Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant

When you visit Batam, you definitely have to visit one of the seafood restaurants for a seafood feast as the price of the seafood is extremely attractive compared to the ones in Singapore

The moment I confirmed my trip to Batam, I started doing research for the best seafood restaurant to visit and many articles and reviews pop up for Harbour Bay Seafood. Many FB and Instagram reels also started to show travel videos of Habour Bay Seafood so I decided we needed to visit them. The best part was the restaurant was located just a stone’s throw away from my hotel so I could walk to dinner after resting in the hotel

From the main entrance, you can see the fish tanks at the side which has many different types of fishes and seafood. There is a slight fishy smell but not too overpowering and since the tanks were all located near the entrance, the tables were not affected

There were both indoor and outdoor seating but both were not air-conditioned. The only difference was the indoor tables are sheltered from rain while the outdoor ones are more al fresco styled. I notice that there is also a small room on the left side of the restaurant for events with air-conditioning and is open to customers who wish to have air-conditioning. As it was not too hot and there were huge fans circulating the air, we opt to sit outdoors. Unfortunately, we had to shift indoors as it started to rain just when our first dish arrived

The first dish we had was the crab meat corn soup which was an extremely huge serving. There were 3 of us and we had at least 3 bowls of soup each with more to spare. The consistency is thick and starchy resembling fish maw soup but this version was lighter with just strips of crab meat, egg and corn. There was a nice and light sweetness from the corn while the artificial crabmeat added a layer of savoury flavour. The soup was decent but nothing too outstanding

The next dish served was the stir-fried kangkang with belachan which is one of the best versions I had. We asked for a less spicy version as my friend could not take spice but it was still wonderful. The belachan flavours were strong and fragrant with a deep shrimp paste flavour infused into every strand of vegetable. The vegetables were cooked perfectly with a nice crunch. Many of the belachan kangkong in Singapore have very diluted belachan flavours so this immediately become one of my favourite dishes for the meal

We ordered tofu for my friend who could not take spice but this clay pot tofu dish was surprisingly delicious and perfect with rice. The gravy was full of umami flavours and the tofu was soft and bursting with egg flavours

Finally for the seafood we ordered, as my friends were not top fans of crabs so we only ordered shellfish. The first was the shelled scallops steamed with garlic sauce with vermicelli. This plate was 500 grams of scallops and there were at least 12 to 13 pieces. The scallops were small-sized but extremely fresh and the garlic sauce was perfect adding a light spicy kick without overpowering the natural sweetness of the scallops

Next, was the deep-fried fish cooked in garlic and black bean sauce. Their fish is sold based on market rate and you can choose the type of fish from the tank or by recommendation from the staff. The weight of the fish was around 700 to 800 grams as we asked for a mid-sized fish. The fish is undoubtedly extremely fresh as it was killed only when we put in the order so the meat was springy and sweet. The fish was fried to perfect crispiness so even though it is coated with the garlic black bean sauce, it was still crispy with a crunch. This was another dish perfect with rice as the sauce was on the salty side but I had run out of rice by now so I was trying to eat the meat without sauce.

After we finished the fish, we craved more seafood and decided to order crayfish which was pan-fried in oyster sauce. This was close to 1KG and there was about 8 or 10 half to a crayfish. The meat was again fresh and springy and the simple oyster sauce further brought out the sweetness of the seafood which was very delicious. We wanted to order more seafood like clams but they did not have stock of them so we ended the night with the crayfish as our last dish

Overall, the seafood dishes were definitely great and it might not be 100% due to the cooking method but the freshness of the seafood itself. Some of the other dishes are hit-and-miss and have the standard of a normal Zi Char in Singapore but what made this restaurant highly attractive is their location and pricing. This entire meal only cost us SGD 99 including drinks and beer. This is a value you cannot find in Singapore

Address: The Promenade, Downtown Jl. Duyung Sei Jodoh, Jl. Harbour Bay Blok 8E, Sungai Jodoh, Kec. Batu Ampar, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

Operating hours: 11.30 am to 11 pm