In Batam, there is a saying, “give a man a fish he”ll say wa so fresh ah” Famous for its seafood, lets dig right through all the yummy Batam seafood. For those hard to access area, like Kelong seafood restaurant, you may wanna consider chartering a car and driver to save the hassle of waiting for taxi.
Harbour Bay
A stone throw away from Batam’s Harbour Bay terminal, is a long stretch of restaurants and bars by the sea. The areas sells live seafood, sheesha and drinks. It also has a beautiful sunset and some restaurant with live bands playing. Stroll down and enjoy the sea breeze, its a good place for gatherings.
We tried 3 restaurants in this area, recommended by our friends and first up is “Wey Wey”.
1. Wey Wey
This place is great! The food as “cheap affordable”! It is so nice we described it using the same words twice”. It’s highly recommended by Batam locals. One of my favourite fish is their Fried squid with salted egg yolk. Nothing says fancy like eating squid with multiple things done to it to make it taste better. The chilli crabs is very affordable and they added a little twist to the chilli crab sauce. The steam grouper is fresh and tender as well.
Must try: 2 Crabs is only for SGD 34, 1 steamed and 1 chilli crab! HIGHLY recommend to eat with fried mantou, I was almost licking the last drop from the plate. Salted egg yolk fried squid about SGD 5 + Steam grouper SGD 20+
Opening Hours : Everyday 10:30am – 12.30am
Web: nil
Contact Phone : +62 813-7226-2420 Email : nil
What to do next: 5 min walk to Harbour Bay Mall for Massage or movies or Bayfront Mall for Eska Spa and Kueh Lapis hunting.
5 mins walk from Harbour Bay Terminal
Address: Jodoh River, Batu Ampar, Batam City, Riau Islands (open in google map)
2. Jumbo Seafood
Jumbo Seafood is Thai food with a Chinese twist! What more can you asked for. We think the Thai and Chinese food mix came from the owners of the restaurant. They couldn’t agree what type of food to sell and both owners need each other’s money!
Try the fried fish skins or scales as normal people will call them. Jumbo Thai Kitchen features two VIP rooms and a live band that can be booked upon request. A lot of business people come here after work to unwind. The taste is authentic that’s because one chef is Thai and another is Chinese. The Chinese chef just to work in a 5 star hotel restaurant. The standard is upheld by the dishes he serves.
Must try: Tom yam soup 700g Sri Lankan black pepper crab, a 600g Harbour Bay style steamed black garoupa, 1 large plate of hot chilli mussels, 1 medium plate of sambal kangkong, 4 bowls of rice, 2 cans of beer, and 1 coconut, the total cost came up to around SGD$65 (Special takeaway requests for their famous fried fish skins!)
Opening Hours : Everyday 11am – 11pm
Web: nil Contact Phone : +62 822-8487-8800 Email : nil
What to do next: 5 min walk to Harbour Bay Mall for Massage or movies or Bayfront Mall for Eska Spa and Kueh Lapis hunting.
5 mins walk from Harbour Bay Terminal
Address: Jl. Harbour Bay, Sungai Jodoh, Batu Ampar, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444 (open in google map)
3. Harbour Bay Seafood
This Indonesia- Chinese mashup is one of my favorite. The menu has pictures because most people cannot pronounce the fresh ingredients on the menu. I recommend the the Black groupa and especially the cripsy baby squid. The taste is balance, and the chilli is OMG! Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant is also a popular wedding venue. It offers a variety of setting for diners, including a private VIP experience too! Wedding by the sea in Batam, anyone?
Must try: Black pepper crab, Crayfish and the Crispy baby squid.
Opening Hours: Everyday 10.30am – 10.30pm
Web: nil Contact Phone: +62 778 741 5188 Email: nil
What to do next: 5 min walk to Harbour Bay Mall for Massage or movies or Bayfront Mall for Eska Spa and Kueh Lapis hunting.
5 mins walk from Harbour Bay Terminal
4. Rezeki Seafood Restaurant
Next stop, out of Harbour Bay Area, we have Sumber Rezni. It is one of the many live kelong seafood restaurants in Batam. You don’t get that in Singapore. We love the fresh food and unique ambient here. We recommend the prawn or green chili chicken depending on what animal you have a taste for.
Must try: Green Chili Chicken SGD 5+, Steamed Prawns SGD 12+, Garlic Fried Chicken SGD 5+
Opening Hours : Everyday 9am – 10pm Web: http://seafood.rezeki.id/
Contact Phone : +62 778 761180 | Whatsapp (Chat Only): +62 85 88888 99 28
Email : nil
40 mins drive from Harbour Bay Terminal
Address: Pantai Batu Besar, Jl. Haji Muhammad Saleh RT. 01/ RW. 02, Batu Besar, Nongsa, Batu Besar Nongsa, Batu Besar, Nongsa, Batam City, Riau Islands 29465 (open in google map)
5. Barelang Seafood Restaurant
Located around 30-40mins drive away from the main Nagoya city center in Batam. We love this restaurant, mainly for the view overlooking the iconic Barelang Bridge and four other islands in the horizon. Enjoy the sea breeze if you choose the spacious open-air dining hall with capacity for up to 1,500 people.
For an exclusive experience, a fully air-conditioned VIP room with karaoke facilities is also available. There is a monkey guarding the restaurant’s kelong named Melissa, it was adopted from a neighbouring island as an infant and loves eating coconuts! We ask how Melissa how she think about the food and I think she prefers coconuts.
The live seafood are keep in nets in the sea and patrons get to choose who to execute if they stare them the wrong way. We recommend the fresh lobster, it taste great and you don’t get this kinda prices in Singapore. It’s like tiger prawn pricing, but you are getting lobster.
Must try: Lobster 100g / SGD 9+ Opening Hours : Everyday 9.30am – 8pm
Web: www.barelangseafood.com/home Contact Phone : +62 812-7755-9191
Email : [email protected]
45 mins drive from Harbour Bay Terminal
Address: Jalan Trans Barelang City, Tembesi, Sagulung, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29472 (open in google map)
6. Kopak Jaya 007 Kelong Seafood Restaurant
Another kelong restaurant, this particular one is remote and hard to find and the name of the restaurant come from bad brain storming session, lol. Go Instagram crazy as it has an amazing sea view overlooking Barelang Bridge and a nice old school new school mesh up vibe to this place.
It’s interior is beautifully decorated with colorful shells and hanging dreamcatchers. They have a comprehensive menu with crab, shellfish, slipper lobster, prawns, squids, oyster as well as Chinese dishes and traditional Indonesian seafood plates, such as Ikan Stim, steamed grouper in a spicy turmeric sauce.
They keep the fresh seafood in nets under the restaurant so the slipper lobster can’t slip away. The lobster taste great. (Man, how can go wrong with lobster) It is our favorite dish by the way! Get the turmeric sauce and spread it on everything!
Must try: Lobster, steam groupa and shell fish.
Rates: About $25 per person for a 10 person meal with crab, crayfish, squid, prawns, fish and lobster.
Opening Hours: Everyday 9am – 7pm Web: http://kopakjaya007.com/index.php?route=common/home
Contact Phone: +62 812 1378 007 Email: [email protected]
50 mins drive from Harbour Bay Terminal
Address: turn right (follow the signboard, Kampung Tua Tiangwangkang Tembesi Sagulung 300 meter before 1st bridge of, Barelang, Tembesi, Sagulung, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29472 (open in google map)
7. Kelong Restaurant 188 Citra Utama
With free range chickens running around, this seafood restaurant has a rich kampong vibe to it. If I was a chicken, I would think why I am hanging out at a Batam seafood restaurant (not sure why), but it beats spending the day with KFC Colonel Sanders. The chicken greeted us as they nodded their heads, multiple times! Super polite, lol.
Reaching the main wooden building that housed the reception of the kelong restaurant. Further in (yes, more walking is required) is the seating area; unlike seafood restaurants in Singapore, you don’t get the overcrowding feel where tables are literally side by side and you have a good chance of bumping into the chairs of the neighbouring tables. The dining area is extended out into the sea.
Next to the floating platform is the live seafood section; the above picture actually showed the physical link between the fixed and floating sections. The seafood is as fresh as it gets.
Must try: Salted egg crayfish Opening Hours: Everyday 9am – 11pm
Web: https://www.facebook.com/kelongcitrautama188/
Contact Phone: +62 778 7821 188
Email : nil
45 mins drive from Harbour Bay Terminal
Address: Jalan Jembatan 1 Barelang, Tembesi, Sagulung, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444 (open in google map)
Conclusion
Batam seafood is a must try when you are there. Prices are relatively cheap and they are fresh from sea and kelong seafood restaurant is something unique that you need to experience.
Thank you for this amazing food blogs. I really love food and cooking. Keep Sharing knowledge.