Brunei Restaurants: Dapur Penyet Indonesian Cuisine

When I first encountered Dapur Penyet – I admit I thought it was only a fast food chain selling Ayam Penyet. Their first branch was in Delima, a cosy branch and you order at the counter and wait at your table. I only tried the Ayam Penyet back then and was pleasantly surprised. The food came out pretty fast and the Ayam Penyet was very good. After a few visits, I realized that they have quite a range of selections for a good meal with family and friends. They are in fact a proper Indonesian Restaurant serving authentic Indonesian Cuisine! Fast forward to now – Dapur Penyet has already 3 branches in Brunei and the image of simply a fast food chain simply selling Ayam Penyet, has become a serious contender for the Indonesian Cuisine scene in Brunei.

 

Dapur Penyet originally came from Singapore. They were established under a different flagship in 2005 but in 2008, with great support, they created their own independent brand as Dapur Penyet. Since then, their consistent quality Indonesian Cuisine has seen them expanded to Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and more recently Brunei!

 

We recently checked out the Dapur Penyet at Food Arena, Seri-Qlap Mall. The biggest branch of Dapur Penyet in Brunei.

 

I like this branch for it’s tall ceilings and spacious comfortable décor.

 

You will need to order and pay first at the counter – then grab a table and wait for them to bring your food to you when it’s done. Now let’s check out the food!

 

First up ~ we start with their range of vegetables. This is their Gado Gado – kinda like an Indonesian salad – served with crispy keropok and peanut sauce! Yummers!

 

The kids will love this and so will you! Gotta entice them to eat their vegetables!

 

Another vegetable dish that the kids will love (or big kids like me) is their tahu telur – a crispy tofu and egg dish with shredded vegetables, then drizzled with sweet soy sauce and rich peanut sauce! The idea is to mix the sauces together like tossing a salad. Mmmm ~~ Indonesian style salads for the win!

 

We also tried their stir fried Kangkong, which is actually pretty good!

 

So good – even Marul who doesn’t like veggies enjoyed this!

 

Their stir fried sayur pakis with santan is really heart warming. Down to earth but a local favourite! Thumbs up!

 

Stir fried Long Beans (kacang panjang) is also pretty good. Usually during food tasting – we don’t really touch the vegetables – but there’s just something about the way they cook their veggies that entices us. Delicious!

 

They also have a range of soups – we ordered 3 of these – Sup Asem, Soto Ayam and Sup Buntut

 

Sup Asem is a sweet and sour style soup with a tamarind base. Quite an appetizing soup to match with the spicy Indonesian cuisine. Very filling too – you get your good balance of vegetables from this soup!

 

Their Soto Ayam is pretty different from our Bruneian version and you can tell from the colour of the soup. It’s very popular for the Indonesians.

 

Last but not least is our favourite soup of the three – the Sup Buntut (which is oxtail soup). Who can ever say no to delicious pieces of this oxtail – that’s cooked for hours until tender ~~ and the heart warming flavours of this epic soup!?

 

At only $7.50 – this for me is really good value! Succulent delicious oxtail soup! A must order if you go in a group – we actually liked this so much – we ordered an extra portion of this! No joke! Sedap!

 

You can have a choice of Nasi Putih, Nasi Lemak or Nasi Pandan. Rice is usually ordered separately from the main dishes.

 

Now let’s look at their range of chicken dishes ~~ this is of course their signature Ayam Penyet. What I like about the dishes here is that they are served with a piece of battered fried tempeh and a piece of fried tofu. Their chicken is fried – then pressed – and you get a nice crunchy textured crumbs called kremes! You can actually tell them your preference for your sambal – from mild to hot!

 

Ayam Belado is another fried chicken dish but served with a Indonesian style blended chili sauce called Belado.

 

If you can take spicy stuff – I highly recommend their Ayam Sambal Hijau – which is a gorgeous piece of fried chicken – with a serving of the fiery Indonesian sambal made from green chilies and anchovies. A very fragrant yet hot sambal – once you have it – you’ll be hooked!

 

If you prefer grilled chicken – they have a few choices for Ayam Bakar – the Ayam Bakar Madu is their honey grilled chicken in a sweet honey sauce. *drools*

 

There’s something about chicken grilled with simple kicap (sweet soy sauce) that makes our mouth water … ahh ~~ gotta love the grilled chicken here!

 

For those who love food from Kelantan and Terengganu, especially their Ayam Percik, you would be happy to hear that Dapur Penyet serves their Ayam Bakar with their own version of Saus Percik! Grilled moist chicken – drizzled with that coconut spices sauce ~~ ooooh la la ~~~ Thumbs up!

 

Oh ~~ let me tell you a little secret ~~ *whispers* Their Empal Bakar (grilled beef) is really delicious ~~~ would you look at that beautiful piece of grilled beef!

 

If you prefer seafood, they have a range of prawn dishes like Udang Belado, Udang with Belado Petai or crispy battered Udang Penyet – served with kremus and sambal ~~

 

Fish lovers rejoice for Bawal Penyet! Flat fish – crispy goodness!

 

You can also have the grilled version ~~ oooo bawal bakar kicap ~~ *swooons* I quite like this one!

 

Oh – they got plenty of side dishes like Bakso Bakar ~~ grilled meatballs – (which also comes in a deep fried battered version caled Bakso Penyet)

 

Gorgeous satay ~~ yum!

 

Do you know what makes your dinner complete? Some telur masin! Now that’s gonna bring some smiles to your family!

 

Now for drinks! There’s plenty of choices – ranging from local drinks – to fresh juices – milkshakes, fancy sodas or their in house specials!

 

Their special The Sosro ~~ to quence your thirst ~~

 

Three of their in house specials! Soda Gembira – ABC and ES Cendol – refreshingly good especially to calm the fires from the spicy hot sambal hijau! Their ABC has a good bandung taste – which I feel matches the Brunei’s love for bandung!

 

Last but not least, is the signature dessert of Dapur Penyet! Step forward – Es Teller, an Indonesian iced cocktail (kinda like our ABC) with ingredients like sea coconut, cendol, papaya and even jackfruit ~~ with a dash of bandung syrup! Ahhh this is bound to be a hit with Bruneians! Soo goood!

 

As you can see – Dapur Penyet is not only suitable for a quick delicious meal – it can also be a family dinner or a gathering for friends sharing a delicious Indonesian cuisine together. Good range of choices – pleasant friendly customer service.

 

It’s no wonder – Dapur Penyet is becoming a contender for the best place for Indonesian Cuisine in Brunei. It’s a new entry to my Brunei food guide and is highly recommended by your friendly neighbourhood food blogger. Hope you enjoy your Dapur Penyet Experience!

Dapur Penyet Delima Square

Unit 9, Ground Floor, Block C Delima Square. Delima Satu (opposite Hua Ho Delima)

tel: 2330033, 7151177

 

Dapur Penyet Seri Q-lap Mall

L1/20,21,22, Ground Floor, Seri Q-lap Mall, Kg Kiulap

tel: 2237733

 

Dapur Penyet Gadong

Unit 2, Ground Floor, Yong Siong Hai Building, Spg 137, Jalan Gadong

tel: 2451199

Bangkok Cafes: True Love Siberian Huskies Cafe

Let’s face it. In the midst of all the negativity around the world. I look forward to one thing. Hugging beautiful huskies. Now if you’ve read my Bangkok Café guide – you would have come across True Love Huskies Café. Here’s a more detailed post on what you would expect at True Love Siberian Huskies Café – what to eat – and most importantly – how to get there!

 

Some of the photos from this post comes courtesy of Jesmine Wong – do follow her on https://www.instagram.com/jesminewkc/ 

 

First of all – how do we get there?! Now you can use Uber app and just use it to pinpoint location to TrueLove Café. Or you can bypass all the traffic jam by taking BTS to BTS Ari – then show this picture to the cab driver – or grab an Uber from BTS Ari Station. That for me is the easiest and fastest way to get here!

 

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You also should take not of the times where you can actually see the huskies – here’s the timetable I got when I visited – but do call them before you arrive to see if these timings have changed!

 

Once you see this – you know you are at the right place! The Siberian Husky Café sign ~~

 

There are of course – some rules to adhere at the café. There’s no entrance fee of course but you have to order a set meal here. Be sure to read these rules before you meet the dogs. The dogs here are not exploited for commercial use and they are well taken cared of – mostly living in air-conditioned rooms as well as fed well with lots of tender loving care.

 

Here’s a glimpse of some of the menu here ~~ you can choose your food and drinks here depending on which set you order. The full set is 350 baht + 10 percent – food + dessert + drink or you can go for the 290 baht + 10 percent which is dessert + drinks only. Let’s look at some pictures of the food ~~

 

Quite a good selection of pastas, rice and snacks with a Thai influence. The Aglio Oglio according to Jesmine was too spicy for her liking so do tell them if you can’t take the heat.

 

Pretty cakes from their desserts selection as well.

 

If you’re not so hungry – the dessert + drinks set at 290baht is a good bargain.

 

There’s plenty of Siberian Huskies merchandise as well if you want to buy some! Really cute!

 

Now before meeting the lovely Siberian Huskies – you will be given a briefing first – the language is in Thai usually but there will be people who can translate a bit for you. Most of the important information is written in English along with the menu – you should read these rules before you step in!

 

Wrapping your shoes with plastic and washing yourself clean with soap ensures that the dogs are protected from our germs – so they stay healthy!

 

Love this picture of the Huskies (pic taken by Jesmine’s dad)

 

Jesmine’s lucky friend got to take a picture with some Thai celebrities when they visited that day! Gorgeous!

 

The Huskies are usually separated into different cages – in which you can request to go in and hang out with them. This is to separate the packs who can be hostile with other packs.

 

There are some that’s more accustomed to visitors and are outside in the main area – soooo adorable! As you can see – they are pretty kid friendly ~~

 

Some can be friendly and tame ~~ while some will be more shy and move around a bit ~~

 

While it can be cool to take selfies with the Huskies – don’t be too rough with them ~~ and be careful with your phones as my brother’s mobile phone flew off his hand due to an onrushing excited husky!

 

Always useful to have your friends help you take pictures ~~ especially if you friends have Dslr cameras with faster shutter speeds. No Flash Photography is allowed btw – but due to the natural lighting – there’s no need for that!

 

Momo is the only non Husky in the group but is really such a cutiepie! Moves around like a boss – and acts like a boss as well!

 

Hahaha ~~ one of my fav Huskies here ~~ always love it when you massage and it gives this expression ~~

 

We managed to catch a glimpse of some Husky puppies!! Too bad they’re not open to public but sooo adorable!!

 

Having a drink ~~~

 

Love the blue eyes on this chap!

Super furry ~~

 

My brother’s favourite ~~ always smiling!

 

Red eyes ~~~

 

Shake hand please ~~

 

The grand finale – where they are called back into the house. A lot of them running towards you is such a sight to behold!

 

My fav one is the slowest one! hahaha so adorable!

At True Love cafe, I met Panda, a fluffy laid back husky that doesn't move around so much and will let you hug, pet and take selfie with it. Watch this video where they will let these beautiful huskies run back to their house for dinner. Panda, being the most laidback.. took its sweet time and naturally stood out as the cutest fluffiest husky of them all! I WILL MISS YOU PANDA!! Will keep looking at this video and remember you! Watch the video and you will FALL IN LOVE too!

 

What? You’re leaving already?! Don’t leave us ~~~ Aww ~~ it’s okay ~~ come visit us again next time!

 

Do call the number for more information!

True Love Café, 153 Paholyothin Soi Ari Samphan 2 (BTS Sanam Pao then take a taxi from there)

Opening Hours: Close Mondays, Tue – Sun 12pm – 9pm

 

TrueLove Siberian Huskies Café is featured in my Bangkok Café Guide. For the best cafes of Bangkok – Please click on the link below or click on the picture of me and Aroi Mak Mak! If you are into Café hopping – hunting for the best coffee – where’s the best brunch places – where can I get delicious desserts – where to find the best hipster looking cafes – where are the best pet cafes (can see lots of cats or huskies!)

The Best Cafes in Bangkok! Your ultimate Bangkok Café hopping guide!

 

 

Other Bangkok Articles

Street food and best places to eat in Bangkok? Read my other Bangkok Food Guide where you will learn where’s the best Tom Yum Noodles, Best Pork Leg Rice, Best Porridge, Best Boat Noodles!

Click on the stacks of prawn or here to read about the best places to eat in Bangkok!

 

 

Click here or the picture for my latest write-up on the best Japanese Restaurants in Bangkok!

It’s never easy to choose your Japanese restaurant as there are hundred of them scattered around Bangkok with more opening! Here’s my write up on the best Japanese restaurants you need to visit in Bangkok!

Follow @Thanislim on Instagram

For the latest news on restaurants and dining scene in Brunei – Please follow my Instagram account @thanislim

It would be great if you can follow me @thanislim on instagram where I post micro updates of my food adventures on a daily basis! Catch the latest food updates with me via social media!