Coming to Tanjung Pinang or anywhere in Indonesia, a Nasi Padang meal is a must. Nasi Padang is synonymous with Indonesia - it's a hearty meal of boiled rice eaten with robustly savoury spicy side dishes of beef, chicken, fish, squid and vegetables etc. But, what are herbivores to do? Well, if you are in Tanjung Pinang, you can check out Pondok Vigen's vegetarian nasi padang. I've been here twice and the food was nice, even for carnivores 😄
Tanjung Pinang has two annual dragon boat races - an international race organised by government bodies and another one, a lesser known century old inter-kampung (village) race organised by local communities. This post is about the traditional local inter-village race which I had the privilege to visit recently (in 2018).
One of the must do things when visiting Indonesia is to eat at a Nasi Padang stall or shop. It is boiled white rice eaten with dozens of side dishes of fried meat, fish, seafood, rendang, vegetables, sauces, curries, and sambals. So far, we have eaten at 5 or 6 Nasi Padang shops in Tanjung Pinang, and the one I would recommend is Putri Minang.
During recent my 5-day trip to Tanjung Pinang (on Pulau Bintan), I saw that there were several bak kut teh shops at Jalan Potong Lembu - a popular area where locals go for eating and shopping. I can't fairly recommend any bak kut teh shop as we tried only Heng Long, but I did enjoy their BKT which was among the tastiest I've tried anywhere.
During my visit to Tanjung Pinang, I had the chance to see how otak otak is made at Acong Ota. While in Tanjung Pinang, I tried otak otak from only three different places. Out of the three, I prefer Acong Ota. But, I need to try more otak otak in Tanjung Pinang before recommending any.
The Manabu restaurant in Tanjung Pinang was recommended to us by Marc Thalmann owner of Mutiara Beach Resort when he heard that we were going to spend the night in the port city. Marc knew The Manabu's owner, Chef Gaku for over a decade when Chef was working with the resorts such as Nirwana Gardens in Bintan.
Like many people from Singapore, I have been to the luxurious Bintan Resorts along its north shores. But, I have never been anywhere else on Bintan Island (which is bigger than Singapore in size). So, I jumped at the first opportunity to visit Tanjung Pinang, the capital of Riau Province on Pulau Bintan.
⚠ Warning: Extra Too long post ahead.
