--> Riau Islands (Culinary) Trip in March 2013: Balerang Seafood, Batam | Aswin and Alia's Food Journey

4/07/2014

Riau Islands (Culinary) Trip in March 2013: Balerang Seafood, Batam

Balerang Seafood
The entrance
Look how vast the room is
View from the restaurant
Our table
VIP room with Air Conditioner
Waiting...
Hungry faces
Kangkung ca
Crab soup
Shrimp with butter sauce
Batam fish soup
Crab with chili sauce
Smile...
Boiled Gong gong
The crab soup
Preservation #1 No wonder they're so fresh
Preservation #2
Preservation #3
In front of Balerang bridge

We went to Batam and Bintan Island!

We're extremely excited since it was our first time to go the area.

Batam is one of islands near Singapore, and Bintan also their neighboring island. Batam and Bintan Island are included in Kepulauan Riau or Kepri with Tanjung Pinang, which is located on Bintan Island as the capital city. And shame on me that are the facts I knew when I went here. Geography and I are never meant to be. What excite us more is their culture and of course their culinary. Since there always some connections between two of them.

After we had arrived in Batam, we took lunch at Balerang Seafood near one of the Balerang Bridge which is called Tengku Fisabilillah bridge. Based on Wikipedia, it is the biggest bridge comparing with the other one that connects Batam and Tonton island. It stretches for 642 meters and is the most popular bridge of all, being a cable-stayed bridge with two 118 m high pylons and main span 350 m. The Barelang Bridge is a chain of 6 bridges of various types that connect the islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang. “Barelang”also refers to the islands themselves. The smaller islands of Tonton, Nipah, and Setotok (considered parts of the Batam island group) connect Batam and Rempang. The entire Barelang region covers 715 Sqm. This bridge was also known as Jembatan Habibie, after Jusuf Habibie, who oversaw the project in construction, aiming to transform the Rempang and Galang islands into industrial sites (resembling present-day Batam). It is looked like Golden Gate bridge in San Fransisco, and it is one of the landmarks in Batam area.

The building of the seafood restaurant was quite strange because it was like building for futsal (indoor soccer). It was vast, it had wide span and high ceiling. So, we assumed that the place was exceptionally famous. Maybe in the weekend, the restaurant was crowded with visitors. Basically, they served all kinds of seafood, but for this lunch there were crab with chili sauce, Batam fish soup (fish with tomato soup), boiled Gong gong, shrimp with butter sauce, and Kangkung ca (vegetable). It was good, I like their Batam fish soup, it was like the combination of tom yam soup and bolognaise sauce. And Aswin like their crab, he was eating it with frenzy. And our Zimmerman moment was when we tried the Gong gong. They looked like clam, but also like a snail, and we could see their leg that  reminded us of cockroach's foot. Well, finally we tried the Gong gong and hmm...their tasted just ordinary. I guess it wasn't worth considering their look.

Well, we're a tourist, so it was obligated to take photos in front of the landmark.

Enjoy!

Balerang Seafood
Jln.Trans Barelang
Before Jembatan 1 Barelang
Batam - Indonesia
Ph. +6281277559191
E. barelangseafood@yahoo.com











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