Food in Brunei: 26 Droolworthy Dishes You Must Try

When I realized that I would be spending three months in Brunei, the first thing that I did was try to do some research on the food in the country. Unfortunately, there isn’t too much information available which is rather startling considering the number of expats that live in the country and those that continue to move in and out of it.

It came as no surprise that I chose to document my journey as I explored the food in Brunei. I will keep updating the post as I go. After all, exploring food in Brunei is sort of like an adventure. Am I right or not?

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The Cuisines In Brunei

Food in Brunei has a lot of cultural influence from different cultures. That can be seen in the food that is popularly available. Malaysian food understandably is extremely popular and Indonesian food is also readily available.

Craving for your fix of Chinese food? You will find that available too. While I haven’t been to any yet, I’ve seen a couple of Indian restaurants in the area too.

Want to catch a pizza? Not a problem, there usually is an Italian restaurant available. Popular fast food outlets that I have noticed are KFC, Burger King and Jollibee. One of the best places to catch a bite of Bruneian food is at the local street food markets.

If you are in Bandar then there is the Gadong Night Market that will definitely give you a chance to sink your teeth into the local cuisine. Kuala Belait also has a nice street food market on Jalan Bunga Rambai or next to Saint John’s church.

Exploring Food In Brunei

From my stand point I found that the food in Brunei was a mix of flavours. It isn’t too spicy but it can get really sweet which was something I had to grapple with since my recent diabetes.

That being said rice, noodle, coconut and meat really dominate the platters. I just thought I would give you a run down of some of the popular food that we saw when we headed out to eat.

Snacks In Brunei

The one thing about Brunei that drives me crazy is the amount of snacks that you can find when you head out. Trying to keep a diet of any form is so hard because you want to try it all. Unfortunately for a person like me, the servings aren’t small either and the Bruneians are so friendly that they often insist on giving you extra!

1. Curry Puffs

The famed curry puff is one of the items of food in Brunei that you should try.

One of the first things that caught my eye were the curry puffs. I think just the word curry made me nostalgic for India. The curry puffs come with a variety of different fillings from spicy tuna to chicken and beef. Corn beef seems like a popular favourite.

2. Roti Kuning

Wondering what food in Brunei is perfect for breakfast? Try the Roti Kuning.

In India I would have thought that Roti meant a flattened rolled version of bread but here Roti was more of a sweetened bun sliced in the centre and stuffed with your choice of Kahwin (butter, sugar, coconut milk and starch), cheese, tuna or corned beef.

I tried the cheese version but even that came with a sugary jam in the mix. Interesting is the word I would call it.

3. Burgers And Pita Bread

The burgers in Brunei are a tad bit different.

I have no clue what they call it but as soon as you walk into an area with street food in Brunei you will see stalls selling burgers or stuffed pita bread. These are by far the messiest and most delicious items of food you will ever taste.

You get to pick the filling of your choice which is then heated on a hot surface and tossed with sauces of your choice. Once the stuffing is ready, it is then put in the burger bun or in the pita bread and handed to you.

4. Chinese Steamed Buns

One of my favourite snacks in Brunei is the variety of steamed buns that are available. From sweet to savoury, you will find yourself spoilt for choice. Chicken, beef, tuna and red bean are the popular variants that I have come across.

The red bean one is a sweetened red bean paste while the others range from bland to mildly spicy. If it is spicy you will be forewarned in advance.

5. Dim Sums

Dim sums are another of my favourite items of food in Brunei. With a rather unpredictable stomach, these were my go to on the days that I wasn’t feeling too good. A lot of the Chinese shops have a variety of dim sums available. I particularly like the Siu Mai ones.

6. Fish Balls

Another popular item of food in Brunei is the fish balls.

Along with the myriad of grilled meats that one can find, fish balls on a skewer are another popular item amongst the locals. While I have tried them in other countries in south east Asia, I still have to sink my teeth into the ones available here.

7. Panggang

Panggang is one of our favourite snacks in Brunei.

We absolutely loved this delicacy. Panggang is rice rolls stuffed with a paste of shrimp of beef. The paste isn’t too spicy. The rolls are covered in a leaf and then steamed. They are bite sized but boy a couple of them will fill you up like a whole meal!

Lunch And Dinner In Brunei

I think the food in Brunei when it comes down to lunch and dinner can be boiled down to rice, noodles or soup. Well… That is usually what you would get if you were looking for local food. Pizza, pasta and burgers are also available very easily.

Normally all the words on the menu tends to be confusing because you don’t know what they mean. Let me break it down for you by explaining what the most common words mean.

Nasi – Rice

Mee – Noodles

Goreng – Fried

Ayam – Chicken

Ikan – Fish

Soto – Soup

So if someone says ‘Nasi Goreng’ you know that they are talking about ‘fried rice’ or that ‘Mee Goreng’ means ‘stir fried noodles’.

8. Nasi Goreng

From neighbouring Malaysia comes this item of food: Nasi Goreng!

Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian dish which quite literally means fried rice as explained above. In fact, if you’ve set out to try Indonesian food, this is probably one of the first dishes that you will be introduced to.

In Brunei, Nasi Goreng is equally as popular. You can choose from a variety of different meats to add to your Nasi Goreng.

9. Nasi Katok

Nasi Katok is one of the cheapest meals in Brunei.

Nasi Katok is a dish with a very interesting story. In fact, I was told this story by the immigration officer when I was extending my visa. Apparently, the dish originated when a hungry traveller went door to door knocking for food.

The traveller was served rice and fried chicken. Katok literally means knock… Knock… Today for $1 you can get yourself a satisfying meal of Nasi Katok. It comes with white rice, a fried piece of chicken and sambal sauces. I’ve been told that you haven’t lived in Brunei if you haven’t eaten it!

10. Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is still our favourite item of food in Brunei.

It is very common to find Malaysia’s national dish, the Nasi Lemak wrapped in small bundles for sale in the Bruneian eateries.

This fragrant dish comes with rice that is cooked in coconut milk instead of water and is accompanied by fried chicken, cucumber peanuts and sambal. They also have a yummy shrimp paste that is to die for.

11. Mee Goreng

Another popular dish here in Brunei is the Mee Goreng. This translates to stir fried noodles. The beauty about most places is that they let you customize your food from the type of noodles you want to the meat that you want put in. Pretty cool right?

12. Grilled Fish

Grilled fish is one of the popular items of food in Brunei.

When it comes to food in Brunei, one thing is clear: Bruneians love their fish. One of the staples at most of the food markets is grilled fish. In some places you will see it being grilled on a leaf.

The varieties of fish grilled are quite impressive and its always fresh. Though I have to warn you that it can get spicy.

13. Pais Talur Ikan Tenggri

Another one of the many items of food in Brunei.

I was very curious when I saw these tiny parcels. All that I got from them was that they contained something to do with fish. The kind Bruneian man explained that they were stuffed with fish roe/eggs and were spicy with vinegar.

I ultimately did not try the fish roe but I took the sardine one instead. It had a very interesting flavour. Almost like a pickle.

14. Soto

I first came across the term Soto in Indonesia where Soto Ayam was my favourite dish. Soto is a traditional Indonesian soup which includes vegetables, meat and plenty of noodles. We found that it is equally popular in Brunei.

Large bowls display the contents of each Soto which means you know what you are eating. Once you’ve picked the bowl, it is then carted off to be filled with some delicious broth and then handed back to you steaming hot. Shawn absolutely loves this healthy fix.

15. Laksa

Laksa can be spotted on almost every menu.

While Soto may be the Indonesian version of soup that you find in every corner of the country but that doesn’t mean that the Malaysian soup Laksa is any less popular.

With a coconut base, this soup is both spicy and tangy. It is filled with the meat of your choice (I personally prefer the seafood variant) and vegetables.

16. Tom Yam

This particular soup is as popular in Brunei as it is in Thailand. Tangy, spicy and sweet all in once, it isn’t a wonder that it is another popular item on the menu. Again, the Tom Yam comes with different meats and you can choose between beef, seafood and chicken. Me? I always love it with seafood!

17. Rojak

Another intriguing thing to try.

I noticed that this word cropped up a number of times on the menus of places we visited. Was I curious? Definitely. We finally ordered it one day for lunch.

Rojak is a salad that comes with a mix of vegetables and fruits. It is topped with a black colour sweet sauce. In some places you can get the Rojak with chicken or beef or fish. It is interesting but it was a bit too sweet for my taste.

18. Sushi

While it may not be Bruneian staple food, the country loves its sushi. Three popular restaurant chains exist to meet that need. Kaizen Sushi, Escapade Sushi and Sushi Tei.

Branches of these can be found in Kuala Belait, Seria and Bandar Seri Begawan. In fact there is a gorgeous Kaizen Sushi restaurant next to the Bandar boardwalk that I really want to try.

19. Local Coconut Prawn Curry

This was the most surprising item of food in Brunei that we tried.

I have to be honest. I am not sure where this dish originates from or whether it is specific to just one restaurant but we enjoyed it so much that I really had to add it to the list. Served inside a tender coconut, this coconut based curry is more sweet and just a bit tangy.

Slivers of coconut meat make this dish amazing and give it a taste that I have not encountered before. We had this in a restaurant chain called WYWY restaurant.

Sweets And Desserts

Sweets are popular in Brunei and they come in different forms. Like all other dishes, the sweets in Brunei have a significant influence from the neighbouring countries namely Indonesia and Malaysia.

20. ABC

ABC is an interesting concoction that I absolutely love. In the hot weather of Brunei, this cooling dish is a refresher. Made of shaved rice, condensed milk, jelly and beans, ABC certainly looks colourful. I even managed to snag a non-sweetened version which was like manna from heaven.

21. Cakes

Cake shops seem to be almost everywhere you go and the cakes do make your mouth drool. I tried a lemon cheesecake from SunnyBee bakery and it was delicious. I haven’t tasted anything as good in a long time!

22. Pisang Goreng

You can’t go wrong with bananas.

Pisang means Banana. These crunchy banana fritters look delicious and I’ve been dying to try them. One place that had them in abundance was the Gadong Night market in Bandar Seri Begawan. We unfortunately had already stuffed ourselves with food by the time I though of eating something sweet.

I also noticed that the Pisang Goreng was classified according to the different bananas used which is pretty cool sine each type of banana gives a slightly different taste.

23. Kueh

If you fancy something sweet, you should try this item of food in Brunei.

Kueh can be sweet or savoury depending on the stuffing inside them. These bite sized glutenous desert is made of rice paste and is often filled with a variety of bean pastes. They are extremely tasty and you will find people snacking on them throughout the day.

Drinks

If you think that you can head out to a bar and catch a drink, think again. The sale of alcohol in Brunei is illegal and it can only be brought across the border by foreigners at the rate of 2 litres of alcohol or a 12 pack an of beer every 48 hours.

That doesn’t however mean that Brunei runs short on its no alcoholic beverages. The café culture is pretty large in the country too and you will find a number of places to catch a hot cup of coffee. That being said, here are a few drinks that you should try when in the city.

24. Tender Coconut Water

One of the things that I love to drink here in Brunei is the tender coconut water. The coconuts are enormous, and I am not exaggerating. A single coconut is like a whole meal for me. In fact, Shawn and I often just share one because it is too much for a single person.

25. Teh Tarik

The famed Teh.

Teh Tarik is a tea that if you search will translate into ‘pulled tea’. I found that rather funny. It is popular in most of the south east Asian countries and Brunei is no exception.

Teh Tarik is tea that is poured back an forth from two vessels at a height giving it a frothy texture. One interesting thing is that this tea is made of condensed milk and is usually quite sweet.

26. Kopi

Kopi is coffee which you probably guessed and simple as that may sound, I always get confused by all the different options of Kopi that are available. Kopi, Kopi-C, Kopi-O and so many others. I found this great article about how to order kopi online and thought I would link to it. But a shortened version for you to follow would be this:

Kopi – Black coffee with condensed milk

Kopi-C – Black coffee with evaporated milk and sugar

Kopi-O – Black coffee with sugar

If you are in area, definitely check out our detailed guide to the best places to eat in Kuala Belait and Seria.

Have you been to Brunei ands savoured the local cuisine? Let us know which item is your favourite on our list of food in Brunei!

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