So how different is the food here from what we can get back home in Singapore. Actually, we were really not expecting much but I must say that we were pleasantly surprised by what we had at the Montigo Resort & Spa in Batam.
We only had two nights and three days and we were not going to town. All we wanted to do on this trip was to relax in the villa and enjoy each others' company. So we wanted to eat in and we were told that there were only two restaurants - Tadd's which is an all-day dining restaurant and Pantai Seafood Restaurant which only operates during dinner time.
So immediately after check in, we headed out to Tadd's for lunch. They have a rather extensive menu - from local cuisine to the western fare like fish and chip etc. We decided to go local. While we waited for our order, they served us bread with a local fruit condiment. The concoction was very refreshing and goes well with the soft bread. Consisting of kiwi fruit, pineapple and dragon fruit, the condiment was a perfect compliment to the bread.
I ordered the soto ayam. Instead of the longtong (ketupat) that comes with the soto ayam, I opted for bee hoon (vermicelli) instead. Accompanying the bowl of soto ayam are two pieces of the bergedil (potato burger). The soto ayam is made from chicken broth rich from the spices like turmeric, blue ginger and lemongrass. What's different from the Singapore version is the fact they add cabbage into the broth and hard boiled egg. They also add ground cashew nuts prior to serving.
While i had the soto ayam, Gina ordered the mee goreng - fried noodle and a side dish of satay (they call it sate in Indonesia). And all main meals come with the keropok. Gina said the mee goreng was nice but a tad too spicy for her. I thought it was ok. My soto ayam was what I had expected - bee hoon with shredded chicken and cabbage in a rich chicken broth.
Over lunch, we were told the restaurant has a signature dish - Ayam Panggang Berempah. Since we were going to have a BBQ seafood dinner in the villa the next night, we chose to skip Pantai Seafood Restaurant and headed back to Tadd's instead. So it was Ayam Panggang Berempah for me.
Served in a wooden plate, the dish consisted of half a spring chicken, string beans, samba chili and rice. The chicken was marinaded in local spices - I could taste turmeric and a few other ginger spices and some coconut milk. Well grilled - chicken was still moist on the inside. The strong beans was cooked in a coconut milk recipe - couldn't quite get it but it was sure delicious. The sambal was a killer - had to ask for one more serving of the sambal.
Gina ordered the Curry Udang (prawns) which was something different from what we are used to. We typically have sambal prawns and not curry prawns but this version was well done. Prawns were still crunchy to the bite and the curry was a nice compliment with the rice.
Overall we were happy with our meals at Tadd's. Can't comment on Pantai as we did not have dinner there at all. Breakfast was also nicely done in the morning. In our first morning breakfast, they had a full buffet spread including local favorites like nasi lemak, prata, egg station where you can order your eggs done several ways etc. For me, it was all local - prata for me…
What I liked about the prata here compared to the SIN version is the amount of egg one gets in the prata. Done such that the whole prata fluffs up… great tasting prata with chicken curry. Gina had her normal omelet and pastries.
What we were looking forward was for the dinner at the villa - the in-villa BBQ dinner. One has to choose the menu from a few sets available. The crew came to set up the BBQ pit at the balcony area, just beside the pool.
The fire was started…
And the table set.
While we waited for the food, the crew showed us the sauces available to us - peanut sauce, mustard, kecap manis with chili, sambal, tomato ketchup, chili sauce and mint sauce.
And while we waited for the food, we snacked on the cracker emping belinjo. Can be eaten by itself but best with the sambal.
And what is a nice dinner without wine? Tuscan wine is great for such dinners - and that night, we had the Le Volte.
First up was the salad with a vinaigrette followed by tempeh - a kind of fermented bean. Grilled to perfection and when eaten with green chili, shiok!
The grilled vegetables were done just right - still juicy and crunchy to the bite. I like the green peppers especially.
The first meats were the seafood - scallops, fish (red snapper), prawns and squids. The best part were the scallops. The squid was not so good though - a little chewy to the bite.
Then came the BBQ chicken. This was done well with the chicken being marinaded with the traditional Indonesian marinade. Nicely charred in the right places and still juicy on the inside.
All I can say is that we could not finish all the food. Way too much food for two people to eat and especially when you are taking your time to eat and enjoying the wine at the same time.
The breakfast the next day was a much simpler affair - a set menu instead of a buffet we had the previous day. Gina had the American breakfast consisting of pastry, bread roll, two eggs done any style and fruits. I had the local set and in this case was the ayam soto with bee hoon and roti jon.
The roti jon was rather special - scrambled eggs with sambal ikan bilis on top of a french loaf. Spicy and delicious.
Overall, I thought the food was pretty good. Expensive by local standards but affordable considering this is resort pricing. Thumbs up from me. Go visit my other blog on the sunset at the resort.
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