Entree Kibbles: Travel_Indonesia

Showing posts with label Travel_Indonesia_Batam. Show all posts

Monday, June 09, 2025

Si Fang Yuan Dim Sum (四方缘点心) - Non Halal, near Batam City Square Mall @ Indonesia

After an absence of more than four years, I was surprised to read and watch of many new dining establishments in Batam; one of which was Si Fang Yuan Dim Sum (四方缘点心)!

Featured in a number of influencers' videos, it also commanded a high review rating score of 4.8 from over 1,500 reviewers on Google Maps! No wonder the air-conditioned eatery was still packed at 1.30pm.

Ordering using the QR code.

Our order list; the thing with dim sum is that you would want to try as many as you could but unlike our younger selves who could have cleaned up an eight-slice pizza all by him/herself, our group of four is all already over the prime age of 40.

Si Fang Yuan Tea - befitting our age, tea shall be the standard beverage. I didn't even pencil my review of the tea in my notes; hence, I am guessing it would be the typical, unexciting Chinese tea.

Crystal Har Gow - surprisingly not bad and this is coming from a person who is seldom impressed with the prawn dumpling served in many dim sum eateries; aside from the generosity of the filling, I was most taken in by the strong, sweet taste of prawns!

Siu Mai Special - looking like the usual siu mai, I don't understand what's so special about it. Taste was not bad, pretty meaty, albeit texture was a bit dry.

Siaw Long Pao - filled with juice, these had an acceptable taste.

Not the best, not the worst.

Black Pepper Chicken Feed - I had to rely on my mom and sister for their review since I am not into chicken feet. According to them, the feet were tender and the flavor was well-soaked.

Steamed BBQ Char Siew - noticed anything about the bun?

The skin / dough was too thick! Alright tasting.

Fried Mushroom Bun - you can't blame me for assuming that the filling would be mushrooms, instead of char siew! Anyway, in comparison with the steamed char siew bun, this deep fried version was better, no doubt helped by the crisp shell and the fluffy insides.

Sauteed Radish with Bean Sprouts XO - the carrot cake at Mongkok Dim Sum sparked my love for this dim sum item and this was flavourful and a tad spicy. There were only two issues; lack of crispiness and the texture was too mushy for my liking.

Fried Pancake - served piping hot, I found the pancake, too thin, too dry, too flaky and the red bean filling was pathetically little. A thicker red bean filling would have been a life saver.

Two Combination of BBQ - this was the most expensive dish for our meal. Let's talk about the char siew first. Fatty they were; a favourable attribute to a good char siew. But, why were there bones?! And it had that off-putting porky aftertaste.

Roast pork was nicer; love the crispy layer of fat that wasn't overly thick,and so tasty with the mustard. Go for this over the char siew anytime!

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Hits and misses, and overall an okay experience.

Worth a try if you are craving for dim sum in Batam.

Address

No. 1 - 3, Komplek Pertokoan Penuin Blok N,

Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29441, Indonesia

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Crystal Har Gow - 29,800 Rupiah

Siu Mai Special - 29,800 Rupiah

Siaw Long Pao - 27,800 Rupiah

Black Pepper Chicken Feed - 27,800 Rupiah

Steamed BBQ Char Siew - 23,800 Rupiah

Fried Mushroom Bun - 23,800 Rupiah

Sauteed Radish with Bean Sprouts XO - 38,800 Rupiah

Fried Pancake - 25,800 Rupiah

Two Combination of BBQ - 188,000 Rupiah

Si Fang Yuan Tea - 76,000 for Four Persons

(Subject to Service Charge and Tax)

Saturday, June 07, 2025

Love Seafood Nagoya @ Batam in Indonesia

My mom doesn't remember much from her travels but one thing she remembers very well was the seafood we had at Love Seafood in Batam Island back in 2019, before the pandemic!

Five years have passed and we were finally back in the Indonesian island again! The pandemic only strengthened Love Seafood as there are now four branches to choose from and we opted for the one nearest to our hotel; Love Seafood Nagoya.

Located within the 168 Food Court, there wasn't the authentic kelong atmosphere encountered at its original branch but convenience was key here, as the Piayu branch would be an almost 45-minute drive, one way!

There were glass tanks of live seafood although that's quite a common feature in most seafood restaurants nowadays. Anyway, I wasn't too anal on the atmosphere and decorations; I just can't wait to rekindle the taste of Steamed Seafood in a Pan!

Basic table setup - I was happy to see tissue paper provided for free. I was happier to see a nearby sink for me to wash my hands; a must when I am eating seafood using my hands, without gloves! Here comes our makan!

Avocado Juice - Original with milk and chocolate that was rich with a thick consistency! Tasty it sure was although you can get the one without milk and chocolate that tasted pretty diluted.

Bitter Gourd Egg - I prefer loofah with egg but this was surprisingly not bad, with the bitterness somewhat countered by the well fried, savory eggs.

Petai Fried Noodle - this reminded me of punggol mee goreng, albeit less saucy and not as exceptional. At 40,000 rupiah, (about S$3), the pricing was reasonable although could have performed better with more ingredients.

Steamed Seafood in a Pan - the star of the show that deserved a lot more photographs given how much both my mom and I had been craving for it! At a promotional price of 400,000 rupiah (after a discount of 80,000 rupiah), the visual impact as it was placed on our table was literally unmatched! Not to mention there were just four of us.

So what we do have within this massive pan? Fishballs, corns, cabbage, mushrooms, six clams, 15 gong gong, eleven flower crabs and numerous decently-sized prawns!

The food didn't disappoint - the ingredients were fresh and I absolutely love the seafood, from the delicious gong gong, to the crunchy, solid texture prawns. It was a seafood feast for both my mom and I as both my sisters didn't want to overly dirty their hands.

Flower crabs were not as big as the mud / Sri Lankan crabs we were accustomed but their softer shells were easy to crack and the meat within was full of seafood sweetness!