BEST 5 EATS IN BRUNEI

 

• Nasi Katok 

This popular rice takeaway means ‘knocking rice’ in Malay. Word has it that the dish originated from the 1970s when a hungry stranger - most possibly a ravenous student or working bachelor - had the gumption of knocking on someone’s kitchen door hoping to buy a packet of rice for supper. Today, you can find Nasi Katok in most no-frills eateries or from certain homes that advertise it is sold via strung-up banners. What you get is some steamed rice laced with sambal (spicy ground chilli paste), a small piece of egg and sliced cucumber in a paper wrapper. Some vendors offer different condiments such as sambal pusu (dried anchovies sambal), sambal tahai (spicy dried fish sambal) and fried chicken to go with your Nasi Katok. Prices usually range between B50 cents to B$1 or more per pack.

 

• Ambuyat  

You haven't really been to Brunei without sampling this traditional delicacy. Bruneians are crazy over this thick, gluey and bland paste that’s often eaten as a substitute for rice. It takes a bit of skill to dissolve and stir Ambulong (sago flour) in some hot boiling water followed by tepid water to form that requisite lump-free, viscously sticky paste. 

Then the opaque substance has to be twirled onto candas (wooden chopstick-like prongs) for eating, complemented by side dishes of cacah (dips) e.g. cacah binjai (a dip made from a type of native sourish fruit) or tempoyak (fermented durian paste), lalap daging (stir-fried beef jerky with chilli and onion) and pais ikan (grilled marinated fish in banana leaves) among others.  

You either like or hate it...I find the blandness a perfect foil for the tantalising dips and richly spiced dishes that are usually eaten with ambuyat. Its slightly gloopy texture goes down smoothly the throat without any chewing required but carries with it all the attendant flavours and tastes of whatever you're eating.

• Soto Brunei  

Aneka Rasa Restaurant doles out a deeply flavourful version; served with beehoon, mee or kuay teow and condiments such as beef, chicken or seafood, beansprouts, fried beancurd slices, crispy fried shallot and mint leaves, the heartwarming broth sets you drooling with its melange of heady, aromatic spice nuances.

• Sweet Bruneian Kuihs 

Don't pass up on sampling at least two or more of these sweet treats especially if you're visiting the Gadong Night Market. Whether it's kelupis (steamed glutinous or brown speckled rice with either prawn or beef filling), selurut (steamed rice flour rolls in tubular nyirik/nipah leaf casing), cucur pisang (Brunei's version of banana fritters), wajid Jawa (sweet, sticky rice pudding), kuih tapai (fermented rice in banana or simpur leaf parcels), bingka katilapam (steamed or baked fermented rice cakes in rectangular nyirik leaf casings) or penyaram (saucer-shaped fried palm sugar rice flour cakes), it's simply unthinkable not to satisfy your sweet tooth with such an irresistible plethora.

• Mee Goreng

Surprisingly, the mee goreng here is a dead ringer for the good old Indian Muslim-style mee goreng that had firmly lodged itself in my memory as the 'gold standard'. Amazingly the dish boasts that same tricky balance of salty, sweet, tangy, spicy and bitter accents down pat; a vital missing piece from so many versions I had tried in the past.

MAKAN-MAKAN MALAYSIA

Fancy a culinary whirlwind tour of Malaysia? You can do just that at The Westin Kuala Lumpur’s all day dining  restaurant The  Living Room for its “Taste of Malaysia”  come 4th April 2013. 

Blessed with a fabulous food heritage, The Westin KL will take diners on a plated 'tour' where you can discover varied dishes from all 14 different states in Malaysia. Brace yourself for a surfeit of multi-cultural Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking as well as intriguing ethnic fare from East Malaysia.

Set your tastebuds alight with Straits Chinese or Peranakan/Nyonya specialities such as Chicken Kapitan (Kapitan's Chicken Curry) and Ayam Pongteh (braised chicken in dark soya sauce and local spices) to typical Malay Kelantanese delicacies like Nasi Kerabu (mixed herb rice) and Ayam Percik (grilled chicken basted with spice marinade) from the expansive buffet.

 Local celebrity chef - Dato Chef Ismail will be also conducting a live cooking demonstration at The Living Room. A great chance to watch first-hand how the Malaysian Chef Ismail cook up a storm and share his tips and recipes.

 

Each week will focus on a chosen state, starting with “A Taste of Negeri Sembilan” on 11th April and ending with “A Taste of Borneo” on 24th November 2013.

Don't miss the “Taste of Malaysia” buffet every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday starting from the week of 4th April 2013 at the Living Room based on the following hours:

Every Thursday – “Taste of Malaysia” buffet dinner from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Every Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays - “Taste of Malaysia” Hi-Tea from 12 noon to 4 pm

Price:    RM128++ for dinner

RM98++ for Hi-Tea        

Reservations are highly recommended at 03 2773 8338 or email westindining@westin.com

For further information, visit www.thewestinkualalumpur.com

NORTH STAR

Rice fields flash green and gold as far as the eye can see come harvest time

Kedah is the undisputed 'rice bowl' of Malaysia so it's hardly surprising that rice is a breakfast and lunch staple in this northern state.

Gravy party...nasi lemak drenched with various types of spicy gravy in Alor Setar

Despite its scant resemblance to nasi lemak of the central region, Alor Setar's version of nasi lemak is distinctive by the amount and types of gravy that are drenched over each platter of santan (coconut milk) enriched rice instead of the ubiquitous sambal ikan bilis (anchovies in ground chilli and spice paste) that commonly found in the Klang Valley.

We tried the dish at two different stalls and each time no less than 4-5 types of gravy in varying proportions are spooned over our plate of rice. The resultant platter will end up looking messy but packed with unabashedly complex and rich, robust flavours.

Fried chicken add extra substance to one's nasi lemak dish

The spicy gravy ranges from treacly sweet, smoky and spicy to thick, tangy and briny in red, brown and orangey hues, depending on whether it's core ingredient: fish, red meat, chicken or seafood. We discovered the different mix works cohesively well; similar to crossing nasi lemak with nasi kandar if you will.

Just like nasi kandar, you'd find complementing dishes of fried spiced chicken, fish, dry curried beef or mutton, squid and freshwater prawns, omelette or hard-boiled eggs, blanched okra and dalcha (cucumber, onion and pineapple pickles) available to add substance to one's rice serving.

Edible goodies are sold in abundant at this centrally located market in Alor Setar

For some edible souvenirs to take home, head over to Pekan Rabu, a local market with a congregation of food stalls and small enterprises proffering food, clothes, souvenirs and basic necessities under one roof.

Best things to buy for city slickers like us? Serunding, Malay-style beef, chicken or fish floss perked up with exotic spices that's sold by weight. Samplings are permitted the minute the trader senses your interest. It goes superbly well with nasi impit (boiled and solidly pressed rice cakes), lemang (glutinous rice cakes cooked in long tubular bamboo containers over wood and charcoal fire) or even plain steamed rice.

Certain shops bake and sell dainty egg sponge cakes called bahulu on the spot

Baked in sturdy metal moulds, the spongy cakes look similar to French madeleines albeit lighter in texture

Tidbits galore...take your pick of dried, pickled and preserved fruits, nuts, candies and crackers

We also bought some kuih bahulu, dainty baked egg sponge cakes that look like French madeleines with a lighter, airier texture and packets of rempeyek, fried local crackers studded with fried peanuts and anchovies.

A local speciality that caught our eye is kuih karas, a sweetish snack made from overlapping wisps of sweetened rice flour batter, fried to golden brown. It takes patience and dexterity to make as this lady demonstrated.

  Tied to a baton-like rod, this coconut shell scoop has holes pierced into its base to let streams of the batter through

Moving the hanging scoop in circles, fine streams of the batter flow into the oil-filled wok

The intersecting wisps eventually solidifies as they cooked

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden brown pieces of ready to eat kuih karas

Domestic tourists also cart bags of cashews and pistachios, perkasam (moist, salted fish), wrapped  up balls of tamarind pulp, dodol (sticky and sweet confection made from rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar), traditional biscuits and chilli crisps.

RICE THAT SHINES

Curried crab...the gravy's rich and tasty

Are you drooling already at the sight of the above curried crab pix? I'm happy to say it tasted as good as it looked. Besides this delicious delicacy, we also had several other simple but superbly yummy lauk - main dishes to go with some plain rice at this humble, no-frills and no name nasi Padang shop in Tanjung Malim.

Nasi Padang is a speciality of Padang, an Indonesian town in the island of Sumatra. Renowned for its rice meal, plain white rice is eaten with assorted savoury dishes of meat, fish, seafood, vegetable (usually in the form of curries or simmered in spice and coconut based-gravy) and spicy dipping sauces known as sambal.

View of the glass display cabinet where the assorted lauk-pauk were displayed

It was brought over early migrants from the Indonesian archipelago who settled in the peninsular. Now this popular delight can be found at countless roadside stalls and simpler restaurants in nooks and crannies throughout the country.

When we stumbled upon this eatery via our GPS, lunch was already in full swing and the place was filled to the brim. We managed to snag a table and noticed that all the diners were relishing their food with gusto, oblivious to their surroundings.

The old-school setting made lunch even more memorable

This crispy fried fish fired up our tastebuds with its piquant, roughly pounded chilli paste

Since most of the tables had fried chicken, we ordered a portion from the cook too. One bite of the skinless, lean ayam kampung (village bred free range chicken) with strands of sweet sliced onion made us realised why it was such a hot seller here; we literally picked the bones clean!

Chicken licking good!

We also selected some crispy fried fish that came with some coarsely pounded chilli, fried brinjal with chilli paste, chicken rendang and red sambal to complement our plates of white rice.

Aromatic spices and rich coconut milk give this chicken rendang its bold, deep-seated and complex flavour

Soft but creamy, the brinjal comes slathered in pounded garlic and chilli

More freshly pounded sambal to perk up our meal

I can't recall the exact amount we paid but it was a ridiculously affordable price that left us heartily satisfied and grinning from ear to ear.