Chinese Food in Batam: Dim Sum, Bak Kut Teh, Chicken Rice and Kopitiams

Chinese food in Batam is a different thing from the Chinese food you know at home. Much of it comes from the Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese and Bangka-Kalimantan communities, so you will find familiar names (bak kut teh, kopitiam toast, chicken rice) next to dishes that are new to most Singaporeans, such as mie Selat Panjang and Sarawak-style grilled pork.

This guide lists what our place records say, by craving. Every place name links to its own page with the address, hours where we have them, and how we know. Details change, so confirm with the place before you go.

The short answer

• Dim sum: Mama Tjoe, Si Fang Yuan Dimsum and Ciao Kedai Dimsum dan Kopi.
• Bak kut teh: Shuang Hong Bak Kut Teh at Nagoya Citywalk, or Bak Kut Teh Simpang Empat in the Mitra Raya market.
• Chicken rice: Nasi Ayam Oki 118, inside Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal.
• Roast duck: Grand Duck at Nagoya Citywalk.
• Breakfast: Kedai Kopi Harum Manis and Bakmie Bangka Asan 2323, both early-morning places.
• No pork: Duck Kitchen Restaurant at Nagoya Hill, and four halal-friendly noodle stalls (see the halal section below).

Dim sum

• Mama Tjoe is a Cantonese dim sum restaurant in Taman Nagoya Indah, close to Nagoya Food Court. It is run by a Hong Kong-born owner and head chef, and it has an air-conditioned room and an outdoor smoking area.
• Si Fang Yuan Dimsum in Penuin has a retro feel. Shrimp-paste dumplings, beancurd skin rolls and braised chicken feet are listed.
• Ciao Kedai Dimsum dan Kopi on Jalan Raflesia has a long dim sum list and an all-you-can-eat option.
• Imperial Kitchen & Dimsum on Jalan Ahmad Yani in Teluk Tering serves classic dishes, with dim sum as the house favourite.
• Shang Dimsum in the Pasir Putih shophouses of Sadai is listed as cheap dim sum.
• Dragon Inn is the Chinese and dim sum restaurant at Holiday Inn Resort Batam Waterfront City in Sekupang. Peking duck and Hokkien noodles are listed too.

Bak kut teh and other pork dishes

These are pork dishes. If you or your group avoid pork, skip this section.

• Shuang Hong Bak Kut Teh at Nagoya Citywalk serves a dark, peppery herbal soup on a simple menu. The same stall also trades at Astro Kopitiam, a kopitiam-style food court in Batu Selicin.
• Bak Kut Teh Simpang Empat in Pasar Mitra Raya has refillable soup and a Chinese bakmie menu.
• Benny Bak Bakar Sarawak serves Sarawak-style peng bak (grilled pork) with a fragrant chilli sauce. The listed price range is wide, so ask staff what to order.
• Sin Wei Kopitiam in Penuin, opposite BCS Mall, lists Peking duck, siobak, soy chicken and char siu.
• Bakmie Bangka Asan 2323 is a market noodle shop in Teluk Tering that opens daily from 6am to 2pm. Its Bangka-style noodles come with pork.

Chicken rice and roast duck

• Nasi Ayam Oki 118 is a chicken-rice counter inside Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal, in the Kampoeng Mama area. It is the easiest Chinese-style meal if you have only a short time before a ferry.
• Nasi Ayam Laupa sells set plates or separate portions in Komplek Srijaya Abadi.
• Nasi Ayam Wan Nian Xiang is a chicken-rice stall inside Kedai Kopi Kokaz near Nagoya Food Court. You choose poached or roasted chicken.
• Nasi Ayam Budi Siang Malam is a chain that has traded for more than 15 years, with outlets including Penuin Center and Mitra Raya.
• Grand Duck specialises in Peking duck, with soups, porridge and dim sum on the wider menu.
• Jiang He Cantonese Cuisine is the Cantonese restaurant at Batam Marriott Hotel Harbour Bay, close to the ferry terminal.

Noodles, fish soup and kopitiam breakfast

• Mie Selat Panjang Ciau Kilat in Baloi Indah serves mie Selat Panjang, a bean-noodle dish in shrimp soup. It is open daily from 9am to 9pm.
• Hokkian Sop Ikan is a Hokkien fish-soup stall inside a kopitiam in Komplek Bumi Indah. Sop Ikan Istimewa in Teluk Tering (daily 8:30am to 8pm) and Kedai Kopi Aliang in Nongsa are other fish-soup stops.
• Bakmie & Nasi Anggrek Mas Djaya is known for homemade bakmie and a big bowl of prawn misoa.
• Kedai Kopi Harum Manis is an old-school kopitiam from the 1980s in Komplek Bumi Indah. It is open 7am to 11am and known for mie lendir, plus kopi tarik and nasi kari.
• Kedai Kopi Aan is a Kalimantan-style kopitiam in Air Mas, Teluk Tering, with nasi campur bak and kue chap.

For a kopitiam-only list, including toast and kopi at very early hours, see our cafés guide.

Zi char, seafood and hotpot

• Jaya Dado in Golden City Residence, Bengkong Laut, lists kakap fish curry, garlic fried chicken and salted egg squid.
• Liang Kee 888 is a shophouse seafood and Chinese restaurant in Paradise Centre, open daily from 8am to 10pm. Salted egg crab, cereal prawns and steamed seabass are listed.
• Shu Guo Yin Xiang is a Chengdu-style hotpot restaurant in the Harbour Bay area with mala broths.
• Mama Linda Cafe at Grand Niaga Mas is known for big plates of nasi capcay.

Looking for crab and prawns by the sea? Read our seafood guide.

Vegetarian Chinese

• Fortunate Taste Vegetarian Restaurant in Sungai Panas has meat-free hotpots and shareable portions.
• Teratai Vegetarian in Pasar Penuin serves rice, noodles and Chinese dishes.
• Vege Restoran in the Penuin area lists sweet-and-sour mushroom, nasi cap cai and tofu dishes.
• Ariya Maitreya Vegetarian Restaurant is a vegetarian buffet at the Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya temple in Batam Centre. Hours are Monday to Saturday 7am to 2:30pm and 5pm to 8pm, and Sunday 7am to 3pm.

Pork-free and halal: what the labels mean

Our place pages use three labels. Certified means a source describes a halal certificate. Halal-friendly means a source or map data describes the place as halal or pork-free, but we have not seen a certificate. Non-halal means pork is on the menu. Most places carry no label because we do not know.

Among the Chinese-style places in this guide, none is marked certified. These are marked halal-friendly:

• Duck Kitchen Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant on the ground floor of Nagoya Hill.
• Kwitiau Acek Sancheez, a stall in Batam Park that has fried flat rice noodles since 2005.
• Kwetiau Sapi Pontianak in Ruko Air Mas.
• Rumah Makan 1919 in Bandar Sri Mas, Sei Panas.
• AFANTI Mie Tarik Sapi Lanzhou, a hand-pulled noodle shop on Jalan Duyung.

Only a certificate on the wall settles it. Ask to see it, or choose a place from our halal food hub and read our halal food in Batam guide.

Planning tips

• Short on time? Eat at Nasi Ayam Oki 118 inside the terminal. For a sit-down meal near the water, see where to eat near Harbour Bay.
• Day trip? Nagoya is about a short ride from the terminals. Our day trip guide shows how to fit a meal in.
• Hours: many records show no opening hours. Message or call before a long ride.
• More choice: see every Chinese-style listing on the Chinese food map, or read what to eat in Batam for the local dishes.