Woo Rae Ok 우래옥 Korean Restaurant @ Batam in Indonesia

Would you crave for Korean food when you are in Indonesia? I think Singaporeans are just too pampered as we are accustomed to a wide variety in cuisine back home and sometimes, you just crave for something different. 

The fact that this eatery in Batam also commanded a high Google review score of 4.7 motivated us to give it a try! It helped as well that the hotel we stayed at last September (2024) was less than 200 meters away. 

Interior; spacious compared to most eateries in Singapore! As the tables were pretty spaced out, our family conversations did feel a lot more private and mind you, we are not known for our soft voices. 

A family photo (without my dad who didn't join) before we jump into what we had! This trip to Batam was more a birthday celebration for my mom, who had been salivating over our meal at Love Seafood before the pandemic!

Side Dishes - key feature for any Korean restaurants would be their side dishes known as banchan and I love the ones served here; kimchi was spicy yet sweet, macaroni had that toppoki touch and that stem-like vegetables were strangely addictive! Pan-fried egg cucumber was too soft though.

Avocado Juice - do you know that the avocado juice in Indonesia was one of a kind?! And this didn't disappoint with its rich creaminess! Best of all, it only cost about S$2.30 for such a large cup! 

White Tea (Pot) - this cost almost doubled the avocado juice! Looking pretty with all the tea leaves floating on top, the flavor was a tad too bland for my liking.

Dakgalbi (S) - I have had this Korean chicken dish before but the first impression I had after taking a bite was "how come this is mala"?!  Not bad tasting although not authentically Korean. It was saucy, savory and a bowl of white rice would be beneficial.

Dolsot Bibimbap - back when I couldn't do without rice, bibimbap was one of my favorites and this was as promised, a healthy, mixed rice that would have tasted better if I added more of the red sauce. p.s. we chose chicken which didn't have an impact on the taste; would be as happy without the meat. 

Haemul Sundubu - when I had a sip, it brought me back to the first time I had sundubu; watery broth and it was just plain spiciness! Although tofu here was smooth, it still couldn't reduce the disappointment  I had. The soontofu from SBCD Korean Tofu House was way way better. 

Yangnyeom Chicken (Half) - in general, I love fried chicken but the Korean style fried chicken can be a bit cloying as they generally don't sell by pieces; only half or full chicken. Since there were four of us, a half should be fine, I figured.

The yangnyeom "flavor" is quite safe; more sweet than spicy, even though my issue was with the batter. Personally, I prefer a crispier batter. 

Seafood Pancake - this must have been the first time I had so much "liao" (ingredients) in a Korean seafood pancake; so much so that it's too big for the pan! Batter had a lot of eggs, resulting in a texture that wasn't my preferred crispiness. Taste was good yet a bit bland; you will need the accompanying sauce to hype up the flavor! 

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Before and after! Frankly, I would give Woo Rae Ok maybe a 3.5 score out of 5.0 for taste given that a few mains were a letdown. However, the pricings of what we had were a fraction of what I would have paid in Singapore for similar dishes. 

So, it's definitely worth a try. There's even a lunch set on weekdays, ranging from 48,000 to 88,000 rupiah (between S$4 to S$7). 

Address

Jl. Nagoya Hill mall, Lubuk Baja Kota, Kec. Lubuk Baja, 

Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29432, Indonesia

Map

As above.

Website

https://wooraeokbthid.wixsite.com/wooraeokrestaurant

Pricing

Avocado Juice - 28,000 Rupiah

White Tea (Pot) - 48,000 Rupiah

Dakgalbi (S) -75,000 Rupiah

Dolsot Bibimbap - 87,000 Rupiah

Haemul Sundubu - 78,000 Rupiah

Yangnyeom Chicken (Half) - 98,000 Rupiah

Seafood Pancake - 120,000 Rupiah

(Subject to Service Charge and Tax)