Batam View Beach Resort (Batam Island, Indonesia) - Relaxing Getaway!

I was supposed to break my recent batam trip into a few entries and blog them in chronological order.

But i am stuck for the portion on the ferry from Singapore to Batam! Alex, our navy specialist, would be an expert to share with us boring details on ships, structures and landmarks encountered during the water ride.

It's okay. The beach resort is, no matter what, a key attraction for my badly needed overseas relaxation.

To start from the very beginning, i booked a two-days-one-night package with New Century Tours. This is a full board package (meals covered) inclusive of a one night accommodation at Batam View Beach Resort, ferry tickets, land transfer etc.

Hassle-free is the word.

Picking us up from the ferry terminal at Nongsapura was a bright yellow van from the resort. So bright you will never ever miss it! Unless you are colour blind of course.

I should have picked an earlier time for the ferry since i wanted to go for some batam shopping and the only shuttle to Mega Mall - Batam Centre (S$5 per person, two-way) was leaving at 2pm sharp! The time was 1.20pm when we were checking in and we had not utilised the lunch voucher!

There was absolutely no time to take in the condition of the room as both of us rapidly changed and dashed to Wangi Melati cafe to claim our set meal - which i shall touch on at a later date.

Lunch was quickly settled and we boarded another yellow mini-bus for our shuttle to Mega Mall. The ride took almost 30 minutes and i was all sweaty due to the powerless air-conditioning at the back where i am seated.

Mega mall, contrary to its name, is not as big as Suntec City. However, it is huge within the Batam context and does offer a lot of food choices. Fashion wise, you will be better off in Singapore.

Seriously, Alex and I did nothing but partake in leisure eating in Mega Mall. Yes, despite the heavy set lunch we had back at the resort, we could not resist having A&W Root Beer Float, KFC and J.Co Donuts!

Okay, maybe we did spend a bit of time shopping in the hypermarket located at the basement. Grocery management style differs from country to country; i have never seen frozen products like nuggets being sold by the gram except in Batam.

We got back to our hotel room at around 6pm. The above picture is the view from my room. Not many people were at the pool as i deliberately booked for a Monday. I badly needed peace and quiet instead of constant screaming!

The facade was not at its best but it's never the exterior that bothers me. What's most important in a hotel/resort room is comfortability, coziness, cleanliness and with no funny smell.

Our room satisfies all the above conditions! I especially love the balcony and chaise longue. Should have brought along a novel for increased relaxation.

It was too early for dinner. Hm... wrong. We were too full for an early dinner and decided to take a stroll along the private beach (it looks more like a lagoon for me). It will do some good in aiding our digestion for the feast later on!

This private beach owned by the resort is also home to the standalone villas. Frankly, unless i have a big group of friends, i will not want to book it on a weekday. It can get very eerie at night! Haha.

Water sports and aqua activities are organised in this area too (extra charges apply). I have not always been very adventurous when it comes to sea water. Blame it on the movie - JAWS!!!

Less risky activties like looking for crabs, seashells and tiny hermit crabs hidden in the sand are much more preferable. However, do be careful of stonefish buried in the sand - you would not wish to have any slight contact with the most venomous fish in the world!

Time for dinner! To be discussed in detail at a later date. =P

The night was still early after the heavy meal and i competed with Alex on the pool table (S$2 per game). Surprise, surprise, i won the first round! Sadly, i was thrashed terrible (i managed only one ball in the pocket) for the second.

Rise and shine for breakfast buffet. It was a fitful night for me as Alex insisted on keeping the lights on! Apparently this has something to do with ghost encounters. Breakfast was better than the ones i had in Bangkok - seriously, how can breakfast be so bad in those Bangkok hotels i stayed in?

A few hours to spare so it's time for further exploration!

Small animal enclosures dotted the resort; caught sights of iguanas, cockatiels, parakeets, lories, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, chicken, squirrels etc. There's even a small scale crop and scent garden that serves the purpose of education in a family resort!

Thinking the night before was low tide, we trotted back to the private beach again for relaxing feet submersion.

Damn we were wrong.

Super low tide! I could walk out a hundred over meters away from land and the water did not even reach my knee!

The water was super clear and i could make out numerous fish, crabs and a gazillion hermit crabs! Those shit like shadows in the water were in fact the cone shells shielding all the hermit crabs.

Pictures above shall attest to the level of truth of my supposedly exaggeration (gazillion hermit crabs, in case you are wondering)!

A final look before climbing back to our hotel. In the daytime, the villas did look very inviting. Okay, maybe i should consider staying in one of them on a busy weekend.

Incredibly hot weather made this pool appeared very tempting! It was a few years since i last swam (thanks to my obese torso) but i could not resist tearing off my top and torpedoed into the water.

Shiok! How could i forget how much i enjoy the water! Time for some hardcore exercise when i am back to Singapore.

While waiting for checkout, i redeemed my almost forgotten welcome drink - a thirst quenching lychee concoction. Next time, i shall eliminate the shopping trip or book for a 3 days, 2 nights package!

This overseas getaway was definitely too short for me to rejuvenate my mental mana!

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For additional information on the resort, please visit http://www.batamview.com/.

To book your package, please click
http://www.nctoursonline.com/

Uncle Leong Seafood (龍海鲜螃蟹王) @ Punggol Promenade

In celebration for this year father's day, my family happily arrived at Ang Mo Kio Block 233 for a much anticipated seafood dinner at Uncle Leong only to find it permanently closed!

:(

As fate has its way, the day before my elder sister gave birth to chubby-cheeks Baby Jovyn, her craving for crabs acted up once again for what seemed like the umpteenth times for this second pregnancy!

Since her birthday is going to be in the midst of her confinement period (when anything that contains seafood is a big no no), the pig sister and I decided to celebrate it in advance by paying Uncle Leong Seafood a visit at its new location - Punggol Promenade.

Reaching early at 5pm, the whole place was only half-filled and we obviously chose the internal air-conditioned section to beat the warm weather.

BLOOODY wrong move!!!

The setting sun has set its fierce glare upon this very area and the outdoor section was in fact comparatively cooler due to the breeze. In fengshui, isn't this is a fail layout??

The preggy was fortunately in a good mood (who wouldn't be considering that the heavy burden in the stomach is coming out the next day) and here's what we had!

Deep Fried Baby Squid (炸苏东仔)

Crunchy with a sweet, caramelised taste that complemented well with the chopped up chilli padi, i would not have ordered this personally given their usual diminutive size that doesn't commensurate with the price tag.

Guinness Ribs (黑啤排骨)

Fattening aside, these were meatier than the ones a year ago although there seemed to be something still missing from the memorable ribs i had a few years ago.

Mini Wok Bean Curd (锅仔豆腐)

This went very well with plain rice - a perfect amalgamation of water, tomato sauce and chilli sauce made up the thick soup that was so uniquely differently from the many mini wok beancurds i had before!

I would gladly mix this with two bowls of plain rice just to prove my point but i tried not to take in too much carbohydrate for dinner. Must try to slim down!

Mee Goreng (马来面)

Super hot and incredibly spicy!!!!

Damn!! If you have read my post on Muthu's Curry, you should have deduced that i am no big fan when it comes to the two aforementioned sensations!

Chilli Crab (辣椒螃蟹)

The appearance of a generous amount of eggs in the chilli gravy is always comforting when it comes to chilli crabs. Another excellent condiment to go with plain white rice!

At S$45 a kilogram, this was comparable to my mom's version (which i have shamelessly declared to be the best in Singapore) and definitely at a higher taste level than the one at House of Seafood @ 180.

The above was concluded despite the truthful announcement by the waitress that the crabs were not in tip top condition. Guess no one is free enough to give the crabs extra massages and spa treatments.

Salted Egg Crab (咸蛋螃蟹)

Having heard this so many times, i am embarrassed that before this visit to Uncle Leong, the glutton in me had never tried this before!

Salted egg is one type of egg i don't crave for as it gives the impression that only old people eat them and they are all disgusting salty. Therefore, i was caught with utter surprise when i took the crab claw and gave it a gentle lick.

Impressive! A savoury lick filled with great seafood flavour that grew stronger as it worked its way down the thousands of taste buds on my tongue.

The crustacean shell caked with solidified salted egg mixtur
e can even be treated as a snack if it had a softer texture! Damn, i almost broke a few molars in my attempts to bite through it.

It was such a waste to see that there's nothing i can do to clean up those unappealing diarrhea-like paste on the shell...

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Location

6, Tebing Lane,

#01-03, Punggol East

(Punggol Promenade)

Price

Deep Fried Baby Octopuses - S$15

Guinness Ribs - S$12

Mini Work Bean Curd - S$10

Mee Goreng - S$6

Chilli Crab - S$67.50

Salted Egg Crab S$45

Subject to GST

Additional Information

For reservation, please call 6441-1848.

Be there early as there was a long queue when we left the restaurant at around 7pm.

Should you feel super duper full after a meal at Uncle Leong, i believe a walk along the promenade besides Uncle Leong Seafood shall be helpful for your digestion.

My first post on Uncle Leong Seafood can be found HERE

Plan A - To Take Back My Bedroom!

My bedroom has performed so many uses for the family that it might caught you by surprise that it has not served its very purpose as my bedroom for the past eight years!

Initially, i was forced to evict from this private abode after developing a nasal allergy from having five chinchillas in the room. After the last one passed on, it became a study room, a game room, a mahjong room and subsequently a store room!

No doubt it is currently in a BIG MESS!! The following pictures shall serve as credible evidence for every one of you.

Enough is enough - War has been officially declared to reclaim this territory that is rightfully mine!

Kindly wait (patiently) for the renovated look in the next few weeks!