Seafood in Batam; Wey Wey Seafood

Many tourists head to Batam for cheap seafood.

Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant is famous in Batam and known to Singaporeans for their seafood.  But according to Wikitravel, Golden Prawn “seems inexpensive to touristing Singaporeans but is well-known in Batam to be an expensive tourist trap. The seafood they serve may not be fresh, which they will attempt to mask by deep frying them.”

At Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal, there is a row of seafood restaurants right by the sea.  Most popular is Wey Wey Seafood.  It is so popular that they opened another restaurant Wey Wey2 two doors away. 

The prices at this entire row of seafood restaurants are not indicated on the menus.  In other words, the prices may fluctuate between different customers.  Here is a sample of the prices quoted for 1 pax portion at Hawaii Live Seafood , which is the restaurant sandwiched between Wey Wey and Wey Wey2.

Fried Seafood Noodles IDR$18,000

Steamed scallops IDR$50,000

BBQ Squid IDR$35,000

Verdict: The seafood at both Hawaii Live and Wey Wey is not very tasty and the quantity is little.  Worse, the seafood is just a notch above unfresh.  As such, though the prices seem cheap, the seafood is not really good value for money. 

Tip 1: ask for discount at the end of meal.  I asked for a discount and they gave me a 10% discount, and I only ordered 3 items.  If you ask for a discount when ordering, they simply give you less quantity. 

Tip 2: My hotel Swiss-Belhotel Harbour Bay was just a few steps away from the row of seafood restaurants.   It is recommended that you pack your food for take away back to your hotel room to avoid eating in the sour stench of sluice and sewage.