Batam Food Guide: Seafood, Local Dishes and Where Singaporeans Eat

Batam is a small but busy island in the Riau Islands, 45 km by 25 km, with nearly a million people, and it is only 30 minutes by ferry from Singapore. Food is central to a Batam trip: the signature dish is gonggong, a Riau Islands sea snail, and the big night out is seafood over the water. Batam restaurant bills carry a 10% local food and drink tax. (Wikivoyage) (Batam Gems)

Where Singapore visitors eat seafood

The best-known seafood areas for Singapore travellers are Harbour Bay, Batam Centre, Nagoya, Barelang and the Piayu kelong areas. Restaurant lists include Wey Wey Live Seafood near Harbour Bay; Sei Enam Seafood in Batam Centre or Harbour Bay; Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant; Barelang Seafood Restaurant; Rezeki Seafood Restaurant; Love Seafood; and kelong-style restaurants in Barelang and Piayu. Other named seafood restaurants include Golden Prawn 933 in Bengkong, Kelong Baba in the Green Bay complex at Tiban in Sekupang, Love Seafood Piayu at Tanjung Piayu Laut in Nongsa, Rezeki Seafood Restaurant at Batu Besar in Nongsa, and Kopak Jaya 007 Kelong Seafood at Tembesi in Sagulung, with views over the Barelang bridge. (WeekendGoWhere) (Batam Gems)

Popular menu choices are chilli crab, black pepper crab, butter prawns, steamed garoupa, salted egg prawns or squid, fried mantou, bamboo clams, sambal kangkong, grilled fish and calamari. For a group, one suggested order is 1–2 crab dishes, 1 prawn dish, 1 fish, 1 vegetable and 1 fried snack. As rough estimates, a casual seafood meal is around S$15 to S$25 per person, a mid-range dinner with crab around S$25 to S$40, and a group feast with multiple crab dishes around S$40 to S$60; drinks and extras add around S$3 to S$8 per person. Prices change by season and seafood availability, and the best value is often with 4 to 6 people.

How ordering by weight works

1. Ask how the seafood is priced. It is often sold by weight at market prices.
2. Confirm the weight of the fish or crab before it goes to the kitchen.
3. Agree the cooking style (chilli, black pepper, salted egg, steamed) and the price of extras such as rice and drinks.
4. Check the bill, which includes Batam’s 10% food and drink tax and possibly a service charge. (Batam Gems)

Local dishes to try

Gonggong is a sea snail with a hard, ridged, typically golden-yellow shell and chewy white meat. It is usually boiled with garlic and salt for 15 to 20 minutes, then eaten by pulling the meat out with a pick or sucking it from the shell, and dipping it in spicy sambal or peanut sauce. A modern version is gonggong chili padi, cooked with chillies, shallots, lime leaves and tamarind. You will find gonggong at seafood restaurants across Batam and Tanjung Pinang; for a different take, look for nasi dagong, rice with sautéed gonggong wrapped in banana leaf. (Batam Gems)

Mie tarempa is a Batam noodle dish: thick yellow noodles in a rich, reddish spice blend with skipjack tuna, served wet, moist or dry. Eatbook describes it as similar to mee goreng but with flatter, chewier noodles and a reddish hue for its spicy kick. At Mie Terempa’k, a plain plate costs IDR19K, while Mie Goreng Sapi (beef) and Mie Goreng Seafood cost IDR25K and above, and you can choose dry, moist or wet. The restaurant is at Ruko Royal Sincom, Blk. D No.15 – 16, Tlk. Tering, Kec. Batam Kota, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29431, and opens daily from 7am to 9pm. Mie Tarempa Sei Panas in Sei Panas is recommended by Indonesia Travel. (Eatbook)

Other noodle and soup dishes include mie lendir (noodles, bean sprouts and egg under a thick brown peanut and sweet-potato sauce), mie sagu (sago-flour noodles with anchovies, sprouts and chives), sop ikan Batam (a clear fish soup with mackerel, prawn and squid, finished with fried shallots and served with rice and green chillies) and bak kut teh. Mie Lendir Kasan Ciblek in Lubuk Baja is suggested for mie lendir, and Bak Kut Teh Simpang Empat in Lubuk Baja is recommended by Indonesia Travel.

Snacks and sweets include luti gendang, an oval fried bread that is crunchy outside and filled with seasoned tuna; Indonesia Travel points to Luti Gendang Mak Rizki in Sekupang, open afternoons into the evening. Other Batam-style items are nasi lemak with coconut and pandan rice, anchovy chilli, egg and peanuts; bingka bakar, a baked Malay cake with a strong pandan aroma; putu piring, rice-flour cakes with melted palm sugar served on banana leaf; bilis molen, anchovies wrapped in thin dough and fried crisp; and kueh lapis, with Diana Layer Cakes in Batam Kota among the names given.

Halal and dietary notes

Halal status should be checked at each place. At Nagoya Hill Food Street, halal status varies by stall. Mie Terempa’k, Abun Cha Kue and Martabak Bangka Ceria are not halal-certified but use no pork or lard, according to Eatbook. Batam Gems notes that its recommendations come from the official Indonesia Travel guide to Batam food unless stated. (Batam Gems) (Eatbook)

Where to find each type of food

• Nagoya and Lubuk Baja: noodles, bak kut teh, coffee shops and Nagoya Hill Food Street.
• Batam Centre: malls, family restaurants and nasi dagong near the grand mosque.
• Bengkong: seafood and local eateries, including Golden Prawn 933.
• Nongsa: waterfront seafood and resort dining.
• Sekupang and the west: sea-view seafood and luti gendang.
• Barelang: roadside stalls.

Browse Batam restaurants and cafes in the BATAM.co.id directory at /usaha/restoran/ and /usaha/cafe/. For more detail, see Batam Seafood 2026 and Batam Restaurants 2026. (Batam Gems)

Prices, hours and practical notes

The exchange rate was IDR 10,000 to about S$0.75 as of 2 April 2026. Opening hours can change, so check Google Maps before going. Eatbook lists 20 best food places in Batam, with addresses and opening hours; use that guide for the full list. (Eatbook) (Batam Gems)

Related guides

• Batam Seafood 2026: 23 Top-Rated Seafood Restaurants, City & Barelang
• Batam Restaurants 2026: 60 Top-Rated Places to Eat, by Area
• Batam Evening Itinerary: Late Food, Malls & Places to Hang Out