Batam Royal Lapis Cake

Having Lapis Cake from Batam island is a great treat. We had Diana which is by far the most memorable one while Lamoist Layers Batam puts a stop to our buying any other than Diana.

Today is another risk take as Dad try out Royal Bakery in the Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal.

While being oily, as Lapis cake is always known to be, it isn't too sweet and a rich egg 'n butter flavor is embody in the firm slab. This is quite nice.

Royal Bakery Kueh Lapis Cake with Prunes ($34)

Royal Bakery

Harbour Bay City Walk Block CW No. 11, 12, 13, Batam - Indonesia

Phone: (+62) 778 74152 11

Crackers and tibits from Batam

Nuts, Beans crackers, Fish crackers

This new year season, Dad had days of leave and went with friends to 2 days 1 night trip to Batam. Me and Mom loaded him with our shopping list and this was what Dad got us as he's quite clueless of which crackers we specifically like - so he bought a little of each.

Besides what you see here, we also have 2kg of Attap seeds, big bag of Petai beans and Salak, the fruit with scaly snake skin textures. All of top grade yet so... ... much cheaper than in Singapore market :))

Remember to get them when you go over!

Batam Texas Chicken

Having an hour of shopping time in Mathahari Shopping Mall, we were in search of 'feeding' ourselves before heading back home, Singapore.

And, what's more convenient and reliable than Fast Food?

2 Piece Chicken Set with Soft drink (Rp25909; S$3.76)+

These meaty Chicken pieces were impressive! Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

Need i say more? Certainly not to mention KFC who is just next door.

Rendang Chicken (Rp12727; S$1.85)+

The Rendang was equally juicy and was less spicy than it actually looks.

The fragrant Rice that comes with both sets was worth a special mention, it exude a light tinge of Spice; bet you wouldn't find another Fast Food Chain that has this in Singapore!

Batam Cracker Snacks!

Well, while the group of guys alighted for some massages at Indo Thai Massage near Mathahari Shopping Mall, we set our eyes on this little cart of Keropok goodies!

All looking so fresh!
It's unlike those packages we usually see in the Supermart!

They have the Spicy Melinjo, Banana, Spicy Tapioca, Cheese Tapioca and Plain Tapioca Chips! (from left to right)

We got 1 pack (500g) of these Cheese Tapioca Chips,

2 packs of these Spicy Melinjo Chips (Bitter Cracker).

And i had bargained down the price to Rp20,000 (S$3) for 500 grams pack with the super friendly seller.

Free food sampling for all!
You couldn't stop at 1 and would definitely haul home a 500 grams bag :)

Batam Coffee Town

In the likes of our local OldTown White Coffee, Batam has Coffee Town Kaya Toast outlets you could find in all 3 of their major Shopping Malls.

We were at the Nagoya Hill Shopping Malls after lunch. And what's best to do after lunch? But to 'stir' kopi :)

Dining at all Batam's Restaurant, Fast Food and Cafe would be at an expense of additional 10% tax.

Kopi C (Rp9000; S$1.31)+

Mee Rebus (Rp5000; S$0.73)+

The Coffee were thick and aromatic; Mee Rebus had a special tinge to it. Simple food that's more interesting than our mediocre Seafood Lunch...

And how's this?
Having your drinks costing more than your main meal ;)

Batam - Honey Cake (Bika Ambon)

The Honey Cake was highly recommended for purchase when you go to the Indonesian islands. We purchased ours from the Dry Food Stuffs Shop the Batam Tour Guide brought us to.

Honey Cake (S$12 for 500 grams)

Oh! What oiliness that bathed the plastic packaging!
But after reheating by steaming, the greasiness all gone. An absolutely perfect piece of dessert!

Soft and spongy bite, it draws similarity to Hong Kong Steamed Sponge Cake ( 馬拉糕) or our local White Sugar Sponge Cake. But this is certainly much more flavorful.

You would love it as much as we did. Must try.

Batam - Diana Layer Cake!

This was the Kueh Lapis Cake (Thousand Layer Cake) Home Factory we were brought to. Into a quiet neighbourhood where strong whiff of cake baking greeted us - leading us to the little house itself.

Lapis Cake just hot from the oven! See how beautifully it rises! And after taking the limited tasting samples, you couldn't resist not placing an order for at least 1 of them!

Kueh Lapis Cake (Plain -S$23, Prunes -S$27)

Weight about 1.2kg each. We bought both flavors; and we LOVE the Prune one!

And if you know your way about:
DIANA Layer Cakes
Komp. Taman Seruni Indah Blok G No. 10
Tel: (0778) 466 906
Batam Centre

1 Day Trip to Batam

We reached the Harbourfront Centre, Level 3 and collected our Boarding Passes, Departure Cards and Ferry Tickets at the IndoFalcon counter at 7:45am.

Paying S$46 per pax for the 1 day tour fee, it's inclusive of the S$20.00 Departure Fee/Fuel Surcharge, then another S$7.00 for the Batam Terminal Fee.

Total Fee of S$55 per pax, after adding S$2 for tipping.

Delayed by 40 mins in the launcher maneuvering, our departure time scheduled at 9am was impeded; arriving at the Sekupang International Ferry Terminal (SIFT) after 11am.

Meeting Mr Tan our Tour Guide, he brought us to the Polo Ralph Lauren Shop, the Kueh Lapis home factory and the Dry Food Stuff Store.

Lunch was at the biggest Seaside /Kelong Seafood restaurant "Golden Prawn 933"; built on wood and bamboo over the seashore.

Were served Cereal Prawns, Sweet & Sour Fish (above), Butter Fried Squid, Steamed Gong Gong 贡贡螺, Chili Crabs, Bean Curb Soup and Stir-fried Sambal Vegetable. And they ran out of Coconut drinks for our group.

Food standards had certainly deteriorated much since i last visited here 10 years ago...

After lunch, we were left to shop at Nagoya Hills and Mathahari (Batam Centre) while the others opted for a full 90mins body massage at Indo Thai Massage for S$30.

We didn't buy much from the Shopping Centres; just been makaning here & there.

Still, the trip was fun (with all the right company), the tiring part being to lug bags of Lapis Cake & Keropok, boarding the squashy Ferry home.