Dining With Jewelle

I decided to eat small and opted for their Spaghetti Bolognese.

Another good evening at the Buccaneers.

Did you know that one of the perks that special bank account holder gets for their birthday is a gift voucher that amounts to B$50? One of the local establishment that accepts this voucher is the Jolene Restaurant - or more commonly known among the Chinese as “Chuk-Ling” - in Kuala Belait.

So that was where we had our dinner to celebrate the patriarch’s birthday recently.

Jolene is perhaps the best Chinese restaurant in KB according to my family since the 11° Sports Cafe is not really to their taste, while Cottage Restaurant and Min Fang Restaurant have not been in the short list for years when we’re deciding on restaurants for family dinner.

When we were there a few Saturdays ago, it was raining heavily and the place was quite vacant. The place is small and there are perhaps only 8 tables, big and small, to accommodate perhaps 50+ pax at one time.

We thought since it was a rainy night, it would be a quiet night. How wrong we were when the place filled up in less than an hour! So nobody minded the rain after all.

I didn’t managed to take much pictures because the lighting was poor and although my family is used to my photographing our dishes - in fact even MIL told me to take a picture of a particular dish - I was a bit shy about using too much flash.

We had the usual Chinese fares - fried noodle for longevity, fish maw soup, mixed vegetable with what-looked-like ham, claypot dish, deep fried prawns and sizzling ostrich meat. The ostrich was good and I thought it tasted no different from deer meat.

Eu, predictably exclaimed “Euww! I’m not going to eat ostrich meat! I want them as pets!” but she did finished her share and proclaimed it delicious.

We also had one special and very expensive dish which MIL thought probably costs as much as their gift voucher :

We’ve always had good impression of the food here and on that night, we were not too disappointed in terms of taste. The fish was tender and fresh - fish lover would definitely like it.

But at B$200 for those 7 dishes including drinks, wet tissues, peanuts etc, I thought it was quite expensive.

I think my more penny-saving banker was also not too happy that the receipt did not give a cost breakdown - especially for such a big amount.

Anyhow, the food was good, the environment was cosy and the service was prompt.

When Mr Aunty J came to town last weekend, we took him out for dinner and gave him a choice of Japanese (with hubby crossing his fingers), Western and Thai.

Thankfully he chose Thai and off to Buccaneer Thai we went for our second time. The first time we went here was when my sister and her then-boyfriend-now-fiance came to visit.

I’m not sure if it’s the norm for Sunday night, but when we came in, the place was empty. Between hubby and myself, we ordered these dishes :

I had wanted to get their Green Curry but decided to try another curry and was fully satisfied. The Pandan chicken was good and the beef was spicy (but so good - if only I didn’t have allergy). As for the soup, although it was very delicious, I think I still prefer their red tom yam soup.

But the best and biggest dish of the evening was the Mango Fish :

The waiter told us that for this dish, it’s best to use sea bass instead of garoupa (which is best steamed).

I am not fond of seafood and most mango fish that I’ve tried (because hubby likes it) are usually too dry or crispy. But this particular Mango fish was cooked to perfection. The skin was crispy but the flesh was succulent - for such a huge fish.

Mr Aunty J enlightened us that the proper way of eating a huge fish is to start from the sides so by the time you reach the centre, which is the thickest part, it would be just cooked. Of course, if you’re not in the company of particular fine dining folks, the best way to eat a fish is - pick whichever part is nearest to you and fast!

I do feel sorry for Mr Aunty J’s other friend who for some reason didn’t join us for dinner. I’m sure whatever he had in Seria is nowhere as good as these.

Also I was pleasantly surprised that we were very well treated by our waiter - he checked on us a few times, making sure all was well. I wonder if it was really him being a great staff or was it the threat of the camera (!).

Anyway, if you have never tried the Buccaneer Thai’s Mango Fish, let me indulge you with another shot of this $35 worth of dish. Hubby was only regretful that he couldn’t polish off the head as well :

Was it worth it? Every cent.

To celebrate mother in law’s birthday, we had dinner at the new 11° Sports Cafe at the former SKBB building, now known as Plaza Sutera Biru in downtown Kuala Belait.

This place is located at the back of the building, completely hidden from the road and with no signages at the front, I wonder how they expect to get business.

This is the main entrance for both the Cafe and the Plaza Sutera Biru swanky boutique hotel, blogged by Princess Nashwa recently. In fact, the Hotel reception table shared the same floor as the Cafe but with no clear parititions or signages, I did missed it until someone pointed it out to me, despite my chair being right across it!

I supposed they had no choice as the space was tight and this small area (since the other half of the building was rented out to a Bank) had to accommodate the Cafe, kitchen, hotel reception, lift foyer, washrooms, utility room, security room etc!

But the decor of the Cafe was something else.

In fact, I’m surprised they call it a Cafe, a sports cafe some more, because it was actually very lavish with plush sofa seats, custom made chopsticks and some bronze (or lookalike) statues on the floor! I think the only sporty thing about this place were the balls which was arranged on the top shelf of the open kitchen counter, the TV was fixed on sports channel and a huge wall mural on football.

As for the food, my parents in law got adventurous and ordered stuffs they wouldn’t normally order for the sake of trying Northern China cuisines.

There was actually another wantan (dumpling) soup. It was quite sourish and when my father in law commented on this to the manageress, she sent us a complimentary plate of steamed dumpling!

Of course, this place also boasts their own “La Mee” which is basically handmade noodle, personally prepared by one of the chef. This noodle arrived last and by that time, I was too spent from having to eat, take pictures, feed Eu (who was having a lot of problems with the dishes) while giving her my “Sit properly” face and another hand blocking Qi who was somersaulting on the other sofa. Hubby said the mee was “okay“.

This was my first experience with Northern China dishes (that lotus roots pickle was definitely exotic to me) and I felt that they were mostly sourish and spicy. I was told that vinegar is favorite condiment for Northern Chinese and some of these dishes really reflected that! But that corn dish was quite tasty actually.

Eu only enjoyed the first 2 fried dishes as everything else elicited a “Chili!“, “Ginger!” or “Spicy!” from her. As for Qi, she spat out most of the little bit of food hubby gave her and if they find a mark or two on their sofa, it’s Qi’s definitely. Serves them right for NOT having baby chairs, though!

But I think their speciality is the after meal towels which came in the shape of a miniature football. In fact, when father in law first brought it back, none of us believed him as the ball was hard and tiny and how could they fit a towel inside that?! If anything, this has got to be the restaurant with the most memorable towels.

However, I do have a problem with their open kitchen concept.

Our table was right besides the kitchen and the noise from their hood was so loud, it was deafening. Other than that, the service was fine. The food was exotic and the place was really lovely. I’m sure it was even lovelier in the daytime with the picturesque Belait river just outside.

By the way, their Chef’s are Muslim Chinese and they still look very Northern China fair (I guess they haven’t been in this country long!).

As for the cost of our meal, mother in law who’s an expert at saving money, approvingly commented that we received “change out of B$100” (it was $90+). But despite that, they concluded that old Teo Chew is still the best for our kind of Chinese food.

Check out the Plaza Sutera Biru website which by the way specified the dress code for the Cafe. It’s “Smart Casual” if you please!

My father in law recently asked me which restaurant serves lobster dish (besides Excapade, that is) around Kuala Belait and Seria as he wanted to treat my mother in law for her birthday.

We knew that Buccaneer Restaurant has a dish so hubby and I (with the kids) dined out there to check it out.

As usual, hubby ordered the escargot and as before, Eu exclaimed loudly that, “Euww, I’m not eating snails!“. That was until we got her to try one and after that, she even insisted on my share! If you have never tried escargots, make it a point to try the Buccaneer’s, they’re really very delicious.

Their breadroll starter this time was different too. Although they were yummy, Qi loves the bread stick, I think I prefer the soft buns. I also asked for the pumpkin soup for a bit of fibre food for Eu and Qi.

As for me, I think I’m beginning to lose my taste for western fares and none of those in the menu (though good they actually were) sounded very exciting and I finally chose, by virtue of “hentam saja”, the barbequed beef ribs.

Sad to say, although it was actually tasty, I have forever (I think) lost my appetite for barbequed ribs after my experience with the Tony Roma’s and this unfortunately, looks and taste very similar that I practically pushed everything to hubby’s plate! I have no idea what made me pick this dish in the first place.

I got Eu the baked fish with rice dish which I think she enjoyed and later after several attempts, even Qi ate some too.

Hubby had the honour of having the lobster (no choice actually as I am not fond of seafood) and it came in a dish complete with mussels and fish fillet and smothered with cheese. I had a try and I thought the lobster was alright, the flesh was tender and quite delicious too.

Our verdict to my father in law, although the lobster dish was recommended, the intended person it was for will definitely turn it down because she does not eat cheese!

So instead, we had our family dinner at the new 11 (degree) Sports Cafe at the Plaza Sutera Biru.

But that’s a post for another day!

Because it is hubby’s (and now also Eu’s) favorite restaurant, Excapade is a must-go whenever we have any of my family over.

When sis Jacq and Wei Chuen arrived last Sunday, we straightaway indulged them for lunch here where they practically ate all parts of salmon fish, from the salmon roe (Eu’s request) to the salmon sashimi meat slices to the fried salmon head!

I didn’t realized that they ordered so many until Wei Chuen blogged about it! 

We finally got to try the new Buccaneer Thai Restaurant for lunch today (barely 2 hours after our chicken rice brunch!). Buccaneer Thai is a branch of the Buccaneer Western Restaurant which is just around the corner of the same building.

The menu even had a chili guide of how spicy you want your food to be. Since it was our first time and didn’t want to push our luck, we settled for 1 chili, which was described as “Mildly spicy and will leave a warm glow in the mouth”.

As you know, I didn’t have to think too much about what I wanted to eat. Thai food to me is just this :

Hubby ordered Sea Food Tom Yam and I thought it was one of the best tom yam soup I’ve ever had. Just the right kind of spiciness that tingles your tongue but didn’t make you want to bloat yourself with water. So I guess the 1 Chili level is right for us!

Sis Jacq is not a Chili eater but the tom yam was so good that she rather tortured her tongue that give up. That good, I’m telling you.

The place was elegant and nicely accented with some Thai decorative items. Besides the open floor, they also offer 2 private areas with a round table.

It was in these rooms that we found 2 very interesting pieces of wall decoration.

I noticed that Thais are very loyal to the King. You can guarantee that his picture will adorn the wall of any Thai establishments here in Brunei. At the Buccaneer Thai, they have a lovely picture of our Sultan and the Thailand King during his 60th Anniversary in Bangkok last year.

There was also a lovely picture of all the Royalty from around the world from the same function and I was probably there scrutinizing the photo for around 5 mins!

Food was great and the decorations made the place even more special. It was reasonable too. Our food cost us less than B$50.