Kedai Kopi Harum Manis: A Breakfast Institution in Batam (Indonesia) Serving Mie Lendir, Nasi Kari, and Other Morning Staples

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If you want to have a local breakfast in Batam (Indonesia), then head over to Kedai Kopi Harum Manis. Established in 1989, this breakfast institution is a kopitiam (local coffee shop) that has a few hawker stalls selling breakfast staples.

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Kedai Kopi Harum Manis is popular for its Mie Lendir, an Indonesian noodle dish that’s popular in Riau Archipelago, where Batam is located. It’s made of yellow noodles doused in a thick (“lendir” means slime) sauce made with peanuts and sweet potatoes. Then it’s topped with bean sprouts, boiled egg, and fried shallots.

Kedai Kopi Harum Manis’ version has soft noodles, sweet sauce, crisp bean sprouts, tasty fried shallots, and spicy chilies. For Filipinos, you can think of this of lumpiang sariwa (spring roll with fresh vegetables doused with sweet sauce) with the veggies replaced by noodles. But if I can be honest, this dish isn’t for me.

Another breakfast item you can try in the kopitiam is Nasi Kari (curry rice). It’s composed of white rice and dishes/sides of your choosing, covered in curry. It’s similar to Hainanese Curry Rice of Singapore.

My plate of nasi kari has fatty lo bak (braised pork belly), tender chicken curry, fried egg, and sayur (vegetables) that tastes like moringa leaves. The curry tastes like Filipino curry, which has strong turmeric flavor.

Like the local coffee shops in Malaysia and Singapore, Kedai Kopi Harum Manis also offers kopitiam toasts and drinks such as kopi (local coffee) and teh tarik (pulled milk tea). It’s common practice for customers to buy drinks at kopitiams, as the beverage stall is usually owned by the kopitiam.

Their Kaya (coconut custard) Toast is too sweet for me. Good thing that the drinks are perfect.

I may not like some of the dishes in Kedai Kopi Harum Manis. But being Batam’s breakfast institution, it’s worth visiting especially for its nasi kari and kopitiam drinks. I recommend it to you.

Kedai Kopi Harum Manis

Address: Jl. Komp. Bumi Indah, Lubuk Baja Kota, Kec. Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia | Operating Hours: Monday-Saturday, 7AM-1PM; Sunday, 6AM-1PM

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