Gado-gado Gembira

This restaurant also highly recommended by our local friends. It has been in business for more than 20 years as my friends visited this restaurant in their childhood time.

It is called Kedai Kopi Gembira. (translate to Happy Coffee Shop)
Their signature dishes are Gado-gado and Bihun Soto. Gado-gado is an Indonesian salad of slightly boiled vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, fried tofu served with a peanut sauce dressing. The main usually is lontong (rice cake). However, this Gembira style is they serve noodle instead of lontong. Top with fried prawn crackers, fried emping melinjo (fried gnetum gnemon seed) and bawang goreng (finely-chopped fried shallot sprinkles). Oh... So crispy and with the peanut fragrance, I fall in love with Gado-gado. Bihun Soto is traditional Indonesian soup composed of broth, chicken meat, vegetables (potato, bean sprout) and thin rice noodle.

Gado-gado

Mihun Soto

The local style is to get a pack of cracker, soak them in the broth and dig in.

Various crackers.

You also can pick some Otak-otak to have along with the main dishes. Otak-otak is grilled fish cake wrapped in coconut leaves, it made of ground fish meat mixed with tapioca starch and spices. 

For dessert, we decided Es Teler and Avocado juice. Es Teler is a fruit cocktail in Indonesia. It is so call national drink of Indonesia. Shaved ice tops with fruits and served with coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, Avocado juice. 

Es Teler

Avocado Juice

It tops with sweetened condensed milk and Milo (Cocoa).

Various cakes, desserts.

Customers can opt to have these if do not want to have heavy breakfast.

Address:

Kedai Kopi Gembira

Jl. Bakar Batu No. 47

(It is not located at down town Tanjung Pinang but very short distance from down town, let's call a taxi.)

Tanjung Pinang Spa

What to do in Tanjung Pinang? Eat - checked, shopping - checked, relax (spa) - checked. Let me share our enjoyable spa experience during my November 2015 trip.

We searched the other blogs, Tripadvisor as well, found this Spa quite numbers of netizen talked about.
Bintan Paradise
Website: http://www.ladiesspa.co.id/

If you let taxi driver / tour guide bring you there, you will pay more as your fee includes the commission. So call the owner and ask for free pickup and drop off service as well as discount. 
Owner: Ali (Indonesian Chinese), Handphone No. +62 813 647 12345
He is a nice guy and he even can help you find hotel and tour guide there with good rate. 

The spa room.

Entry

The room is clean, quiet atmosphere, ideal place for relaxation. I took the 7. Coffee Spa Package, wife took Body Masker Spa Package. The massager used coffee to scrub my body, quite unique experience. In the end, I was soaked in black coffee pool. I felt like soak in a big cup of black coffee. Well, as a coffee lover, I was enjoyed. 

The next day, we went there again for my wife's manicure. Not a bad choice.

Cost:

7. Coffee Spa Package (130 mins): Rp 440,000 (after discount)

Body Masker Spa Package (120 mins): Rp 358,000 (after discount)

Address:

Jl. Ir. Juanda (Pancur)

Tanjung Pinang 29123

  

Where to have Seafood in Tanjung Pinang

When travel abroad to Johor, Malaysia or Batam, Indonesia, Singaporean will hunt for seafood as it is cheap due to the exchange rate. Same to me. With the recommendation of local friends, we found this hidden gem in Tanjung Pinang. So far that evening we have not seen tourist, I believe it is really a gem which only locals know.

It is located near to down town ferry terminal. At Jl. Pos, turn into a small path, walk to the end, you will find it. (map at the bottom of this post) 

Jl. Pos

There is no sign to direct you which path to turn in. We asked the resident there to find out the path. Below photos taken when we entered the path. 

View from main road - Jl. Pos.

At middle of the path.

The restaurant named Rumah Makan A Lim (rumah makan = restaurant in Indon). It located at sea side, to the left, it is Tanjung Pinang Ferry Terminal. Part of the restaurant is built on top of water. We could hear the boat engine sound, felt the sea breeze and smelled the sea. Enjoyable fish village atmosphere.  

The Menu

Having seafood, of course cannot miss the crab. We ordered chili crabs (saltwater crabs). Crabs were stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chili base source. Taste like those in Singapore. I like this. 

Fried crisp fish with sweet and sour source. The source included pea. This is not common in Singapore.

Golden fried prawns. Prawns coated with flour paste and fried till golden colour. Very commonly found in Batam and Bintan but not so common in Singapore.

Stir-fried pea shoots.

Fried garlic chicken, I could taste very strong garlic fragrance. Hardly find this dish in Singapore. I like this.

"Fresh" Coconuts

Good foods and nice sunset view.

This meal for 4 pax we spent Rp440,000. Currently S$1 can change Rp9,900. S$44 (approximate) for a nice view and tasty seafood meal, worth it!

Authentic Nasi Padang

This post I still talked about ‘makan’ (Indonesian | It means eating.). I and my dear went to authentic Nasi Padang. Nasi Padang is a Padang steamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes originated from Padang city, the capital of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Nasi Padang (Padang-style rice) is a miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals eaten with plain white rice, it is Sumatra's most famous export and the Minangkabau's great contribution to Indonesian cuisine. For us, the authentic Nasi Padang should be eaten in Indonesia. Any one of the Nasi Padang restaurants there also considered as authentic for us.

We can find few consider authentic in Singapore, but most of the Nasi Padang in Singapore already been modified to suit to locals. So having a Nasi Padang meal is one of our ‘to do list’ whenever we travel to Indonesia.

This restaurant located at a small path branched out from Jl. Merdeka. See bottom the map. This small path has roof and both sides have shops like boutiques, eateries, etc. Restaurant called Damai. The interior give you kind of home decor feeling.

Typical serving style in all Padang rice restaurants is they serve all the dishes on small plates and place all on customer’s table. After finished, then you pay what you have eaten. Some foreigners may not get used to it as those left over food, the owner will top up again on that small plate and serve the next table. Well, travel is about experience foods, culture, differences. We enjoyed!

 Chicken Curry / Gulai Ayam

 Green Chili Paste / Sambal Hijau

This was nice, not only simply chili taste, it blended with spices and attracted me keep continue on this. I can have more rice with this.

Oxtail Soup / Sup Buntut

Oxtail cooked with potatoes, carrots, onions, chilis and spices.

 Beef Rendang

Spicy meat dish which originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia. Use slow cooking method, continuously churning the ingredients in a pot or frying pan, on a small fire, until all of the liquids evaporate and the meat is well done. This is another dish that attract me to continue and have more rices. Some time I will ask for the paste without meat top on my rice. With that I am satisfied.

Young Jackfruit Curry / Gulai Nangka

Jackfruit soaked in the curry, very juicy.

Fried Patty / Perkedal

Made by ground potatoes and minced meat. 

Minced Meat Curry (Beef) / Cincang

Water Spinach / Kankung

 Water spinach mixed with sprout and fried coconut mince. We should have some green after many meats. Haha.

Fried soy bean cake / tempe with ground chilis. 

The map.

Read my Tanjung Pinang trip:

Introduction, here.

Breakfast, here and here.

Shopping, here.

Dinner, here.

Tanjung Pinang Dinner

This was the excited part of our Nov 2015 Tanjung Pinang trip. I always hope to experience the Singapore 60s food street that I saw it on TV. You can't experience it in Singapore as due to hygiene consideration, all the street food stalls in the past already moved into hawker centres that scattered in the island. Our local friend told us we can have dinner at their famous food street, we were so excited. 

You need to take a cab to there. Tell the driver you want to go to Akau Potong Lembu then he will know. It looks exactly like the photo taken in 60s of Singapore. Don't believe me! See the photos, man!

Photo Courtesy: Victor Koo

Well, this is real 60s photo in Singapore.

Here is the photo I took at Akau Potong Lembu Food Street.

That proved my statement, haha.

I and my dear like kids go into candy shop, keep ordered and ordered and ordered. So finally here the foods. Luckily we had this dinner with our local friends, so no problem to clear it.

Cheng Tng (local dessert)

Cendol - This dessert's ingredients are coconut milk, jelly noodles made from rice flour with green pandan leaf coloring, shaved ice, red beans and palm sugar. I could taste the coconut milk and palm sugar fragrances. Really nice.

This Cendol stall started since year 1964. 

Fried fish fillet. According to the local, the fish is shark meat. 

Ngoh Hiang (Fried meat roll, fish cake, prawn paste, etc. All the fried stuffs.)

Grilled fish / ikan bakar. I could taste the paste had lemon grass, shallot, chili and many other spices. I like this. 

Grilled squid / sotong bakar. The surface coated with a layer of source seems like honey and other spices. Dip it with the sambal, really nice. 

(Sambal - Indonesian chili source)

Indonesian fried rice / nasi goreng. 

Chicken rice. Locals like the rice with more gravy compare to Singapore version. 

All are here.

Satay stall. (Satay - a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat)

Drinks stall.

Generally, we enjoyed the atmosphere that eat under the moon. The foods are nice. Just one note, be watched out of wild cats, it will come to your table to ask for food. Haha.