Food: not my favourite topic since I eat only to stay alive. I have not tried anything apart from those which I'm already familiar. Friends have brought us to various places to eat. Our Kenyan friend who has been here for more than 10 years, working as an oil-exploration consultant, brought us to Charcoal Grill. Good food but very large portion. Very American.
There isn't any food that is typically Bruneian. There are many cafes serving mainly continental-style food. Fried chicken is most popular but they eat it with rice, quite like chicken rice back home. Our Brunei friends told us that we must try the sago-flour dish. Apparently, this was what their older generation ate during the Japanese occupation. The dish reminds me of the starch, the gluey thing, we used in older days to starch the army uniforms. Of course, the flour must be eaten with curry or gravy.
Both of us have quite an oriental preference, hence we have been seeking out Chinese eateries. We found Teochew Porridge, Hong Kong Cafe (cha can ting), steamboat buffet, tim sum (minus the pork), vegetarian outlet, Thai food, genuine Chinese 'la mien' and Japanese food. Our favourite is a Malaysian-owned Chinese restaurant: Thiam Hock. While the food is reasonably good in most of these places, the decor (if any to begin with) is extremely simple. However, price is unbeatable. Fighting the economic crisis? Great savings here!
The CNY mood is everywhere, even though this country is mainly non-Chinese. Reason: the biggest chain of supermarkets is owned by a Chinese. Red, red and more red. The typical new year goodies are displayed quite like those in Sheng Siong or Giant. By the way, there is a huge Giant outlet here like the one in Tampines.
What fascinates me most is the fire crackers. I'm definitely going to try some this year. There are many different types I have never seen before. I wish I can bring some back, but ...
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