Soto, Laksa and....... Pulled Tea?

One of the delights of living in Asia is the choice ... and of course, price of local food. Over the past 5 years ,Brunei has slowly succumbed to the western  'cafe....ified' culture- the youth are more likely to want to meet for a $4 coffee in a Western style cafe like the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf  than meet for a more traditional 'Kopi C or Kopi O coffee  in an old fashioned coffee shop for less than a dollar. Local coffees in these older places are sweetened with condensed milk and are a sweet, satisfying drink.

Another popular beverage in this part of the world is 'Teh Tarikh' which literally means 'pulled' tea.Check out the vid above..... This drink is best bought from a local coffee shop run by Indians who have mastered the art of pouring the tea from one container to another from quite a height, without ever managing to spill one drop!.
This repeated action aerates the tea which makes it frothy and alters the taste completely.

 The tea is brewed from tea dust ( thats the cheap stuff left over under the dried tea leaves. Some believe that tea dust has much more flavour than tea leaves..... but I'm not so sure about that!)
Then, condensed milk, either sweetened or unsweetened is added and the tarikh process takes place..... and thats all for the price of around 50cents!

One of my local favourites is Soto Ayam (Chicken) Soup- The soto stock is made from a laborious process of boiling up huge beef leg bones for hours and adding a selection of spices to create a very delicious ,distinctive tasting soup.
 The broth is then added to any Noodles you choose, shredded chicken or beef,egg, chopped boiled potatoes,pickled radish &bean sprouts . The dish is finished off with a sprinkling of crispy fried onion and served with cut chilli and a squeeze of local kasturi lime . You can have all that for about $3.50. At the local evening markets, you can pick up a plastic tub of Soto for one dollar!

Local Prawn Laksa

Another locally enjoyed dish is prawn laksa               ( rumoured to have originated from Kuching in Sarawak). Like the Soto, the Laksa soup base is prepared separately and then poured hot over noodles, prawns & seafood, young celery leaves, chilli and chunks of fried bean curd. As the basis of the Laksa is coconut milk with coriander and other spices, it is probably not the healthiest dish for those with high cholesterol!
Laksa devotees will always be able to tell you exactly where to go to enjoy the best laksa around.