The Kelong Restaurant (Bintan) (2nd Post)

This is my 2nd post on ‘The Kelong Restaurant’ in Bintan, Indonesia. The first can be found here.

Went over to Bintan over a weekend again. Things at Bintan can be expensive even food. Most people will be wondering what to eat in Bintan? What is delicious and yet value for money? Well, I have the answer for you… The Kelong Restaurant!We like it so much that we went back there again.

Shuttle Bus schedule to The Kelong Restaurant (sorry for blur photo)

There are free shuttle buses within the Nirwana Group of Resorts that will make a stop at The Kelong Restaurant.

The Kelong Restaurant is set up on stilts in the sea. It has a open concept so that the breeze from the sea will blow in. This time, the breeze blowing in was continuous and strong. So strong that we felt cold and turned our food cold within a short period of time despite it arrive pipping hot!

Menu Cover (newly redesigned)

Menu (Soup)

We ordered the Tom Yam Soup again. Small one for $14

Tom Yam Soup

Tom Yam Soup

The waiter served the Tom Yam Soup for us into 2 smaller bowls (which you see in the pictures above), yet there was still half a bowl(big) of soup remaining filled with ingredients. Consistent taste; same as what it tasted like 6 months ago. Right amount of sourness and right amount of spiciness that was perfect for me. Prawns, mussels, carrots, mushrooms, squids and even flower crab! The prawns were very fresh, the meat was firm and can be separated easily from the shell. The flower crab despite it being small was equally fresh too. The meat was easily separated from its shell and was sweet.

Menu (Chicken)

Crispy Chicken (Half Portion) $13

We had to order Crispy Chicken again. Again the quality of food was consistent! The outer chicken skin was so crispy and delicious that it would have been a waste if we did not eat it.

Menu (Sizzling & Clay Pot)

Sze Chuan Tofu $12

Thought that this the Sze Chuan Tofu will be very spicy. Surprisingly, it was not. There were lots of toufu, mushrooms, squids, prawns and carrots. The toufu was deep fried and there was a layer of egg at the bottom of the hot plate. Some slices of salted fish might enhanced the taste more. Quite a decent dish of hotplate beancurd that is much better than those at restaurants and coffeeshops in Singapore.. But due to the first 2 ‘stars’ this was an average dish that day.

Menu (Fresh Vegetables & Beancurd)

Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce $12

Kailan is one of my favourite vegetables. Crunchy and taste great with oyster sauce. The vegetable look so green and taste so fresh! Well cooked!

Damage to the wallet: SGD64.13. Singapore dollar is used here, so Singaporeans do not need to change currency to Rupiah.

We were looking at the next table with 5 person (4ladies and a guy) and we realised that we ordered a similar amount of food as them. Only then did it occur to us that we have ordered alot of food for 2 person! Are we that big eaters I wonder..

If you are going to Bintan. Most of the prices there are similar to singapore prices and you might feel rip off if you insist on dinning in the resort itself. If you are willing to spend, why not go to Kelong Restaurant. At least, you get great tasting food instead of paying more and yet getting lousy food. Considering what we ate, $32 per pax was value for money. Worth it! Moreover, despite the place being filled to the brim, service was very good as they had many waiters and waitresses.

The reason why the food is so fresh:

(sorry for blur picture)

If you are in Bintan, this is a ‘die die must try’ place. Wish that it was located in Singapore.

Tip: If you are going there for dinner on a weekend at around 7pm to 9pm, do ask the hotel to make reservation for you.

The Kelong Restaurant
Nirwana Gardens, Jalan Panglima Pantar
Lagoi 29155, Bintan Resort 
Tel: (62) 770 692 789
Opening Hours: Daily 11:00 – 22:30
There are free shuttle buses within the Nirwana Group of Resorts that will make a stop here.

Jack’s Place (The Heeren)

I have been patronising Jack’s Place for a long time. It is started by a Chinese from Hainan who learnt how to cook by joining the British Army as a cookboy! Used to visit its first outlet at Sembawang, called Cola Restaurant. Today, it has evolved to include several concept restaurants such as Eatzi Gourmet, Seafood Harvest, Brewbaker’s, Hoshigaoka and Jack’s Place under the JP Pepperdine Group.

Jack’s Place is currently has 15 restaurants in Singapore and specialises in western cuisine such as steaks. Decided to visit its restaurant at Heeren.

Normally, I go to the Jack’s Place restaurant at Ang Mo Kio. It is always packed. This time as we were going to town, I made a reservation at Heeren. The place was quite empty with only 3 other table occupied. Not because the food here is lousy, but more of Heeren lacking a solid/reputable anchor tenant to pull the traffic in. Inside, it is  a cozy environment with dim lighting and their signature white and green checked table cloth.

Menu

Daily Set Lunch

The Daily Set Lunch is only from 11am to 230pm. The set lunch includes garlic bread, soup of the day, tea/coffee and dessert. For main course, you can order the items in the Executive Set Lunch or the main courses for the individual day. Do note, the main course for that individual day might include steak, but it does not come in a hot plate nor does it come with baked potato (instead it will be mostly with fries).

I used to aways order the NZ T-Bone Steak with Brown Sauce. How with the price increase I have recently switched to (1 year back) to NZ Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce (Executive Set Lunch).

Utensils

From the utensils you might have guessed what was ordered.

Garlic Bread

Soup of the day (vegetable)

Vegetable Soup with chunks of chicken. It was not as bad as I thought, but I still prefer Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Escargots in Shells (half dozen) $9.50

Yes, the utensils were meant for the escargots so that it can be easily extracted. Sauteed with garlic and butter, it was then baked. Was an average dish, there was too many garlic.

Executive Set Lunch: NZ Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce $16.00

Requested for extra brown sauce. The steak accompanied by the brown sauce was delicious with steam greens and baked potato on the hot plate. Anyone know how to make the brown sauce?

Tea

Dessert

Awesome meal! I love eating at Jack’s Place. A satisfying delicious meal that starts from soup to mains to dessert at such an affordable price. Where can you eat such good tasting steak at such prices! Moreover, the service was very good. Warm water got refilled promptly. The store manager will come to you and check if the meal was good and if there was anything he can help. Normally, in other outlets, the staff will be so busy that they will not even check on you. So kudos to the store manager at the Heeren outlet. Will I be Back? Definitely!

Jack’s Place (The Heeren)
260 Orchard Road
#05-06 The Heeren
Tel: 6738 8683
Opening Hours: Daily 10am – 10pm
Website: http://www.jacksplace.com.sg/ (the 15 outlets location are listed in there)

The Orange Lobster 龍虾世家

Saw a deal on ‘$9 for $25 Worth of Chinese Cuisine at The Orange Lobster’ on Groupon. Decided to purchase it as it looks so value for money. Was excited and had high expectations for this place. It is located just in town at Orchard Central. So convenient! Called up to make a reservation as it was one of the terms and condition in the deal.

Inside, it was quite posh. Despite our reservations, we were seated outside, directly behind the DBS standup promotion. I requested for a table inside as we did not want to sit along the corridor where the traffic was high, but was told it was full. Half way into our dinner, we saw a couple entering the restaurant. After the meal, we looked in and saw an empty table for two..

Pleasantly surprised to see that small fork and knife has been provided. This would make it so much easier to eat the lobster(if you are ordering).

Braised Peanuts $2

Cold Braised Peanuts while you decide what to order. Peanuts  were soft and fat! Gray was sticky and thick. But it was way too salty. On a side note, feel free to tell the waitress if you do not want this dish so that the $2 will not be added to your bill.

Menu Cover Page

Menu (Lobster)

Promotion for the lobster porridge (Courtesy of Jazz’s Blog)

There was a promotion for the lobster porridge, $17.90 per bowl for 200 grams of lobster. Decided to order this as it was their signature dish.

Lobster Porridge $17.90

Looks so different from the promotion flyer..

Was disappointed by the portion. There was just a small lobster cut into half. Having been to Orchid Live Seafood, I know that the porridge is similar to rice in soup. =) Lots of spring onions were added. The lobster broth was on the salty end. No taste of lobster and from the taste of it, Marmite might have been added. Nothing fantastic about this.

A  picture speaks a thousand words; my half of the lobster.

I can’t help but say that the signature lobster porridge served at Orchid Live Seafood was much better in terms of taste and even the number of lobsters given.

Menu (Poultry)

Saw there was Signature Chicken (immediately thought of Orchid Live Seafood and thought this place was similar to it) and decided to order it.

Signature Chicken (small) $12

The Signature Chicken was salty. What a waste. Pales in comparison when compared to Orchid Live Seafood.

Overall, I was disappointed with the taste, quality, value and even service of the staff that I wrote on their FB Page regarding my experience the moment I reach home. I have not even wrote about my experience with the service staff. Well look at the last part for the screenshot of my post and the management’s reply. Also, felt very thirsty after my meal.To conclude, its unlikely I will be back as I rather go to Orchid Live Seafood. Taste is subjective, so try it yourself, it might be your cup of tea!

The Orange Lobster 龍虾世家
181 Orchard Road
#08-09 Orchard Central
Tel:6756 0311
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 11pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orangelobster
Blog:  http://longxiazhou.blogspot.com/