A2 Food Court @ Batam Island in Indonesia

While researching about food on Batam Island, I came upon a few postings on an A2 Food Court, which was similar to an open air hawker centre in Singapore, something along the lines of Newton Hawker Centre.

Being Singaporean, the hawker centre culture is synonymous to life on the little red dot and of course, we had to check it out! Truth was, prices are likely to be cheaper and this definitely appeals to a stingy person like me.

Two things surprised me when we arrived. One, it was darn crowded and boy were we lucky to secure a table when a group of diners conveniently decided to leave. Two, there seemed to be a lot more tourists than locals which might not be bad in my opinion.

Many stalls for you to choose from and that resulted in a severe dilemma for my family as we couldn't decide what to have! When it comes to such situations, my personal take would be to find one with he shortest queue!

Tahu Sumedang - of course craving still matters and when I saw tahu (tauhu), this reminded me of my  visit to Bandung, where I found a deep affection for Indonesian tofu. So this would be a must order! 

At just 25,000 rupiah, about S$2, I got a generous serving of deep fried tofu (tau kwa). Although the pieces lacked the crispiness I personally prefer, the nice, brined flavour that oozed as I bit through remained so memorable! Shiok! 

Indomie Goreng - another thing everyone must try when they are in Indonesia would be the indomie goreng. Indomie is actually an instant noodle brand in country but trust me, cooking it yourself is just as good as ordering it from a stall.

It was a lot more flavourful; so tasty that I believe I could easily have another plate. Having said that, Indomie Goreng was a lot better when I first had it in my 20s. The version nowadays is severely pared down, lacking accompanying ingredients like meat and even vegetables. But how to complain when this cost just S$1.50? 

Prawn Omelette - while it seemed like two different stalls, the Chinese characters actually referred to oyster omelettes. Half of my family doesn't eat oysters so we opted for the stall that offered prawn omelette instead. 

Disappointing; full of starch, texture was soft and the only things good about it were the prawns. And by good, I meant they were edible and not like super duper fresh and exhibited strong seafoody sweetness. 

Sate Tebak & Kambing - sate (known as satay) was another thing I would eat in Malaysia and Indonesia and the only reason was pricing! A stick in Singapore cost me 90 cents and that's hard to stomach (pun intended) when I can easily down 20 sticks at one go, with ample space for other food. 

Now, they served sate tebak, latter of which meant pork! Now, among all the meat for satay, pork is my favorite and it's must for me to try! Let's be conservative though; 10 sticks would do. 

Gravy was thick and peanutty, and the pork had an intense lemongrass marination that wasn't too charred, with delicious, sinful; fat in between! My sister did find the pork satay a bit bland (admittedly) and I can only comment that the gravy helped to address it.

Kambing mutton) satay was tastier, albeit with a more chewy texture. I love the crisp charr-ness and for those afraid of that gamey taste associated with mutton; it's not that strong to me and I do like some gaminess when it comes to mutton. 

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Judging from the above, it's quite a mixed review for this food court. The satays were pretty good although Singapore served better ones. With ample options for my future visits, I would likely only go back for the tahu and indomie goreng, and for the former, I do hope it would be crispier. 

Address

Jl. Bunga Mawar, Batu Selicin, Kec. Lubuk Baja, 

Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Tahu Sumedang - 25,000 Rupiah

Indomie Goreng - 20,000 Rupiah

Prawn Omelette - 60,000 Rupiah

Sate Tebak- 3,500 Rupiah / Stick

Sate Kambing - 4,500 Rupiah / Stick