I Hotel Batam (Superior Room) near Nagoya Hill @ Batam in Indonesia

My last trip to Batam was before the terrible 2020 Covid 19 pandemic and although it has been a few years; I resisted visiting the island after ferry ticket pricing surged more than 100%! 

Hence, my family decided a two-night trip would be a better way to spread out the expensive ferry ticket, and opted for I Hotel Batam, a four-stay establishment in the popular Nagoya Hill vicinity. 

Grand lobby and reception area.

Tall ceiling and chandelier; atas! 

Self-serviced welcome drink and biscuits! I actually prefer hotels to give infused water instead of sugary drink given the healthier notion. p.s. biscuits were buttery and so, so good! I think my family contributed massively to their reduction in the glass jar.

Collection of key cards! 

Room - No 324 

Superior room of about 30 square meters, and one of 165 rooms within the hotel across ten floors. Yes, I was disappointed to be on the 3rd floor. 

Photographs of the general interior for your reference. There was a mini bolster and four large pillows, latter of which were too soft for my liking. 

More photographs; standard mini fridge, in-room safe, bottled water, and for Singaporeans, the provision of 3-pin plugs. What I hope to see more hotels providing would actually be USB ports, best if they are USB-C. 

Hidden control panel at the bedside table! Nowadays, hotels are also doing away with hard phones, prefer to leverage on stronger Wi-Fi signals for requests and feedback to be made online. I am a traditionalist, preferring to speak to someone though.

Let's check out the balcony!

At the 3rd floor, nothing much we can see. My motivation of wanting to do a time-lapsed video was dampened with the sad view in front of me. 

Washroom with bidet spray, bathtub etc. Shower strength was good even though I always prefer a separate shower area. Showering in the bathtub can be quite dangerous!

Lastly for the room, the evacuation route. 

Swimming Pool

Located on the third floor, same as our superior room, the view was in fact better. I did find it disturbing to have the low trees surrounding the whirlpool. What if there were snakes?! That's the rich imagination from a person with ophidiophobia.

Gymnasium

While they were classified as fitness centre and aerobics studio, the two rooms, separated by a walking passage, were equipped with gym equipment. Pretty good selection; only issue was that they were not well maintained and that's another red alert for safety. 

Hotel Breakfast

For someone who always opts for without breakfast, it's usually something we would include when we are travelling with my mom as she wakes up much earlier than us, and can spend her time indulging while her children sleep. So here we are; at the hotel's cinnamon cafe! 

We shall let the photographs do the talking.

And maybe whet your appetite.

I generally enjoy the hotel breakfast buffets in Indonesia, as they usually have many condiments and sauces for different combinations for the plain porridge!

Miscellaneous

Library in the disused phone booth at the lobby; I am wondering of its relevance in the contemporary world where watching videos on phones have overtaken the reading of hard copy books. Sad yet a fact of life.

Bicycles and skateboards for rent! Albeit to be used only within hotel compounds and in the case of skateboard, only in the garden. Nice to offer yet serving no practical purpose in my opinion. 

For your information, in case you need a local taxi to get around. I am happier going through GRAB, which is available in Batam, and very cost-effective for poor chaps like me.

Second level of the hotel, where there were conference rooms and a ballroom, plus a restaurant by the name of dnic dining & lounge, commanding a perfect score of 5.0, from 12 reviewers. 

From the map, it might seem like the hotel is next to Nagoya Shopping Centre but it would still require hotel guests to go out from the front of the hotel and take the main road. There's a shortcut, and I shall show you how to reach the hotel from the shopping district.

Identify the location of Starsbox Barbershop / Delta Spa.

Look out for the i hotel sign, which wasn't too prominent I feel; hence, my suggestion to identify the locations of Starsbox Barbershop / Delta Spa on Google Maps first. Finger crossed that they don't close down.

Take the stairs and you would come to the gate, which would open from 6am till 12am. If you happen to have a massage till the wee hours, this shortcut shall not be applicable then.

After the gate would be the garden.

Yes, same garden where you can skateboard.

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In summary, it was a good hotel stay. 

However, there was an incident that made it memorable. I went on this trip with my two sisters and mom, and we were in separate rooms. According to my younger sister, who was with my mom, she complained that the bed was shaking when she was sleeping on the first night! It didn't happen on the second night though. Maybe a dream? Anyway, her room was 326. 

I am definitely keen to return to Batam again! Food was food, expenditure was low, and the people were friendly (as evidenced by the above photograph, totally random). If only they could cut the pricing of the ferry tickets. 

Address

Jalan Teuku Umar, 

Bukit Nagoya, Batam,

Indonesia

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.ihotelbatam.com/

Wanton Mee from Fortune Pot「福鼎记」@ Mount Austin in Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

Imagine searching for wanton mee for your upcoming trip to Johor Bahru and having your eyes almost popped up due to a score of 4.9 by over 1,000 reviewers on Google Maps! 

I couldn't resist checking it out; not many customers as it was 11am on a Tuesday! Mount Austin area was more crowded in the evenings and on weekends. Therefore, totally expected.

Strings of delicious looking char siew always whet my appetite! 

Interesting table number in the design of a Chinese lunar calendar / almanac that included useful instructions oh how to order, WiFi password etc.

However, I was asked to fill up via the order list. Oh... they actually allow customers to indicate whether they prefer fatty or the lean parts of the char siew! No prize for guessing what I chose.

Real dilemma; which wanton mee to choose?! There were the white JB's signature, the black hokkien, the red tomato, and the fiery tomyam! The last one can be removed for me but even then, three choices were still not easy for me to decide! 

Decision made.

I used to avoid chili as a kid and teenager yet now that I am much older, I am a lot more open and sometimes, a tinge of spiciness would be require for taste complementation. Green chilli with wanton mee would be one example.

Iced Kopi - special order for thick coffee and less sweet. It's as good as I could get and to drink it iced was a great perky start to the hot and sunny morning! 

White JB Signature Wanton Mee - here's mine order; four pretty thick slices of fatty char siew, on a bed of white mee kia, and topped with fried wantons and crispy pork lard.

Acceptable portion for a normal, although it cost RM 12.90. It's more worth it to pay RM 1 extra for the large serving. Now the char siew tasted rather good, not overly laden with sweetness and balance between fattiness and leanness. 

Noodles was lip-smacking delicious as each strand was coated with a thin layer of lard oil! The only place in Malaysia where the noodles were better would be the 世纪住家云吞面 near KSL Mall. Have the noodles with the green chilli! Truly yums.

Accompanying soup appeared to have so much potential but it was too porky for my liking. The wanton didn't impress too, just like many other wanton noodle stalls I tried before.

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Well, I still like the noodles and char siew.

So maybe the black hokkien wanton mee next time? 

Address

8, Jalan Austin Heights 8/4, 81100 Johor Bahru, 

Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Iced Kopi - RM 7.90

White JB Signature Wanton Mee - RM 12.90

(Subject to Service Charge)

Pizza & Hamburger (Soi 47/3) @ Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok [Thailand]

I love Chatuchak Weekend Market and make it a point to drop by every time I visit Bangkok! Surprises appear every now and then, and this time round, a friend who joined us brought me to a hidden corner at the edge of the market.

Section 4, Soi 47/3. While this was near to Kamphaeng Phet MRT station, I never quite explored the edge of the market, preferring to concentrate on the inner circle which was more happening.

Shop Name: Pizza & Hamburger! 

But all I saw were pizzas!

Ranging in prices from 49 to 69 baht (S$1.90 to $2.70) per slice, the price point was definitely attractive for a Singaporean where a slice of pizza would likely be minimally S$5.00! Do note that there were nine types of pizzas and what's available on site depends on your luck.

We got 4 cheese, and hawaiian pizzas. 

Hawaiian Pizza - known to be a blasphemy in the world of authentic pizzas yet well-loved by many in Singapore, this was the pizza we usually go for and a no-brainer as a must order if we see it on the menu.

Look at how melty the cheese was, and the pizza was thin-crusted; the way I like it! Taste-wise, one of the better Hawaiian pizzas I have had and I so love the richness of the cheese! p.s. a tad oily but still so good. I would love more slices of pineapple though.. 

4 Cheese - not sure what cheese since my taste buds aren't that refined. What I do know were the gushes of "oh, this was delicious" as the strings of cheese went down our throats. This pizza shop will be a must-visit in my next trip, and I will make sure to go on an empty stomach! 

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Address

Section 4, Soi 47/3,

Chatuchak Weekend Market, 

Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

9.30 am to 7.00 pm

(Saturdays and Sundays Only)

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Hawaiian Pizza - 49 Baht / Slice

Four Cheese Pizza - 49 Baht / Slice

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