Yam Yam's Korean Army Stew
They’re slurpy and they’re slippery, they’re chewy and they’re chunky. What are we on about? Noodles, of course! This genius ingredient is so versatile that there are hundreds of noodle varieties and even more ways to enjoy the humble marriage of flour, water and salt. Dressed in a slick coating of oil or soaking up a flavourful soup or sauce, you’ll find tons of noodles to try in this month’s Appetite. We hope you’re hungry!
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Great home-style cooking lives right here at the Kampong Kitchen! Featuring Asian favourites from the region, we particularly love the Penang Kway Teow with Seafood, slippery white rice noodles get a good tumble in the high-heat wok with dark soy sauce, and some very tasty sambal that adds a kick of spice to balance out the sweet caramelisation in the pan. The addition of crunchy bean sprouts, fresh seafood like cuttlefish or plump prawns, and creamy egg makes this one heck of an addictive dish! Longing for a little more simplicity? The Kolo Mee Ayam Bakar is a satisfying combination that pairs the sweetness of a charred sweet marinade with the slurpalicious savouriness of a Sarawak style Kolo Mee!
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Mama knows best, and the family recipes that are behind the decades-long Bruneian brand are comfort eats and Asean favourites that will put a smile on everyone’s face. The signature Kolo Mee is a meaty,tummy-satisfying meal that has a ton of work and heart put into it much like everything else on the menu. These are not your average noodles — produced to A.Ayam’s strict specifications, each springy bite, coated with their special (and secret!) oil dressing, pairs perfectly with their generous serving of broasted and grilled chicken pieces. If you’re a spice fiend, try the Geprek Kolo mee and milder Black Pepper sauce versions!
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Cantonese Dim Sum is a delight to indulge in, and when you have some of the very best right here in Brunei, well, consider this our reservation for a seat at Vanda Chinese Restaurant! Who can resist those soft, slightly chewy rice noodles enrobing juicy prawns or BBQ chicken chunks.
Typically made from a combination of flours and water, Vanda prides itself on crafting high-quality food that are made fresh daily to maintain optimal taste and texture. they honour the traditional Hong Kong recipe and are constantly exploring new techniques and flavours to elevate the dining experience. We love the Cakoi Cheong Fun and the XO Sauce Stir-fried Cheong Fun for a cool, new twist on things!
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For delicious Indonesian fare, the serene White Sand cafe has you covered with its renditions of the classic dishes, Soto Betawi from bustling Jakarta, and Soto Bandung from West Java — we’re certain you’ll find much to love about both! If you’re a mee kuning fan, the thick yellow noodles of the hearty Betawi are chunky enough to soak up the rich and beefy spiced coconut milk broth, and have a good springiness to stand up tp the plethora of ingredients like boiled eggs, potato, fried tofu, fresh tomatoes and of course the trifecta of fried onions, fresh parsley and spring onion chunks.
Beef slices are a classic, but tender chicken thigh option is almost better! Looking for something a bit lighter but just as flavourful? White Sand\s Soto Bandung will sit in your tummy like a gentle hug, thin rice vermicelli sits in a clear light broth, with chunks of sweet radish and fried tofu and of course a protein of your choice. Generous sprinklings of fried soy beans add another element to this party of flavours!
Home of Brunei’s first Korean Fried Chicken, Yam Yam’s reputation extends to the rest of their menu. Noodles are a huge part of Korean cuisine — we covet their version of the classic Army Stew (Budae Jigae). It’s sour, sweet and spicy, it’s saucy, it’s packed with a ton of fresh ingredients and delicious chewy ramyun noodles. So simple but oh so satisfying!
Try the Rabokki — the combination of the bouncy rice cakes and chicken ramyun is so fun to eat and like the Army Stew, built for sharing. Grab a friend or two and be ready for a flavour feast. Mr. and Mrs. Oh, are the adorable couple behind this family venture; they started Yam Yam in 2009 with a desire to bring authentic Korean food to the nation and boy are we glad for it!
Ricebowl is known for it’s heart-warming comfort food, featuring unique home-style dishes that evoke the love and flavours of a familiar kitchen. A standout on their menu is the Corned Beef Kway Teow, a beloved noodle bowl. Picture generous portions of perfectly cooked corned beef on hot noodles, mingling with a savoury sauce and topped with a sunny side up egg. The magic happens when the yolk spills over, infusing the flat noodles with its rich, eggy goodness, creating a comforting bowl that feels like a warm, delicious hug. Don’t forget to add a generous dollop of their spicy Boss Chilli for that extra zing!
Everyone’s favourite halal Kolo Mee had to make this list, reminding us that often the best things are the simplest. There are no fancy tricks here, just a really good bowl of springy noodles tossed in a savoury scallion oil, fresh chopped chives for an oniony burst and of course their succulent roast duck slices that have the perfect balance of five-spice herb mic and a sweet, ever so slight earthiness of the duck meat. Of course, there is a juicy chicken option (steamed, roasted or barbecue) for chicken lovers. Doused in their signature green chilli sauce or their new Mala sauce, it’s a go-to meal for any time of the day. You’ll want to pre-order or make sure you get there early in the morning before they run out!
If you want great Kway Teow, this is where you come. Practically an institution in Brunei, this decades-old business has just branched out with a new spot at the Sunway commercial block. Think modern day kopitiam vibe, with cool swatches of forest green and umber colours dotting the cool interior. Their signature rice noodles are still handmade fresh daily, trumping the cheaper flour-based varieties, ready for their quick fry up in blazing fired woks and a sweet soy base we just can’t get enough of. And of course, the secret sauce; their spicy sambal. It’s made fresh too, with a mix of imported Thai and local ingredients for a taste that is irrefutably delicious. Paired with a plate of their Sunway-only appetisers, it’s a meal we could easily eat every day.
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Kiulap, The Daun is making waves for their epic menu of vegetarian Asian Fusion dishes in a gorgeous, light-filled modern restaurant. A comforting, warm bowl of Mee Jawa can cure any bad day, and you’ll find one of the most delicious versions of this traditional Javanese dish at The Daun! Yellow egg noodles are dressed in the restaurant’s signature gravy sauce that is nutty, savoury and a little bit spicy. The family-run vegetarian establishment spent months developing the Mee Jawa (one of the patriarch’s favourite childhood dishes) to try recreate their father’s memory of the dish and the end result is a wonderful bowl-shaped memoir filled with sweet, sour and umami flavours — and amazingly enough fully vegetarian! They’ve replaced the meat and stock with plant-based meat and vegetable broth, making this hearty and light enough to have seconds. Because you will definitely want more.
Yes, we know. What’s a Chicken Rice shop doing in a noodle feature? Their worst-kept secret on the menu: Fish Noodle Soup. This one really surprised us as we were not expecting the execution of this complex tasting soup to have such finesse. Local and fresh white fish chunks (have it your way, fried of steamed) sits atop of a glorious seafood broth that is deeply savoury yet balanced with tang, sweetness and salty flavours where you can truly taste the sea. It’s a big bowl that fills you up with heartfelt cooking and love.
Love a KK-style Fish Noodle Soup? Shiraz has got one of the best versions here, topped with chunks of luxurious fried Grouper fish that’s brought in daily and has the classic balance of tang and umami from fresh tomatoes and a clear fish-one broth that satisfies any stomach. It’s no wonder this is a top-rated dish at Shiraz! If you’re craving a different kind of seafood flavour, try their delicious Big Prawn Noodle Soup that will make you wonder why you ever thought a prawn cocktail crisp was realistic. As if it couldn’t get better, prices are super reasonable for the large portions of quality food.
NON-HALAL
If you’re craving authentic Sarawak Kolo Mee, Shi Wei Tian’s going to satisfy immensely. Coated in a salty lard oil, the springy noodles come all the way from Sarawak and are so satisfying to eat with the crunchy lard bits, minced pork and meaty char siu slices. You’ve also get the option of customising your bowl to your heart’s desire, whether you favour Lao Shu Fen, Kolo Mee, Tang Hoon, Bee Hoon, you name it — and their list of add-ons mean there are endless ways to enjoy the delicious noodles at Shi Wei Tian.
NON-HALAL
This soul-satisfying bowl of noodles from The Hungry Bar has all the classic components of a traditional pork-based Japanese ramen. The Momofuku name is not a reference to the David Chang restaurant, coming instead from her Okinawan university roommate. The result is a collagen-rich broth simmered for 48-hours with a smooth mouthfeel that slurps down easily. Loaded with springy yellow noodles, chunky, charred slices of pork char shu and the all-important ramen egg, it’s a beast of a bowl ! Go one step up and have it with their house chilli that packs a real punch — the real Okinawan way. It’s hard to decide between this and the Pork Guksu, an elegant Korean dish that they’ve tweaked to near perfection. Thin rice noodles, sliced pork belly and other fresh condiments sit in a light and flavourful pork bone broth that is so popular, some patrons even come in daily to start their day with it.
NON-HALAL
For a place as famous and historic as Lau Ya Keng Food Court, it surprisingly has little to no social media presence; no fancy official Facebook or Instagram page but multiple reviews and blogs online tout this as the place to go for great Sarawakian food. You can find both Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee available at this beautiful converted Chinese Opera house and a stroll along the main road will inevitably lead you to the motherland somewhere in the middle.
There’s very little that can go wrong with eating here but don’t expect a fancy restaurant with air-conditioning. Lau Ya Keng is usually busy in the early mornings so order up from one of the many vendors there and grab a table! The majority of food here contains pork for those requiring halal meals.
Touted as the best Beef Stew Noodle Soup in Sabah, this long standing restaurant has a reputation for supremely flavourful beef bone broth, that the owner purportedly spends his days and nights cooking. They have since expanded their menu to include other beefy plates like stew and rice bowls, beef curry and snacks but the heart of this business remains the famed Ngiu Chap.
You can mix and match your favourite beef parts with various noodles — all of course, delicious options. For a heavier meal, the soy-doused coating over yellow noodles and an accompanying big bowl of tender beef chunks, thick tendons and melt in your mouth shavings of hot pot slices swimming in a soup rich with meaty and fresh herb flavours, will make you sit back in your chair and pat your tummy with glee.
They have multiple branches across both the states of Sabah and Sarawak, including a branch in Miri, so you are never far from a great bowl of Ngiu Chap!
Sago noodles are a speciality in the West Kalimantan area, loved for the soft but chewy texture that the sago flour gives these traditional noodles. They’re also popular as a healthier noodle variety being gluten-free and preservative free. Much like a beloved Kolo Mee of soup noodles of our closer neighbours Sabah and Sarawak, vendors offering this simple but hearty dish are a dime a dozen in Kalimantan. Mie Sagu can be served a variety of ways and at Mie Sagu Bali Lestari, it’s well-loved for the balanced taste of the clear broth version that is savoury and a little peppery. It often comes served with a heaping of peanuts and fresh coriander on the top but you can opt out of these if you’re not a fan.
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