Pempek Kolecta

Pempek is a savoury Indonesian fishcake delicacy, made of fish and tapioca, from Palembang, South Sumatra. Served with a rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka, this dish is a very popular snack amongst locals and can be eaten at any time of the day

As my friend has Malay lineage in her family, she really wanted to eat Pempek so when we saw Pempek Kolecta when we were shopping, we decided to stop and have some light snacks

Located in Mega Mall Batam Centre, which is opposite the ferry terminal, the restaurant is popular with locals as well as tourists who want to taste some local favourites but do not have time to travel too far. The interiors of the restaurants are also simple and humble without too much fuss

While the restaurant is famous for its Pempek, they do have other Indonesian dishes like gado gado, mee soto, Nasi Lemak and more

Firstly, we ordered the ayam satay which was served with Ketuput rice and cucumber. Compared to the ones at Ria, the chicken was more charred and obviously burnt parts and the gravy was also much thicker. While the gravy was good, the chicken was a little tough due to the over grilling

The next dish we ordered was the Lontong which was very different from the ones in Singapore, firstly, the dish was generously topped with keropok crackers and the gravy was bright orange and looks more like clear soup. There was a full hard-boiled egg, some kangkong vegetables, cabbage, sambal chilli and ketuput rice. The gravy was light and savoury without any strong coconut taste which was quite refreshing

Next was the highlight, the Pempek Campur which means mixed Pempek. There were a few different kinds of Pempek. One of them has an egg wrapped inside the Pempek itself. There was a sweet and sour sauce given as a dip for the Pempek but I prefer to eat them on its own. The Pempek taste pretty much like the fried flour fishcake which you get at Indian Rojaks or Chinese Wu Xiang but with a stronger fish flavour. It is quite a nice dish to snack on while chatting or watching TV

The last dish we has was the Pempek omelette as one of my friends really wanted to eat the omelette. The omelette was very well fried with crispy sides and edges and is a good dish to pair with rice. The difference was there was fish and tapioca mixed into the batter so you get bits of fish flavour within the omelette itself

Overall, the food served is simple local dishes without any unnecessary faux so expect dishes which are not too fanciful in flavours which are catered to the local’s tastebuds. As a non-local, some of the sauces or dishes might not be my favourite but it is a new exploration of flavours which is also interesting to the palate so those who are not too eager to try new things, stick to dishes like Nasi Kuning or Nasi Timbal

Address: Mega Mall Batam Center 1st Floor 221-223 Teluk Tering Batam Kota Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau, Kepulauan, Riau 29461, Indonesia

Operating hours: 10 am to 9 pm