Food and Travel Overseas [8] 2012 – Indonesia, Singapore

Table of Contents

Indonesia

Singapore

INDONESIA

♥ Batam  (Jan 2012)

This seafood restaurant named “Amazon Seafood Restaurant” conveniently located right beside the Nongsapura Ferry Terminal in Batam was highly recommended. The food was so delicious that I went to the same restaurant for lunch 2 times without the desire to explore food elsewhere because it was the best food with the lowest cost and our one and only choice.

When we came back to take the ferry back to Singapore, it was intentional to have it there again as the food was simply sumptuous to give it a miss. Plus you can expect to eat lots of seafood like a king in Batam as it was simply dirt cheap. The ambience was very peaceful facing the sea. The motto of eating in such a cheap priced and divine food is “To eat till your stomach explode!”

It was a one-hour ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nongsapura Ferry Terminal. Turi Beach Resort was really modern and beautiful. The rooms had their own private balcony that was windy, facing the lovely beach and the swimming pool, what’s more one can ask for? We even spotted a rainbow on the first day after a rain.

The weather and environment were simply perfect. A pool bar is located beside one swimming pool where you can lunch and drink while you stayed inside the swimming pool. Nongsa Resort is 5 minutes walk where you can also see yachts being berthed there. Turi beach resort is a perfect getaway for a short trip away from Singapore.

♥ Tanjung Pinang  (Jan 2012)

Rediscovering Tanjung Pinang one week later after Turi Beach. The liveliness and friendliness of the small town reminded me of the olden days in Singapore during the 80s. The livelihood was backward but it was bustling with people and activities in every street.

Hotels were only 2 to 3 stars standard and most looked spooky. Even a local man there was telling us to avoid certain motels because of many eerie incidents that took place in that motel.

The hygiene did not look too pleasing to the eyes. The door lock didn’t feel too secure with a single lock that looked breakable. I was always paranoid at night whether someone would break-in. The best way to choose a motel in Tanjung Pinang was to walk around the town and ask the room to be shown before booking.

I had forgotten to take photos of their Pasar Malam (literal translation from Malay night market) at night for their Chinese New Year flea markets which I have enjoyed thoroughly strolling on the street.

There were not many tourists there in a rundown town and the crowd size was very right to feel like a local there. I stay for a night in this small town and One could only appreciate the present comfort when doing a comparison with other less developed countries.

Bah Kut Teh is a soup that has many different ways of cooking because they all taste different from stall to stall, dialect to dialect, country to country. I always have a huge interest to try them because the taste will always come as a curiosity for me.

Unfortunately, I have not been eating a good Bah Kut Teh since many years ago. They were mostly too diluted for my liking like the stalls were trying to save money by cutting down on ingredients and adding more water to increase the volume.

This stall in Tanjong Pinang did not have a fantastic taste of Bah Kut Teh to my slight disappointment. They had a very traditional coffee shop set up and the Bah Kut Teh was served in a Claypot so my expectation was high.

I am still in search of the best Bah Kut Teh around as it seems so hard to find in Singapore. Even the Bah Kut Teh in Malaysia was only so-so for me.

Perhaps the high cost of living today deters stall owners to cook the traditional way because the long time taken to brew a good soup is simply not worth the effort and time. Any recommendations of a good Bah Kut Teh in Singapore will be highly appreciated.

I have posted the same picture on my personal Facebook and the response below came from one Dutch friend on his perception of “Bah Kut Teh”.

Friend: That name is hilarious in Dutch ‘Bah, kut thee smile‘

Me: Haha.. The second word is a vulgar word eek??? No wonder it is hilarious wink… The third word means tea for us. “Bah Kut Teh” is a dialect name, literally translated as “Pork Rib (Bah Kut) Tea (Teh)”. The pork rib is not cooked with real tea but with some Chinese spices.

Friend: ‘Bah’ would be a general expression of disgust, so it makes sense in the context of ‘kut tea’; like someone commenting on having to drink this disgusting ‘kut tea’ (‘kut’ being the vulgar word for the female genitalia, which we use in Dutch to indicate anything we don’t like (either ‘kut’ or ‘kanker’ can be used).

Me: Perfect sense in your logic.. … Very funny indeed… So I shall hide this post from all my Dutch and Flemish friends so it doesn’t look vulgar hahaha biggrin

SINGAPORE

♥ Singapore (Dec 2012)

On Christmas eve in 2012, my previous company brought us to Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant in Vivo City. The ambience was great and the tapas served were succulent. This was the second time I have been to this restaurant. The restaurant probably hired a remarkable Spanish chef.

That Christmas  Eve, my bosses ordered the whole suckling pig that cost S$ 288.00. The pig looked too cute to be eaten. Looking at the pig’s head, I was reluctant to eat it initially compared to just eating chunks of pork without seeing the whole body. I would imagine the pig talking to me “Dun eat me!”… Ouch…

I had to banish that thought. I was too curious how it tasted like. I tried a very small piece and no thanks, the meat was very smelly for me. The kind of pork taste which I hated. YUCKS! So I left the pig alone for my colleagues to savour.

In the evening, there was a tradition to take some plates and threw them onto the floor. I came 2 times and they broke the plates 2 times. Overall, I have positive reviews of Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant and evidently, the restaurant was always full.

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