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Friday, June 26, 2009

Food in Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan

I went to brunei a few months back, discover few places with good food.. would like to share some...

One dish that reaallly good was the 'Nasi goreng cornbeef'.. The name does sounds weird, but trust me, it taste good. It's basically a regular fried rice (no chilli), with mixed vege and really tiny shreaded/ minced beef. Really nice, tried to cook it a few times but doesn't taste quite like it. anyone with the recipe?





The ambuyat at the Aminah Arif Restaurant in the Kiulap precint of Bandar Seri Begawan, was quite an experience. It taste different and actually quite delicious. I like the dishes that came with the ambuyat, like the rendang daging, pais ikan, pucuk paku and asam pedas ikan.



"Ambuyat, a dish prepared from the sago palm, has the texture and consistency of wallpaper glue. It became the staple dish of Bruneians during the Japanese Occupation in World War II, when people were reduced to near-starvation. Frequently, the only thing left to eat was the pith of the sago palm. But the use of the sago (Rhumbia) palm as a foodstuff goes back a long way. Indeed, the Indonesian name of Borneo, Kalimantan, is derived from the word Lamanta, meaning “sago starch”. The preparation of ambuyat is an involved process. The first step is to extract the pith from the trunks of the sago palm. This pith is then grated and dried, forming a fine sawdust-like flour. This is later emulsified into a starchy paste called ambulong. Ambulong is available widely throughout Brunei, including from stalls at the Gadong night market. When ready to be cooked, it is placed in a saucepan and boiled with water until it becomes a thick, gooey, rubbery paste that would be perfect for gluing the soles back on your shoes."...(Rozan Yunos, Brunei-our golden legacy)


One more food heaven that I love in Bandar Seri Begawan is the night market near the Rizqun International Hotel. This is the place to go if you want to try different type of foods in Brunei. The most popular food at that place is the pulut panggang (1st pic from left). There's more than 5 stalls were selling pulut panggang. There's fish, beef and chicken pulut panggang, and you will get fresh and hot pulut panggang as they cook them right in front of you.