Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Tiban, Sekupang still have many houses (not competed) selling range from 100M-300M.. Choosing a good foreman in Batam is hard as many tend to be lazy and drag to negotiate for further payment on top of the agreed price.

BTW, those houses behind Sushi Tei are WOW in Batam term. One of them belonged to one of the Judge in Batam :D

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

These houses are so called half complete, when you buy them cheap. Meaning, they do not come with renovations n kitchens. Just plain structure.

The 300M houses are those who had previous owners n tiles, kitchen made, fit for living.

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

I was constantly reminded of the drinking water being not safe in Indonesia since i was a kid. Many i knew buys mineral water as their water source if they are in Indonesia. Boiling the water is a must. SOP for me in Batam is always MUST have AT LEAST 2 bottles of big bottles of mineral water in-room AT ALL TIME,hehehe...talk about being kiasu...but lucky i did,cos it happen once before when Formosa ran out of water from the tap while i was brushing my teeth,hehehe...lucky i have my mineral water with me...lol. I use mineral water to boil and make my coffee too.

Once upon a time in Jarkata, i was planning to dip myself in a bath tub. I filled up the bath tub full of water.The colour of the water is in GREEN where i dont get to see the bottom of the tub after they are being filled up. I am still fine with that becos i have been to one of the place in Java where there is volcano spring water flowing from the mountain and i even had a swim in those HOT greenish river pond,but when i start seeing a few worm-like thing crawling out of the bath-tub 30 mins later,i gave up my bath tub dip...lol.

From that day onward,i become extra wary of Indonesia water.

I believe brushing teeth with tap water in Batam should be alright,but not drinking directly from it. I brush my teeth with tap water too (but only in Formosa Hotel and not Gideon Hotel). If my stomach cannot take the brushing teeth with water from the tap,it would mean my stomach must have been ultra sensitive and it would then also means Batam may not be a place for me.

I also make sure i make it a point to CHECK the tap water 1st before using it. Like what i did in Gideon Hotel :


I didnt dare use the water above to brush my teeth. And i am glad i have lots of mineral water for replacement. But bathing would be inevitable.

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Yup, it's a challenge to come up with a viable itinerary; tat's why in my last posting, looking at Formosa hotel as base since it has KTV...which means drinks and girls(his primary goal) and the convenience of getting him back to his room.
Thanks Bro for taking the time and trouble to provide a plan for the trip. Much appreciated.

He wanted a two night stay but I'm looking at 1 night...so as not to `overstress' his body...the spirit is willing but the body may not be. He used to be a heavy drinker but I think it's safer to moderate the amt of drinking for his health sake....but at the same time, allow him to enjoy and blow off steam for the last time; I would like to bring him home to his children, safe and sound ;)

Thus, in summary, daytime, will spend on breakfast, lunch and massage from Indo Rasa, per ur suggestion. For drinking in the daytime, Dynasty 99 KTV seems like a good choice as there are milfs as well....but may not be necessary as we can drink at coffeeshop.....and evenings, on to Alishan KTV; hopefully, this will be the highlite of the trip for him :D. For the last day...will take up one of ur suggestions...pending his agreement. Shopping probably will be out of the equation as he's not into it...but u never know.

To clarify:
1. Formosa Hotel - Once arrived at Batam, go to Kaha to get voucher and then on to Formosa right?
2. Dynasty 99 KTV - Any ideas on beer/stout price?? I assume the milfs sitting for TCSS is base on LD(lady drinks) or tips or booking?
3. Alishan KTV - From ur latest consolidated guide....it's approx SGD3.00 per can of beer and girl sitting thru the night is SGD25(base on 250k rupiah)?
4. Any reason why not go on a Monday?

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

So next time pay beforehand. So reach there just walk off. If you worried about bring you to wrong place than I got nothing to say.because most of the time they will just say no change. If I lazy to wait for the change I LL. so most of the time I keep 10000/20000 for this type of thing. Other I only use 50000/100000. If come to like 5/6000000. I use sgd. I know I lost out. Like 1%. But to me is better than I holding so much their $$$..

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Marine Live Seafood
- Near DC Mall and Lucky Plaza, GPS : N 1°8'24.3528", E 104°0'15.6636"
- Exactly behind Pagoda Hotel
- Denny - Chief-Cook and Boss : +62 811 697778
- Fresh Seafood replenishment : Fridays and Tuesdays
- 11 months of operation at time of this post

http://img3.uploadhouse.com/fileuplo...6a8e1d68de.jpg

Food : 4/5
Ambience : 4/5 (clean, bright)
Value : 4/5

Conclusion : Strongly recommend due to value (Batam-standards) and location. For me, better value than Red Crab and for sure those HarborBay (wey-wey / hawaii) nonsense. *Much* shorter commuting (from touristy areas) than to Rezeki and that holy-grail one at Tg Piayu.

Went there, yesterday evening. Dinner for 2. Denny is really the down-to-earth-humble-cheerful boss. Give him the courtesy and respect and you will get his passion in his food and attention to your particular/peculiar culinary needs. This alone is a huge plus.

Told him "John Recommended" , he scratched his head, and thereafter a 15min discussion about foodies in a forum and how we got to know his resto, the 3 girls (Missvamp) etc etc. Asked which forum - couldn't tell him it is a sex forum LOL.

Asked him for his recommendation although I told him about what John recommended. He went ahead and prepared his signature dishes.

Dishes ordered :

1 x Black Pepper Crab (RP125K)
=======================
As John said, try to get the really big ones. Unfortunately the big ones gone and replenishment is the next day (Friday). Really ... all the effort to peeling off the shells and yielding small amounts of meat is "not worth it". LOL. He suggested just steam crab at first, but my partner wanted black pepper. Taste wise, as expected from live fresh seafood - meat was sweet. No complaints. Sauce is normal as with other restos.

1 x Drunken Prawn (RP 75K) (MANTAP!)
=============================
I LOVE IT. The herbal-tonic-wine soup base was fantastic. I drunk the entire crock-pot bowl. Kid you not. The prawns were tender and sweet* (fresh and cooked just nice, not over-cooked, shells peeled off easily from the meat). My partner, having a serious allergy to prawns, can only take very live healthy prawns (not semi-dead, about to die, or chemically-reared) - she ate them ALL with no allergic reactions whatsoever. She ate them like a BEAST. This fact sealed the deal. She couldn't take prawns from Rezeki, Red Crab, etc - except the TG Piayu resto one. And now got a much closer resto (Marine Live). She was happy beyond words.


6 x Crayfish fried with butter and salty-egg (RP160K)
========================================
Nice, tangy, flavorful (from the butter/salty-egg) and sweet*. No faults. It's the same quality as with Rezeki.


1 x dunno-what-fish in custom-made chilli-soy-tomato-spices sauce. (RP100K) (MANTAP!)
=============================
Denny recommended this dish , we said ok. Asked us what fish to use - I told him he would know best. He smiled and confidently said OK. What came was *beautiful*. The meat was so tender and soft yet just.. JUST firm enough to chew. He cooked that fish to perfection. And with that sauce-base - it was truly truly wonderful - felt like what I experienced at Kez's resto.


1 x Vegetable dish - Pakis Polos (his top recommendation) (RP22.5K) (DISTINCTION!)
============================
AIYO!! It looked so simple, so "common", so plain, so "uninteresting". But when I put in my mouth... gawd almighty ... phhharkk... I gorged on the dish, and when the veges and that ikan bilis gone - that sauce base... I called another bowl of nasih putih and poured all that sauce in the rice and ate as is. Cleaned that whole plate. PS : go with rice for sure. Denny was beaming when he saw that, and I told him that most nutrients and natural tastes of the vege or seafood are gone to the sauce/soup - and that's where it all is. Will always order this dish whenever I patronise. Absolutely.


5 dishes + 3 bowls of rice + 1 plum juice
Total bill : RP504,000

This is exceptional value in a touristy-area for such quality.

http://img1.uploadhouse.com/fileuplo...f76a1ef5d5.jpg


Denny confided he added just a little bit of mushroom-MSG (vegetarian MSG). Cause he never tried cooking without MSG. After noting my positive observations in this meal - he got very confident and will cook without any MSG whatsoever (for me).

Denny himself admitted that his resto still can't beat the one at TG Piayu (yes he knows) in terms of price, and in terms of supreme-freshness (bcs the one at TG Piayu - the customer picks it directly from the sea). But I told him - it beats driving 1 hr there, eat/drink/talk, drive back 1 hr - and thereafter immediately feel hungry again. LOL.

When we wanted to order more dishes - he said "no enough enough.. its already alot for 2 people" . A sign of sincerity :)


This resto is by far the best in terms of value in city/touristy area. That said, for only 2-4 people - this resto is great. Bcs no point to travel so far to just order a few dishes even though its better value. But for a bigger group of at least 6 - I would still go to that one at TG Piayu and all of us gorge ourselves silly at amazing prices/quality.


*Sweet : The natural-sweetness in the flesh/meat is testament to the freshness. Some restos do keep dead/frozen seafood inside the kitchen away from customers' view - and they cook those instead of the live ones - and if meat not sweet is a definitely indication.


Denny in the kitchen with windows for customers to see what's going on
http://img2.uploadhouse.com/fileuplo...a3a6e00e1a.jpg


A very important TIP : When there, tell Denny to serve the dishes *SLOWLY*. The dishes came too fast. He said local customers are impatient, but foreigners did mention dishes came too soon - and his customers are 50 local - 50 foreigners. So inform him not to send the dishes too soon else one will be too busy with everything.

ENJOY!

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Great FR and glad you enjoyed my recommendation, bro micmac88...

I absolutely agree, Marine Live is probably the best seafood place in Batam downtown area, both in taste and value for money, and Denny is really one nice fella who enjoys chatting with his customers... Super helpful too; once, a bunch of my friends (I wasn't there) went there for makan and after that, they wanted to go to M2 KTV.. They couldn't get enough taxis and Denny offered to drive some of them there... Super nice chap!

For my next trip, I'll be sure to try the Pakis Polos and the Dunno-what-fish-in-dunno-wat-sauce...! Hahahaha...

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Another simple place to drink if you want some air con in such hot weather is Tea Story Restaurant inside Formosa Hotel(Vienna restaurant is the one which you will have you FREE breakfast). No hostess there tho,hehehe...just simple day time drink with some taiwanese finger food.

Yes,if you are not in a hurry,simply ask the taxi driver to drive you guys to Kaha Travel opposite Harmoni Hotel,buy your Formosa Hotel voucher and then head to Formosa Hotel before paying the taxi driver his agreed fare with you before hopping on.

I dont drink,so i am not too sure how much will the drinks be Dynasty99 KTV but as according to some of friends,beers are cheap. And very often in this thread,"dirt cheap" is used to describe the prices of the beer. My only experience with beer prices is in Tea Story Restaurant inside Formosa Hotel (fyi,we are allow to smoke inside restaurants in Formosa except during breakfast time),i treat a few friends to a beer at 7k rupiah per big glass of beer,hehehe...Tipping wise really depends on KTVs or KTV pubs like Dynasty. In Alishan KTV,girls sat with their customers for 4 to 5 hours w/o butterflying around or thru out the night from 730pm onward,it would cost 250k/per girl (on tips). Check on the price of lady's drink 1st if the girls want drinks. Booking is meant for overnight,thats optional in any KTVs.

Honestly,i arent sure about the room prices or the drinks prices in Alishan KTV (its somewhere in my notes tho).What i know is,it wont be expensive. If base on Sillypore term,everything should be as said,"dirt cheap". (to me,every drink is expensive in Batam,hehehe...)

Its the mind game on human nature. Fri,Sat and Sun,people in Batam worked very hard cos of the crowd. Monday is usually rest time for most as they are tired. So most would rest on a Monday and some on Tuesday. Or i can put it in another way around it,Fri ,Sat and Sun,people who work hard in Batam are richer than usual due to the crowd,and with more money in their pocket,it is human nature that one tends to laze more and/or become less heartening to work.

Its called Monday blues symptom for most humans in this planet i guess...lol.

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Yeah tell him you are that "John" LOL. He is and will pay particular attention to any walk-in who mentions your forum-nick. LOL.

Thanks for your recommendation, John... really. A Gem resto is found. AMEN.

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Good option.


No hurry, will nego with driver to drive to two places.....

Good price.....might just go out for lunch and get our drinks/smoke here for the afternoon. It is too hot to drink outside in the afternoon.


I know Batam drinking is definitely cheaper than S'pore....but I'm like u.....I like to pay what locals are paying...not pay tourist price ;)

Ok, got it........I'll see whether can plan it to be a Tues trip.

Thanks again for the help in planning the trip. Probably no girls overnite if staying for the nite as we will be spending our evening in Alishan KTV....well, actually, probably not even for 2nd nite as this trip is per my `sifu' request and since his most enjoyable time will be drinking and girls by his side....and if we stay 2nd night, it will either be Alishan or a similar joint...for the same thing again...drinking and girls ;).

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Can I just ask one question. So I have been to Batam few weeks back and I visited Octopuss Massage (the one located in pacific palace hotel). So tomorrow I'm going Batam again, but I'm staying at Formosa. Can any laojiao tell me if King's Massage provide hj? And I know that for Octopuss, got bathtub room one, does that one provide 'anything more' than hj ? And does Kings provide 'anything more' than hj as well?

For octopus, got package girl for fj..I also used the bathtub room, nothing special about it. Start off with massage then fj to end..nice.. But octupus facility is bare, only hot pool, and nothing else.. Makan and drinks have to pay... I'll try next door Atalanta next.. Hehe

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

For alishan ktv they got 2 types of room

The small room 75000k per hr
The big room 150000k per hr

Hope that helps

Cheers
Happy drinking plus bonking:D

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Tks bro for sharing. So Alishan has only room and no main hall for sitting? A few questions, if u don't mind:
1. Small room - Is the room charges separate from drinking?? Intend to drink beer and stout, at least 3 bottles(6 cans) ea, ie, total 6 bottles.
2. Girl sitting for whole nite is, I understand to be 250k rupiah. I assume no further tipping is req'd? Is there a need to tip others like mami/waitress? If so, what's the std rate?

Re: Batam Info Thread
 

Scary, the water look like sperm...