A&W in Batam, Indonesia

Kids nowadays sure have no idea how much fun and simple life back then was. Yes, we may not have iPads or the latest gadgets and toys for us meant...TOYS. Barbie dolls, plastic houses, a full doctor/teacher/fireman/police set, jackstones, boxes of jigsaw puzzles, board games and battery-operated cars/helicopter/trucks/pet and more! It may not make a sound or give you magical points, nor could a robotic voice tell you a story or sing you a lullaby but toys back then allowed us to hone our imaginations.

I remember spending our summer break playing house, teacher-teacher or fulfilling my childhood dream as a supermarket cashier with my plastic cash register that goes "ting!" every time I open the cash drawer. In contrast to today's age of gourmet eating, the 90s was the fast food era. Oh how we spent those years munching on fries, chomping down burgers, slurping cones of ice cream and cups of milkshake. I tell you, it was bliss and while most of us have to pay for it today, it made us really happy kids back then.

One of those fast food places that I used to patronize was A&W. I particularly love their curly fries paired with a heavy mug of rootbeer. A&W used to have a number of branches around Metro Manila until each store closed down one after the other leaving the lone branch along Makati Ave, if I'm not mistaken. Later on, they eventually bid the Philippines a sad good bye. With the closure of A&W in the Philippines, I then look forward to every trip we make to Singapore. I always would make it a point to grab a bag of curly fries as soon as we land at Changi Airport. Every summer break here in Singapore was never complete without having my A&W fix.

As they say, all good things must come to an end. Eventually, A&W bid Singapore good bye as well. *sigh* Then last 2010, I chanced upon an A&W store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Despite suffering from a terrible tummy ache then, I didn't pass up the chance to try A&W again.

Finally, here I am face to face with the friendly look bear in Batam, Indonesia. There were a couple of A&W branches available and each one is filled with loyal patrons. Here's what Paul and I got during our A&W lunch:



Two Piece Fried Chicken with Rice (Rp. 36,000)
Quite blah. Well, there's obviously nothing spectacular about their fried chicken but it wasn't bad either.

Duo of Fries (Rp. 41,000)
I happily focused on the crunchy curly fries. They tasted just as good as I remembered them to be. Yayyy!!

Rootbeer Float (Rp. 15,500)
Paul was so happy with this as it brought back a lot of good childhood memories too. Still the best rootbeer float in the world for us!

It was a light lunch as we were about to take the boat back to Singapore and it's not a good idea to travel with a full stomach especially when you might get seasick. How I wish that we were able to try the A&W Ice Cream Waffles too which seems to be a popular choice in Batam. Well, there's always a next time.

I wonder how come A&W closed down in both Singapore and Manila. I wonder if there's a chance for it to return? What do you think?

A&W is located in Mega Mall and in Nagoya Hill in Batam, Indonesia.