A Postcard from Brunei – Starting in Bandar Seri Begawan (Traditional Foods, Night Market, Monkeys, the Water Village and a Croc!)
- A proboscis monkey! In in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
- At the night market in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- The water village with the white mosque behind, in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Greetings from a very sleepy corner of the universe. I thought that travelling back west from Melbourne would be easy peasy, but it turns out that, well, it is a bit tricky. Perhaps only if you get up at 4am to climb 850 steps into the Brunei jungle, when what you normally do is busy but not all that active. For whatever reason, my legs hate me and sleep is evasive. Terrified by my clear lack of fitness, I now think of the gym. But then swiftly of making marshmallows. Ahem. Or is that Amen?
We stopped off at Brunei on the way back from Melbourne. Brunei is one of the worlds smallest and also wealthiest countries, tucked away on the north coast of Borneo. Brunei is surrounded by Malaysia and has a similar food culture, with its own unique twists.
Food and wine lovers, take note: Brunei is a dry country. You are allowed to bring in two bottles of wine (and must declare them, excess will be confiscated and I should know, it happened to me), but it is well worth a stop off to explore the food markets, the beautiful mosques, see some monkeys, crocodiles (yes!) and spend a relaxing night in the rainforest.
- Dinner at Aminah Arif Restaurant, Kiulap, Brunei
- Dinner at Aminah Arif Restaurant, Kiulap, Brunei -river ferns
- Dinner at Aminah Arif Restaurant, Kiulap, Brunei
- Dinner at Aminah Arif Restaurant, Kiulap, Brunei
- Dinner at Aminah Arif Restaurant, Kiulap, Brunei
On our first night we had dinner with some local food bloggers, organised and led by local Brunei food blogger Thanis Lim. Thanis brought us to a homestyle restaurant (Aminah Arif Restaurant, Kiulap) and introduced us to some fascinating local specialities including ambuyat, a very sticky, gloopy and quite flavourless substance made from sago that you wind gently around what look like chopsticks crossed with tongs (candas) before dipping into extremely intense dips. Fermented durian was one, so if you have come across this wildly stinky fruit before, you will know what I am talking about. You mustn’t chew it, it must be swallowed whole. A surreal and peculiar flavour bomb experience, but a must. There is a little video of it below.
After that we headed to Gadong Night Market (Pasar Malam Gadong) to sample some street food. Guided expertly by Marul of Geek in White and Maurina of Turquoise and Roses, there were lots of highlights. I adored the whole experience, but to pick a few, a must is a collection of chicken bums on a stick. Yes, I said that. I ate it too. Imagine firm but yielding chicken fat, covered with chicken skin, spiced and barbecued over hot coals? Forget it is a bum, or even a series of them, and just eat it. Delicious. At 50p a skewer, some restraint is required, and there is also so much more to eat. I also loved the fried chicken served with coconut rice and sauce, wrapped in a banana leaf (also 50p and a meal for one), plus sublime bananas deep fried in spring roll wrappers and served with a little chocolate sauce (10p each).
- Ginger flowers at the night market in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- At the night market in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- Frying chicken at the night market in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- Deep fried bananas in spring roll wrappers with chocolate sauce
- Sizzling spicy chicken bums at the night market in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
There was durian everywhere, as the season had just begun. They greeted my eyes and assaulted my nose. Durian, if you don’t know, is aggressively green and spiky and smells of the gutter and of decay. Imagine a whiff of a forgotten long deceased animal overlaid with particularly piquant citrus notes, but then that it tastes of ambrosial vanilla custard? If you can get past the smell, as in Brunei and other countries in the region, you might adore it. I can just about deal with it, but the smell frequently makes me want to run.
- Durian o’clock at the market in Brunei
- Durian o’clock at the market in Brunei – it is hugely popular here, and just in season
- Durian o’clock at the market in Brunei – inside, just before I ate it
The next morning, we met Reeda Malik (who blogs at anakbrunei.org), with some other local photo bloggers, and embarked on a tour of the water village (a village built on stilts in the river), a boat trip to see some proboscis monkeys (I saw one, I really did!), a trip to the stunning white mosque (Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque), a whizz through another market (with some tastes of course), before embarking on a tour to the jungle, more on that in my next post.
- The white mosque with the water village in front
- Making parcels for rice at market
- A lady at market
- The Sultan’s palace
- Sun drying fish
- Delicious deep fried bananas
- Sun dried prawns
- At market in Brunei
- At market in Brunei
- A boat we passed en route
A very busy and exciting day, no?!
See my first post from this trip: A Postcard from Melbourne & Victoria
I visited Brunei on a stopover after the #TourMelbourne blog trip, created and managed by iambassador with Tourism Victoria, and Visit Melbourne in partnership with Royal Brunei Airlines. All content is of my choosing, and I retain all editorial control.
what a nice postcard:) !!
Thank you :) A little long for a postcard, but so much to say, and believe it or not, edited tightly from the first version!
I loved there for a couple of years when I was a teenager, (in Kuala Belait), gosh what an experience. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos and the trip, and bringing me back memories. xx
How lovely to hear that this post brought back fond memories. It is a very interesting place. Thanks for the comment :)
What an incredible place, Your travels are so inspiring, you get so stuck in!
Thanks Catherine! Lovely of you to say. I adore travel and life is very short, so I try to embrace it :)
Hi Niamh, catching up with you after long! Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia are some of my top must visit culinary spots. The regional markets always excite me a lot.
Hallo! The markets seem sensational. I have travelled lots but have so much more to do in that region. I have yet to go to Vietnam or Cambodia!
Hope you visit them soon :)
Me too!
Is that a proboscis monkey I spy up there?? Groovy! But I remain unconvinced by durian. To me, it smells and tastes like a gas leak – you may have my share ;)
Yes, it is :) A gas leak is quite a compliment to durian. I think it is like a long forgotten dead cat coated with grilled cheese ;) x
Glad you enjoyed your Brunei food experience! Do visit us again and I’ll bring you to more exotic places in Brunei! :D