Everything is so cheap in Batam from beer, instant noodles, seafood to massage. Hubz was tempted by the chilli crab and so I did another Batam trip a month later. I went in July and Aug 2019.
Some points to note when travelling to Indonesia:
1) Indonesia is an hour behind Singapore. Meaning if Singapore is 10am now, Indonesia is 9am.
2) For some reason, the security is extremely strict at the Harbourfront ferry terminal. Over the years, I had only travelled via Tanah Merah ferry terminal, so this is like a brand new thing to me.
Our gate closed at 9:25am and we reached around 9:30am. When the officer scanned through our boarding pass, we were told to go back. We ended up purchasing another one way business class ferry ticket. Lol!
3) All the taxis's rate from Harbour Bay ferry terminal is at a flat rate of IDR 30,000.00 (SGD 3.00). The rate from your hotel may differed though the journey is the same to and fro.
4) Get the kuih lapis (layered cake) from Lamoist. They do have a rainbow flavour which was equally good as the usual margarine one. Pre-order when you reach Harbour Bay ferry terminal and collect it on the day you depart.
Normal flavour at IDR 100,000.00 (SGD 10.00) and rainbow one at IDR 145,000.00 (SGD 14.50).
I stayed at Gideon Hotel on both occasions as its location was just next to local wet market and a street or two away from BCS Mall and the new Grand Mall Batam. Tons of massage parlours surrounded our hotel as well and I went for the one at Gideon.
Price wise just slightly cheaper than outside by probably IDR 40,000.00 (SGD 4.00). Do always reserve a package first to ensure you secure a session since massage is fully booked all the time.
For my girls' trip, we had our lunch at Grand Duck Penuin which was just 5 minutes walk away from Gideon Hotel. Ironically, the duck dish was not what we expected. Some restaurants could not remove the animal's stench so it kind of lingered on even after you cooked it. I would usually go for Dian Xiao Er in Singapore, the only acceptable duck dish I ever had.
The rest of the dishes were pretty delicious though, just don't try the duck. Total damage for fried hor fun, sambal petai, porridge, spinach, beancurd, duck, mantou, steamed gyoza in chilli oil (hong you chao shou), fried dimsum and fried rice at IDR 614,000.00 (SGD 61.40).
Some shopping at the supermarket in BCS Mall. Everyone would flock there to buy
Next to BCS Mall was A2 Food Court. Jasmine recommended us to I Seafood. The Sri Lankan crab of 1.1kg at IDR 440,000.00 (SGD 44.00) which was so damn cheap. You probably need to pay SGD 80.00 for 1kg in Singapore. The crabs, crayfish and lala were super yummylicious and fresh!
Total damage for 1.1kg chilli crab, mantous, crayfish, lala, vege, fried rice, egg and cereal prawn at IDR 897,000.00 (SGD 89.70).
Gideon Hotel's breakfast was simple and filling. I especially love its jelly. Do note that the indoor coffee house has both smoking and non-smoking seating. I was shocked when I saw someone lighting up a cigarette but was then told that we sat at the smoking corner.
There was this famous Long Shu Hsiah Coffee Shop next to Gideon Hotel. Xiao Juan recommended teh botol which is the local teh-o. Do get the less sweet version. The BKT cost IDR 40,000.00 (SGD 4.00) while a plate of char kway teow at IDR 13,000.00 (SGD 1.30). I forgot how much was the fried Hokkien noodles though, but I guess should not be more than SGD 5.00.
During the recent August's visit, we went to check out this newly opened Mall - Grand Mall Batam. You could find a lot of shops which were already in Singapore like Koi, Shilin Taiwanese snacks and Ichiban Sushi. Surprisingly, Batam has another A&W outlet apart from Nagoya. Yay for us!
Not to forget to stop over at arcades whenever we could. We were addicted to arcades when went to Okinawa last year. Japan's arcades are literally everywhere like you could spot one within a stone's throw away.
Our loots for the second visit to BCS's supermarket.
Dinner at I Seafood and we also saved up some space for dessert. We were lucky to buy the last chendol for the day and pisang keju (cheese banana). A bowl of chendol cost IDR 15,000.00 (SGD 1.50) and a box of pisang keju at IDR 25,000.00 (SGD 2.50).
Total damage for chilli crab (probably 800gm), mantous, lala, crayfish, petai and broccoli at IDR 564,000.00 (SGD 56.40).
I'm in love with the gula melaka jelly which Gideon Hotel served for their breakfast's dessert.
Chilling out at Starbucks Bayfront Mall before boarding our ferry back to Singapore. The cutie yoghurt cost only IDR 22,000.00 (SGD 2.20) each.
Horizon Ferry
2nd Level, Bayfront @Harbour Bay, Unit 02-10 | +62 778 741 5100 batam@horizonfastferry.com | https://horizonfastferry.com.sg/
Operating hours: 5.30am to 9.00pm dailyBayfront Mall Batam
HarbourBay Complex, Jodoh River, Batu Ampar, Batam City, Riau Islands, Indonesia
Operating hours: 6am to 10pm daily
Gideon Hotel Batam
Kompleks Penuin Centre Blok AA No. 1, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia
+62 778 430 420 | http://gideonhotelbatam.com/
Grand Duck Penuin
Jl. Komp. Penuin Centre No.6-7, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia | +62 778 7436852
Operating hours: Mon to Sat - 11am to 9:30pm | Sun - 10am to 9:30pm
BCS Mall
Jl. Bunga Raya, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29442, Indonesia
+62 778 7435500 | http://www.bcsmall.com/home/tenant.php
Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Grand Mall Batam Penuin
Jl. Pembangunan, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia
Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily
A2 Food Court
Jl. Bunga Mawar, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia
Operating hours: Sun to Fri - 7:30am to 1am | Sat 7:30am to 1:30am
Kopitiam Long Shu Siah
Komplek Penuin Centre, Jalan Bunga Raya, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29441, Indonesia | +62 778 453699
Operating hours: 7amto 3:30pm daily
