Brunei Sungkai 2014: High Frequency Gourmet Sungkai Set

High Frequency has been one of the hip places to go for coffee or dates, or ideal for a group of friends to catch up – while having lots of artistic creative décor for you to Instagram.

 

I always enjoy looking at the retro stylistic posters hanging on their walls – and the way they arrange the furniture – different heights and style of tables and chairs give this place a different feel and caters to different groups.

 

After so many Sungkai buffets, it’s nice to have a nice gourmet dinner for a change. High Frequency’s management has always tried their best to source out good quality ingredients to ensure the most delicious food is served. They have two sets for you to choose – the Savour or the Lavish Set. The Savour is $28 while the Lavish is $38.

 

Both sets give you a choice of one drink from the four – Stewart’s Cream Soda or Roor Beer ~~ Aranciata Rossa or Aranciata (Blood Orange or Orange Juice – by San Pellegrino). The cream soda is my favourite of the four ~~~

 

Thirsty? *gulp* Look at that Cream Soda calling my name ~~~

 

Start your Sungkai meal with honey dates ~~

 

Both Savour and Lavish set will consist of these three gourmet appetizers. Man – do they look good! *slurps*

 

In the middle – is a baby scallop with a lemon and crème foamy emulsion that gives a fresh tasting flavour to the scallop. You should start with this one first as it’s the mildest flavour of the three.

 

The second appetizer is a crab mousseline on crostini bread and topped with a marinated cod roe. The mousse packs a punch with the crab flavour and goes well with the slight salty cod roe. Mmmmmm…

 

lastly, we move on to this tasty morsel – a Maryland Crab Cake – oh man – I could have ten of these if I could! MORE MORE MORE!!! Oh yeah – there’s the main course to come ~~~ well – the appetizer did the trick – that is to make me want to eat more ~~

 

The head chef welcomed us and introduced us to the two sets they have available for the Sungkai Set.

 

Now let’s take a look at the available choices of main course for the Savour set – you can pick one from these 3 as your main course.

 

This is the delicious boeuf bourguignon, a French style beef stew that takes quite a long time to make! It is served with a very delicious mash – which is actually not potato – but actually cauliflower mash! I must say I enjoyed the mash very very much! An eye opener!

 

The Poulet Cordon Bleu is basically rolled chicken stuffed with beef bacon and cheese, then coated with bread crumbs and fried. It is then served is a special creamy mushroom sauce. Oooh yes ~~*smacks lips*

 

If you are into seafood pasta ~ then you’ll enjoy their spaghetti clams vongole, with mussels and served in a crustacean sauce. A light main course and more suited for the ladies~ I personally would take the chicken or the beef ~ nom nom ~~

 

Two prominent foodies in Brunei, Marul and Gzul – can’t wait to instagram their food ~~ always a custom for us when having beautiful food ~~ simply must share share to our followers ~~

 

Now – the Lavish set of three is of course more expensive but as you can see – the ingredients are more on the posh expensive side ~~ so it’s worth it if you want to splurge a little ~ You can choose one of them as your mains for the set ~~

 

This is their carved roast prime beef, which to me is perfectly seasoned, has a decent fatty crust from the grill! Served with rocket with roasted tomato salad and yummy caramelized potatoes! Make sure you tell them your desired doneness ~~~ I always go for medium rare ~~ oooh yes ~~ juicy steaks!

 

Linguine pasta, served with butter baked Slipper Lobster and Salmon ~~ *swoons* I know this is supposed to be the lighter main suitable for the ladies – but how can I say no to this?

 

Last but not least of the three, is this gorgeous looking seafood platter! Grilled sea bass, New Zealand Mussels, Slipper Lobster and Flower Prawn ~~ well seasoned – served with rocket with roasted tomato salad. Mama Mia! A seafood army ready to be destroyed by the foodie ~~ OM NOM NOM NOM!

 

A group of girls celebrating a surprise birthday ~~ happy and smiling from the good dinner at High Frequency.

 

While my fellow Brunei Foodie, Marul is having a secret date with someone ~~ ahhhh ~~ woo hoo!

 

Ahhhh now on to desserts – both set allows you to choose between this coffee powered mascarpone sponge fingers goodness in a cup – yes – it’s Tiramisu ~~

 

or you could go for one of Homer Simpson’s favourite dessert ~~ as he calls them ~~ oooo burnt cream or crème brulee ~~ a creamy custard – with caramelized burnt sugar tops ~~

 

For me ~~ I always order a latte to enjoy my desserts ~~ it’s not included in the Sungkai menu ~~ but I can never come to High Frequency without savouring their coffee ~~ that would be a #foodcrime ~~ or #coffeecrime !

 

We also got to try the High Frequency burger – which is a simple down to earth juicy meaty burger ~~ thumbs up ~~ pretty yummy! This is part of their dinner ala carte menu, which starts after 8PM during the month of Ramadhan ~

 

Be sure to checked their other desserts which are not on the Sungkai Set, the salted caramel banana cake ~~

 

And this indulgent looking chocolate cake ~~~ ooooh laa laa ~~

 

So ~~ if you’re in a mood for a quality gourmet dinner ~~ in a comfortable relaxed setting where you don’t need to queue or line up at the buffet table – and being served your food and drinks – do check out High Frequency’s Sungkai Set Promotion! Call to reserve in advance as they do have limited seats!

High Frequency Lifestyle Cafe

1st Floor, Unit 5, Blk B Sempurna Complex, Baru Bersurat, Brunei

(Opposite Fun Bee Park – up the hill of Batu Bersurat – in the newer blocks)

Call 242 8262 to reserve.

Brunei Sungkai 2014: The Empire Hotel Pantai Restaurant Straits Buffet

The Empire Hotel’s Pantai Restaurant is well known for it’s comfortable relaxing by the beach kind of luxurious dining. I’ve always enjoyed the great view and breeze while sipping a nice mocktail and enjoying their buffets and ala carte dining.

 

For the month of Ramadhan, Pantai restaurant is offering the Straits buffet ~ for $48 + 10 percent service charge per person. If you have an Empire’s Select card – you can get 20% off. The pricing is expected as the Empire Hotel is one of the most prestigious luxury hotels in the region.  Now what can you expect from the Straits Buffet other than the beautiful sea view from the restaurant , comfortable settings and good service? Let’s take a look at the buffet spread!

 

The Straits buffet will take you from local delights to the streets of Bangkok for Thai Food from their Thai chefs, to Japan for sashimi and sushi from their Zen restaurant,  then to India for some good old fashioned Indian cuisine, and then back for some Chinese cuisine from Li Gong chefs – then finish off with dessert from Western and Eastern influences. You can look forward to a good International buffet!

 

Beautiful slabs of butter to enjoy with the freshly baked breads from their bakery.

 

Japanese salad: Somen Jeka and Japanese Jokowi Crabstick Salad

 

Thai style Salad: The Seafood Salad and The Egg Salad – with spicy Thai flavours!

 

More Thai style delightful salads: Thai style fruits rojak ~ and Thai beef salad ~~

 

East meets West~~ take your pick – Would you like the Tofu and Century Egg Salad *droools* or this Salmon Rice Salad?

 

Or just create your own salad from their salad bar ~~~ look at those yummy salad leaves ~~~ #healthfood buffs would love these ~~

 

then drizzle them with six different types of dressings at the salad bar ~~ DIY Salad for you Salad Pros!

 

We did mention that there’s Indian cuisine as well – so how can we miss the Indian appetizers like Samosas and Curry Puffs! I have a weakness for fried crispy pastries ~~

 

A special mention goes to this yummy Indian style appetizer – green chilies dipped into a spiced batter and deep fried till crispy. I really enjoyed this the spicky kick of this appetizer though I would advise eating this after you sampled the other lighter flavour appetizers! Good stuff! POW!

 

Oh yes – I also want to say – their chicken satay is gorgeous! I think they used the chicken thigh part and it’s a bite of tender juicy goodness! Enjoy it with the sliced onions and their very good peanut sauce! A two thumbs up for their satays! These count as appetizers as well right?!

 

Oh hello ~~ more Japanese appetizers – assorted sashimi (oooh look at the Hamachi, Maguro and Sake Sashimi – Yellow Tail, Tuna and Salmon) – pass me the wasabi and soy sauce please!

 

From the main course side – let’s start with the Indian section first ~~ this Lamb Dhalca was pretty good ~~ mmmm

 

Gorgeous Chili Chicken ~ gotta love cuisines from the spice kingdom of India!

 

Good old classic Indian favourite – Nasi Briyani Glosht ~~

 

Last but not least – is this Laksoni Sabji, Indian style Garlic Vegetables. Ladies and Gentleman, do not let it’s appearance fool you! I nearly missed this dish because I thought it was just merely broccoli and cauliflower ~~ Maurina mentioned how yummy it was – then I went and took some ~~ then it hit me ~~ OMG THIS IS THE MOST DELICIOUS BROCCOLI I’ve TASTED! There was a distinct crunchy crispy goodness as the vegetables were dipped in a spiced batter and deep fried, then the added flavour from the stir fry with garlic and spices gave this yummy dish the finishing touch! I loved it so much – I went back three more times for more of these! Hats off to the Indian chef who cooked this! #bestBroccoliEva #eatyourveggies #indiancuisine

 

The Thai Cuisine section – they have this fried fish with a green chili spicy dipping sauce.

 

Thai style yellow curry squid ~~

Lamb Shanks in a Thai Chili Sauce

 

For the Chinese cuisine – we have these yummy Salt and Pepper Prawns ~~ hubba hubba ~~

 

Stir fried tofu and vegetables and some chow mein (fried noodles)

 

If you love crabs – here’s their steamed crabs in garlic and ginger sauce to make your money’s worth! Nyummers!

 

They also have lovely oven baked whole fish – smothered with delicious spices and herbs!

 

Enjoy them with a good range of different sauces from different cuisines – I’m looking at those yummy Indian chutneys ~~ oooh yesss~~

 

You can be forgiven for mistaking these as simply beancurd (tofu) but they are actually OTAH OTAH! OMG! Delicious prawn and fish paste with spices then steamed and drizzled with a sweet spicy sauce! These are VERY VERY GOOD! My friend, Alin, whom I’ve been watching the World Cup with lately, loved them so much – he took around 6 pieces – so if you were there that night and wondered who ate all the delicious Otah Otah ~~ it’s HIM! LOL!

 

They have a Bakso station – beef ball noodle soup ~~ with condiments to customize your bakso~~

 

You can add more soy sauce and chilies to spice up the soup ~~

 

One of the big highlights of the night – was Pad Thai freshly made by their Thai Chef ~~

 

For a good Pad Thai – the special tamarind sauce – which has a complex mix of salty, sweet, sour and spicy is usually pre-mixed to ensure faster work while stir frying the egg noodles in the streets of Bangkok.

 

Empire Hotel’s Thai Chef Siti Mariam – A Thai Muslim personally prepares the ingredients from scratch and is there to cook these Pad Thai Noodles fresh! Apparently she’s quite popular and well known by some foodies already – I felt embarrassed (because I am after all, Brunei’s well known foodie) as I only met her tonight for an eye opening experience.

 

*sizzles* ooooh hello hello ~~ the only drawback is that she has to use this hot plate to cook the pad thai – if she was allowed to use charcoal fired wok stove ~~ my god! How epic the Pad Thai would taste!

 

These are the yummy condiments you can add to your Pad Thai to adjust to your liking ~~

 

Here’s a video of the Master Chef in action. Claps claps claps. The best part is enjoying the plate of Pad Thai ~~ while enjoying the gorgeous sea view~~~ *slurps*

 

Thank you Siti Mariam for this plate of yummy Pad Thai ~ How do you say Let’s eat in Thai? You say “Hi Kin” – which sounds like High Kin (LOL – yes .. I am getting high from this delicious dish!)

 

Speaking of Thai – I nearly forgot to mention they usually have two soups – the soup of the night was Tom Yum Seafood soup ~~ say hello to the crabs and prawns who decided to take a swim at this delicious Tom Yum Broth ~~

 

Wash all the spicy food with these thirst quenchers at the buffet ~~~

 

Now let’s get to dessert! Most would probably be full by now – but I can never skip dessert! That’s a #foodcrime for this foodie!

Fresh melons, honey dew or dragon fruit to begin your dessert course – I always start with the lighter fruits first before I move on to the other rich desserts ~~

 

A local delight ~~ bubur kacang hijau ~~ a sweet green beans dessert ~~

 

A heart warming Yam Sago dessert (or Tong Sui as Chinese called it – sweet water)

 

Apple Crumble anyone?

 

Oooh lovely Black Forest cake ~~ and a fruity strawberries and dragon fruit cake ~~

 

I admit – I had two slices of this rich indulging chocolate truffle cake *guilty look*

 

Different types of puddings or jellies for you to choose from ~~

 

There are some local sweet delights hiding amongst the Western desserts to surprise your sweet tooth ~~

 

Mini Pavlovas who love to pose for the camera ~~ say Nom Nom!!

 

 

I was too busy eating that I forgot to take pics of the crowd~~ but it was a full house when the night I visited the buffet as it’s a Thursday night. As always – make sure you call to make reservations before you dine in – to avoid disappointment.

 

I hope you will enjoy the Straits Buffet as much as I do ~~ and be sure to visit Brunei Foodies on FB and also follow me on Instagram @thanislim for the latest food updates and nom noms! Remember to hashtag your Ramadhan Sungkai stories with #sungkai2014 ! This is Thanis Lim – your tam jiak friendly neighbourhood foodie signing off!