• Biz Hotel, Komplek Nagoya Newton Blok T, No. 15, Jalan Kompleks Nagoya City Walk, Lubuk Baja, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia. Phone : +62 778 432999
• Eatern Food Court, Komplek Penuin Center Blok X No. 1-4, opposite of BCS Mall.

So, instead of going to the all-the-time-always-crowded-with-long-queue Penang Road, we were brought to its branch at Sunshine Farlim Ground Floor. As expected, the place was really cramped too when we reached there. But it didn’t take too long, 6 of us were then being “inserted” at one small corner. Uuuugh, I can really feel the local atmosphere there.

These spring rolls (if you call it so) were displayed on the table nearby our table.

I have to say that Penangites have unique taste, they dip the spring roll into the laksa gravy and I followed doing so.
Nothing special actually, but it’s a good introduction about locals’ eating habit.

There’s quite a selection on the menu to choose from, but of course Cendol is their specialty.
So, TADAAAAA….! Here’s one for your visual enjoyment! Hahahha.

I luuuuurve cendol like this!
Those green worms’ texture was very on point. It’s firm yet soft, its chewy and not starchy.
Btw, I just realized that Asian desserts could never been separated from coconut milk, #IsntItTrue?
And oh, have I mentioned the word “fresh” here?

Well, this is the other savior of the hot day, ICE KACANG!
It contains jelly, red beans, sweet corn and attap chee (palm seeds), topped with shaved ice, colored syrups and condensed milk. Coarsely crushed peanut was sprinkled on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream as the last touch.

How about this then? It has no name, this was special request from my aunt. It used only palm sugar instead of coconut milk. I believe it tasted as good as its presentation. And look at those red beans! Yes, I forgot to mention that we did order an additional portion of red beans for our eating pleasure.

I have a bad habit anyway, I tend to over-order and ended up with my natural problem with overeating or food wasting. Hmmm..

And now, this is the well-known Laksa from Penang Road Cendol. I hv to admit that this is a bowl of goodness!

I myself is not an avid fan of Laksa, so cannot actually give a fair and trustworthy verdict.
But somehow I really enjoyed the taste of this laksa. They were pretty generous with shrimp paste as you can see in the pic. I stirred all the things together and voila! I enjoyed it with my Cendol! Truly yumz!

All right, probably all of you will tell me that Air Itam Laksa is the best out of the whole Penang Island. I did not have the time for that during this trip, but I was told by the relatives who are the Penangites, the one just right on its opposite road serves better Laksa. Hmmm, have any of you tried it out? How is it?

PS : If you like to be more adventurous, go for Penang Road. There you need to stand while eating, no proper place to sit down and you are not allowed to bring the cendol to the nearby coffee shop. Adventuring enough? Lol.

LEARN YOUR MALAY :

Cendol = Traditional dessert originating from Indonesia which is popular in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries. Made from rice flour and other ingredients that are formed by filters, then mixed with palm sugar and coconut milk.

Laksa = popular spicy noodle soup in Peranakan cuisine, which is a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine. Laksa consists of rice noodles with chicken, prawn or fish, served in spicy soup.

 

LOCATION :

Location 1 : Jalan Penang, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Phone:+60 4-262 6002
Hours: Daily · 10AM–7:30PM

Location 2 : 294-G-7, Sunshine Farlim Shopping Mall, Jalan Thean Teik, 11500 Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Phone: +60 16-415 3940