The Signature

Discover and Visit the eatery in Brunei while enjoying their signature foods and drinks..18B8012 Mohammad Izzuddin Bin Haji Jali.#ax3305

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Squeezed Lunch @ Fratini’s Restaurant

Ciao caro lettore 🇮🇹 (Hello dear reader)

Fratini's Restaurant is a Halal Certified restaurant that offers the best Italian Cuisine. Brunei's first and most Authentic Italian Restaurant.

📍Centrepoint, Gadong ☎️ 2451200 / 2451300 

📍Piccolo, Jalan Muara ☎️ 2334530 / 2334530 

📍Kuala Belait, Jalan Jaya Negara ☎️ 3335150 / 3335050 

📍Seria, Jalan Bunga Melor ☎️ 3221055/3221155

📍Sengkurong ☎️ 2672555/2670355

On an unplanned weekend, after bringing my cat for his vet visit, I decided to squeeze in my late lunch at the Centrepoint Gadong Branch. My first visit to Fratini’s was months ago and to be honest it was not a good experience. I guess I made a mistake in choosing my pasta as I am not a type who fancy a sour tomato 🍅 based pasta. Nevertheless, I decided to visit Fratini’s again with a friend who love his 🍝 pasta tomato based and recommended him the first pasta I tried in Fratini’s: Regattoni Tuna Pasta. Surprisingly he likes it. He requested for black peppercorn or crushed black pepper to seasoned the pasta and added Parmigiano-Reggiano or typically known as Parmesan cheese 🧀. According to him, the sauce was nicely cook with Tuna meat and somehow the tuna fulfill its role as meat based of the pasta instead of using beef for the meat based. The portion served is good for 2 pax. (●´∀｀●)

However, on my side I opted for Creamy Carbonara with Beef Rashers. I guess i prefer my pasta to be with cream based. In my opinion, the carbonara here is so authentically Italian, although I have not been to any part of Italy 🇮🇹. The reason for my statement is that I have never tasted any place that cooked carbonara as Fratini’s. Usually there will be a twist in the way of cooking. According to the original recipe of carbonara, pasta with carbonara sauce is a simple and easy dish, made by coating pasta in a rich, creamy sauce of eggs 🥚, cheese 🧀, beef rashers and black pepper. However the challenge is combining the right ingredients for a sauce with a perfectly silky texture, and making sure that you did not end up scrambling those eggs in the process. (⊙…⊙ ) From my experience in trying them in Fratini’s, they successfully did it.

Prior to the above,  we also ordered our appetizer, Creamy Mushroom 🍄Bruschetta 🥖.

Seasoning it by addidng crushed peppercorn, I added some chilli oil to add spike to the taste and a bit of parmesan cheese. The subtle spiciness from the chilli oil and a bit of creamy texture from the chesse, completely compliment each other as it combined with the creamy mushroom topping and the bakes bruschetta. However, for my friend he added the spiciness using tabasco sauce as he likes the sourness in the sauce complementing the spiciness and creamy combination.

Although my first attempt in Fratini’s is not that great, I really made the right decision to give it a second chance and it really did result a positive experience this time. It all depends on your pasta based preference to leave you with an unforgettable experience.

In term of the price, it is at the higher end as each meal can cost you more than $10.00. For the pasta it is about $14.95 each and the appetizer is about $11.00. However, they usually have some promotion of 50% off for pasta and pizza when you dine in and pay in cash OR order 2 pastas and free 1 regular pizza 🍕(also when you pay in cash). We went there and had the free pizza 🍕 promotion and we opted for Hawaiian Pizza. Their pizza is handcrafted pizza with a very thin crust and served with full of toppings

For the one in Gadong, their opening hours is as follows:

Sunday 11AM–11PM Monday 11AM–11PM Tuesday 11AM–11PM Wednesday 11AM–11PM Thursday 11AM–11PM Friday 10AM–12PM, 2–11PM Saturday 11AM–11PM

We all deserve second chances, but not for the same mistake.     

LIFE IS ABOUT EXPLORING PASTA-BILITIES,

TheSignature

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Matcha Mana Craft Matcha Cafe

Craft Matcha and Japanese Tea

Matcha has been classified as a food trend that you have to try. However, some may not be fans due to the taste and the smells it gives off. Nevertheless, Matcha has been proven to have a major health benefits and an alternative for you to consume your caffeine kick. Although the caffeine is not as strong as coffee, it will give you twice the energy from coffee consumption.

I heard of Matcha Mana Cafe from a friend recommendation for their high grade matcha just like the one in Japan.

Located at the city centre, the warm ambience of the cafe is easily spotted by the road. From the main entrance, I was greeted by their friendly barista and staff.

Escorted to the available seat walking across a hallway to the area with more seats for dining in, I feel like a VIP for a moment (They really have the best treatment ever) (づ￣ ³￣)づ

The cafe was not very big in size (probably only about 20 occupancy) with minimalist and simplistic interior design. Most of the dining area have glass wall; one side is facing the the main road of the city centre and across it is the old building whilst the other side has a window facing towards the bakery kitchen, where you can see the baker preparing the freshly baked cake. With sakura flowers to imitate the Japanese environment, the warm light makes it comfortable to be a hang out place with your friends and love ones.

Matcha Mana offers 3 different kind of matcha;  Everyday Blend, Premium and Ceremonial.

Matcha Mana Cafe is on of the only few cafes that is specialized in ceremonial grade matcha in Brunei. According to mizubatea.com, ceremonial means that the matcha is appropriate for the preparation of Koicha (thick tea) in the tea ceremony and one usually drink Usucha (thin tea). Ceremonial grade match is meant to only be mixed with water.

However, during my visit to the cafe, ceremonial matcha was not available due to the pandemic season, it is hard for them to bring in more stock. Hence, I decided to try the available menu for dinner and opted for Everyday blend koicha.

My only first impression as I take my first sip from the hot cup was BITTER ( ≧Д≦). Nonetheless, the strong flavour of the matcha powder can be exquisitely tasted in just a sip as it left a powdery aftertaste.

As I was sharing my first experience in Matcha Mana with the friendly waitress, she was so friendly and spend some times to share the different kind of matcha they serve and how different matcha are suitable for different level of matcha drinker. They have a variety of matcha drinks for you to try and the friendly waitress recommended to start with the Matcha Tarik if you are a first-time matcha drinker. According to her, it is similar mixture as our local Tea Tarik but using matcha powder instead of the black tea powder.

Another hot drink I added to my order that does not fall under Matcha menu line was Taro Latte.

A trio combination of taro powder, full cream milk and  shredded white chocolate resulting to a full creamy and sweet taste. A sip of this Taro Latte fill your mouth with creamy satisfaction. For those who are health conscious kind of person, you may request the Taro Latte to be made with low fat milk.

From my dinner, I settled for their Homemade Ramen with Spicy Miso. This meal is served with what seems to be soy-boiled egg, spicy miso broth, grilled chicken (Chicken Chashu), spring onion and a seaweed sheet.

For the miso broth, it is surely full of flavour and a cloudy colour might be from the mixture of miso paste and the chicken. Where as for the homemade ramen noodle, it has a nice texture. As I was taking my time taking picture of my food and beverages, I totally forgot that my noodle might get soggy after being in the broth for quite a while. But surprisingly it was not soggy as I expected it to be. The ramen has just the right thickness and texture to compliment the broth.

Chicken Chashu are so tender as it is made from pan fried rolled chicken thighs then braised in a sweet soy sauce before left to marinade to soak in the delicious seasoning.

To end my nice dinner, I chose two kind of cakes; the classic burnt cheese cake (to compare to the other burnt cheesecakes that I have ever tried) and the onde-onde cake.

For the burnt cheesecake, visually it seems that it has a dry texture as can be seen from the irregular texture after effect of cutting the cakes into slices prior to serving. Yet you should not judge a book by its cover. As i was taking my first bite, this classic burnt cheese cake has a creamier texture as compared to Olie’s and it is so moist that it melt in the warmth in your mouth. Not recommended for a health conscious person ƪ(♥ﻬ♥)ʃ

Whilst for the onde-onde cake, from the name itself it is expected to be sweeter than the above as for this cake the palm sugar (gula melaka) is literally pour on every single layer of the cake. For the cream topping of the cake, it was sprinkled with shredded coconut to balance out the sweetness of the cream (when you eaten the cream as it is). For the sponge batter, it was a bit dry and too sweet when eaten as it is. But eating the cake as a whole bring a raise in my sugar level; sweetness of the cream (which was supposed to balance out with the shredded coconut), the extra sweet from the poured palm sugar at every layer, the sweet taste from the sponnge cake. As a result the sweetness level has tripled. TOO SWEET for my taste bud.

Overall, the dining experience in Matcha Mana was not bad at all, especially the Taro Latte and the Homemade Ramen. Definitely coming back to try the other menu. However, in term of price, it was on the steep side in my opinion. My bill for the above came up to about $44.60.

✔️ Dine In

✔️ Takeaway

📍 G1 and G4 Bangunan Haji Ahmad, Jalan Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, Bandar Seri Begawan BS8811

Opening Hours :

Mon-Fri

8am - 10pm

| Sat

11am-11pm

| Sunday

8am - 4pm

📞 2222095    7310150

LIFE IS MATCHA BETTER ( ˘ ³˘)♥

TheSignature

[thesignature]

A chilling afternoon Coffee: Beanery & Co

After a short road trip to Seria Town a day before, I was assigned to Kuala Belait for my part time job. Upon completion of my jobs in late afternoon, I decided to continue my hunt in discovering the mysterious district of my very own home country.

Located at the Ground Floor of an old building in the heart of Kuala Belait, hidden on the quiet road of Bunga Rambai, the cafe is easy to spot by its vibrant exterior; a brilliant emerald green set side by side with the faded peach hue of the old architecture that surrounds it. With deep emerald greens exterior, mixed in with warm shades of interior, and the random display of knick-knacks enhancing its walls, resulting to a pleasant ambience of the cafe.

Beanery & Co. served Asian-Western fusion dishes. Unfortunately, I was full from the heavy lunch at the wedding event coverage to have a try on their signature scrumptious Fish & Chips, fried in light, crunchy golden batter with wonderfully crispy chips and homemade tartare sauce. I was craving for some dessert and coffee to continue my 1.5hour journey to Bandar.

Beanery & Co cakes are also known to allure your taste buds with their wide range of home-baked goodies from cookie dough cakes, yam fruit cakes, snicker cakes and many more. For my dessert, I opted for their recommended carrot cake whilst for my coffee I had Hot Hazelnut Latte.

The carrot cake is sufficiently covered with cream cheese, so I’m expecting the level of sweetness of the cake is just right for my taste bud. As expected the sponge carrot cake was not dry although the cream is not that much. However, the overwhelming taste of carrot in it complement the cheesy spread of the cake. In addition, the walnut in the cake give a hint of bitter nutty taste to the sponge batter.

Beanery & Co. features healthy and flavourful menu. Come and visit them to try out their healthy choice and other menu. Find them at:

📍 No 81 A/1, Ground floor, Jalan Bunga Rambai, Kuala Belait KA1131

🕘 Monday: 09:00 - 22:00

🕘 Tuesday: 09:00 - 22:00

🕘 Wednesday: 09:00 - 22:00

🕘 Thursday: 09:00 - 22:00

🕘 Friday: 09:00 - 12:00 & 14:00 - 23:00

🕘 Saturday: 09:00 - 23:00

🕘 Sunday: 09:00 - 22:00

📞 334 7772

Much Love,

TheSignature

[thesignature]

Sunset @ Olie’s Cafe

On a sunny Saturday I decided to take a short road trip to another district, BELAIT just to kick off my weekend. I have decided to give a try to one of the current trending place especially for KETO meals. I was told that hidden amidst the sleepy Seria town lies a charming culinary gem with an invitingly cozy and warm atmosphere called Olie’s cafe. To be honest, I am not that familiar with neither Seria nor Belait.

With Waze application assisting my trip to KB, I stayed closely to the instruction given by the lady in the app (๑>ᴗ<๑).

As we reached Seria Town, with the unfamiliar road, it was nerve wrecking.

At first I lost my way with the address given in their instagram as I don't know which building is which

୧| ͡ᵔ ﹏ ͡ᵔ |୨

I approached a stranger asking for direction to Olie’s Cafe, unfortunately she is also unsure. However, another kind and friendly stranger overheard us asking for direction. He then approached us to make sure that he heard it right. He then told us its just just across the road.

Located in a clean looking alley of Seria Town, Olie’s Cafe is situated on the 1st floor. As you walk passed, you will see a number of cafe at the ground floor. Olie’s Cafe is labelled with a simple hanging sign and chalk board listing some of their menu on one side and their opening hours on the other side.

The moment I stepped inside, I was instantly captivated by the modern and calming shades of blue interior that takes its cue from the night sky and the aroma of freshly made espresso permeating the air. In contrast, opposite the calming blue shade of the feature wall as entering the cafe, the wall is coloured in a natural calm white with frames filled in with images of black an white coffee, enhancing the calm and balance of the atmosphere.

In my opinion, this is a place to hang out whilst enjoying the ambience and at the same time indulge myself in some guilt free food and dessert ٩(●ᴗ●)۶

Olie’s Cafe offered their Hearty Packed Meals of Pick N’ Mix where you can customized your meal according to your preference of main dish, base, sauce and sides. The price for this varies from BND8.00 - BND12.00. However, if you are to choose low carb/keto base such as caulirice (cauliflower rice) or caulimash (mashed cauliflower) there will be additional BND1.00 to your meal.

If you decided to make it as a set meal that comes with healthy drinks or keto cake, there will be a discounted price on them.

I have decided to order 2 Hearty Pick N’ Mix meal

Meal 1:

Main Dish: Salmon with Cream Cheese & Spinach

Fresh Steamed Salmon topped with tasty cream cheese and spinach slightly break the creamy texture adding a chewy texture on the topping. The tender salmon meat that melted in your mouth mixed well with the cream cheese and spinach.

Base: Caulimash

‘What is mashed potatoes?’

‘Did I just eat cauliflower?’

That thought just passed by my head. Hardly taste the cauliflower. Is there even cauliflower in this? It more like a little watery mixture of mash (but no potatoes) and the strong taste of the herb making it savoury but you can enjoy it as much as you want without feeling guilty. For the very first time I enjoy eating CAULIFLOWER. Kids will love cauliflower like they never did before if its cook in this way. I never like to eat Cauliflower as a kid (و ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

Sides: Grilled Vegetables of the Day

The vegetables of the day were slices of eggplant and capsicum. The vegetables is carefully grilled with the taste of the herbs and healthy seasoning fully absorbed in it. From the taste, you can tell that they carefully control the grilling temperature so that they did not burn the vegetables which can leave a bruising burnt taste in the vegetables.

Toppings: Homemade Cheese Sauce

One word: TASTY.

The homemade cheese taste as creamy as I could imagine but it did not leave any greasy after taste.

Set Meal: Keto Booster Vanilla with Collagen

Indescribable taste of vanilla, foamy and creamy texture. The non-existence of the feeling of guilty is a nice surprise ٩(θ‿θ)۶

Meal 2:

Main Dish: Low Carb “Buttermilk” Chicken

The buttermilk sauce: Creamy but light texture as compared to the typical buttermilk sauce. However the satisfaction you get from this low carb buttermilk sauce is not less than the typical ordinary buttermilk sauce complete with the taste of curry leaves aroma and the spiciness

Chicken: the chicken breast is super tender and they did not use flour for the crispy chicken in the normal buttermilk chicken. However, the essence of creamy sauce can nicely tasted as you take a bite.

Base: Caulirice

Initially I was quite nervous in tasting the caulirice as the phobia of the healthy taste of cauliflower. But I braved myself to try it and to my surprise, the non existence of cauliflower after taste makes me want to take another spoonful of the caulirice. All I can taste is just merely garlic and herbal taste with a hint of olive oil and seasoning, but it did not have greasy after taste

Sides: Grilled Vegetables of the Day

Topping: Homemade Cheese Sauce

Set Meal: Keto Sesame Charcoal Cheesecake

Super Moist

Topped with dark chocolate and healthy cream which has the taste of sesame. The part that I am most curious is the base of the cake. I’m pretty sure they used olive butter to bind the crust, but I’m not quite sure of the substitute of the digestive cookies that is usually used as cheese cake base. And because of this I might come back for further investigation.

In addition to the above, I also tried one of the most popular cakes among customers is the Keto Burnt Cheesecake — a refreshing compliment after a hearty meal.

The best I ever tasted.

Knowing it’s a keto cheesecake, I did not have a high expectation on this cake. In spite of being a keto cheese cake, this classic keto burnt cheesecake has taken the first place in my burnt cheese cake list 🥳🥳. It can not be denied that the satisfaction you get is as much as or equivalent to the normal burnt cheese cake. But most importantly GUILT-FREE.

Another additional order of mine which I was so curious at the same time excited is: Keto C8 Bulletproof Tea Tarik. (Yes, the tea tarik sound scary as M16 Rifle).

However, it is not scary as it sound, because it is an extra foamy tea tarik I ever drink compared to the Mamak’s tea tarik. Not as creamy as the Mamak’s though. It has a very light texture as you drink it but it is not as creamy nevertheless you can still taste the milk in the tea. It is more like a fine and fancy tea tarik. As you take a slurp, you will tend to find the thick and mily texture of tea tarik to make sure its tea tarik. But you can’t disqualified this as tea tarik as it fulfilled the specification of tea tarik: Tea ✅ Milk ✅ Foam ✅ Tarik ✅ Hence, it is legit tea tarik.

In order to keep their food and beverages healthy and sugar-free as possible, Olie’s Cafe sweetened their drinks using Xylitol / Erythritol / Monkfruit / Stevia extract unless stated otherwise. But you can request if you preferred them to be sweetened by sugar.

The food are really filling and I enjoyed each and every bites of them that I came out of the cafe, the skies was already dark. It was a nice dinner; complete with a relaxing ambience to end my Saturday and ready to chill on my Sunday.

Olie’s Cafe is located at the first floor of Unit 2, Lot 10, Jalan Sultan Omar Ali, Seria.

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun (Except Fri): 10am-10pm Fri 10am-12pm, 2pm-8pm Last hot meal orders 1hour before closing

Much Love,

TheSignature

[thesignature]

The Hidden Gems in Belait District (⌬̀⌄⌬́)

Hello our dearest reader,

First and foremost I would like to apologize for our long absence in updating our page due to my hectic student life as active student (ᗒᗨᗕ)

Hence for this round we decided to do a road trip to the largest as well as the westernmost district in Brunei Darussalam, BELAIT.

Belait district and Seria specifically is known as is known as home of the oil and gas industry. Belait district has a large expatriate community, including Dutch. This is because Royal Dutch Shell has a major presence in the region.

The upcoming blog posts will feature the two of the hidden gems of Belait District. A MUST GO... ┗(＾∀＾)┛

Our first location has a very relaxing and calm ambience suitable for a chill hangout place with friends and family located somewhere in an alley in Seria Town.

Another hangout spot is located somewhere in Kuala Belait, where the CARROT CAKE was highly recommended.

Find our more in our upcoming post (◕‿‿◕｡)

LOVE,

TheSignature

[thesignature]

KGB: Korean Garlic Bun Series (Episode 1)

Hello Dearest Reader :)

Have you heard about Korean Garlic Bun (KGB)???

Savoury and cheesy (a decent way to say fattening) kind of bun, with lots and lots of chopped garlic in it.

Honestly, my attention is easily attracted to all the trending instagram promoted/sponsored page on food. YES FOOD... This will automatically intrigue myself to food hunt. But it always end up as just a plan, it will just staying at the back of my head, waiting to be reminded ;) Oh well as a student, I have so much in my mind especially never ending assignments ;)

It was a lovely evening, I just departed to my next destination to hunt for early dinner. A simple dinner with pleasant environment would be nice to compensate my busy day. With no plan of specific dinner place, I drove my ride to this place called Home Kitchen located at Traders Inn building, next to Patisserie. I knew that this place is a good to go when you have no specific cuisine in mind. They serve varieties of food from local to Japanese and Italian. And and you can also order gelato cakes from Patisserie next door for your dessert :)

Flipping through the menu and place order for my dinner: a mix and match pasta option (I chose Fettuccine Carbonara with Mushroom Sauce with beef rashes and cheesy fries). While waiting for my order to be served, I saw a small flip through menu on my side that seized my attention and curiosity. I started going through one by one till I stop at this one page, staring at it for a moment. “Maybe its the right time to try this KGB from here as my first KGB”. It cost $2.90 each but if you buy 2 pieces, it will be $2.50 each.

“Excuse me”, waving to the waitress at the counter. As she approached my table, “Can I add 4 of Korean Garlic Buns for takeaway please, thank you”.

“Sure ma’am”, the lovely waitress left my table and added the buns to my initial order.

A moment later... post dinner.

I proudly drove home bringing the KGB to share with the family. As I reached home, calling all my family members to the dinner table. When I opened one of the packed boxes containing 2 buns, I was so amazed by the size of the bun. Honestly, the size of the bun worth the price as one bun is good to share for 2-3 person. With the garlic aroma spreading as we opened the box, I can feel myself salivating while imagining the taste of the bun in my head. On the surface, the bun looks so yummy as it shines *bling bling* as we open the box. For $2.50 each (just because I bought 4 buns), the rich taste of garlic, finely chopped between the splits the bun; the creamy texture of the cream cheese lends itself to being served and spread in between the cuts on the bun. The fine and savory taste and texture is up to satisfaction.

Apologies for my impatience, because I only managed to take a photo of KGB before it went missing from our sight -_-

Not a bad decision made to try my first KGB from Home Kitchen by Tree-Bit Cafe.

RECOMMENDATION

It is nice to enjoy it with a hot/warm cup of tea as this will completely eliminate the greasy after taste of the cream cheese from your mouth ;)

Do visit them for their other menu variation but their KGB is a must as it worth every penny for your taste buds.

좋은 하루 되세요 | joh-eun halu doeseyo | Have a nice day everyone :)

Love,

TheSignature

[thesignature]

Welcome Home every Monday to Sunday, 8.30am -10pm

HOMEKITCHEN ☎️  2429366 PATISSERIE    ☎️  2425618 WHATSAPP: 📱 732 3674 📱 732 7649

[thesignature]

Otto Takeaway by Otto Company

Helllo there,

This time I will share with my dearest reader on the hot selling donuts in town.

CHAPTER 1: Donuts & Me

My first visit to this cafe was greeted by a sign by their door saying “DONUTS ARE SOLD OUT”. I left the cafe with a disappointment. I first encountered this place as it has been trending in my insta post and what makes me more curious was a comment by one of their customer: “Brunei’s Krispy Kreme (KK)”. Driving myself to the cafe for the first time with a high hope of bringing some donuts home was left with a :(

CHAPTER 2: The Strategy

Planning my next strategy to drop by the cafe close to the time when they are ready to serve the freshly baked donuts result to another disappointment. I decided to call the cafe and ask about when is the suitable time to drop by the shop so I can get hold myself the hot selling precious donuts. I was advised that to go to the shop and join the queue at lest 15-20 minutes prior to their serving time :0

CHAPTER 3: All ready for Otto’s

I was told that the first batch of donuts is served at 10am hence, I made my way waking up early on a Friday; all dressed up. It was a long queue of traffic entering the junction to enter the building’s area. It was pretty nerve wrecking as I was afraid that I will not be able to get hold of it again today. I was getting closer to the door and guess what?? Otto’s closed on a Friday. (P/s: Please reminded to check the opening hours of your destination). I guess I was not lucky enough to meet this hot selling donuts. The trending posts keeps on appearing.

CHAPTER 4: Otto & Me

It was 6pm on a Tuesday, unplanned visit to Otto with no high hope at all, basically just to try my luck for donuts and coffee to end my hectic day. I walked closer to the red door and slowly took a peek of the sold out sign.. Finally... it was not there and I entered through the red door with a smile that I can’t not really hide my happiness. In my heart I was mumbling “Finally we get to greet each other”. To my surprise there were no queue at all, I am at the very front and first on the line.. eager to place my order of the sweet donuts which were placed next to the counter. It looks so shiny with different colours ;)

I was greeted by the cashier and the donuts boy upon entering. I observed on how to place the order. I saw “Please take your queue number” standee and asked for my queue number. The donuts boy reply, “it’s okay, you are the first on the line now and you might be bringing all these lovelies with you”. All smile approaching the cashier to place my order.

My most recommended one is the original glazed donuts. My very honest review, this is way better than KK Donuts that I have been indulging and obsessing all this time. Compare to KK, Otto’s original glazed is nicely covered with the sugar glaze which are not too thick. The sweetness of the thin sugar glaze complement the thickness of the donuts texture. Though Otto’s is still sweet but it is not as sweet as KK.

The other recommended flavour is the classic flavour of strawberry glazed donuts. This strawberry glazed is accompanied by the classic rainbow sprinkles to make it looks nice and attractive for a little girl. However, the taste of it is not as sweet as it looks.

They also serve another oreo chocolate donuts. Glazed with a thin chocolate sugar glazing enough to cover the donuts and sprinkle with oreo crumbs. The sweetness of the glazing and sprinkles did not overkill the flavour of the donuts.

Cinnamon sprinkle donut is also a must try, A unique flavouring usually used in cinnamon rolls, surprisingly can be used in donuts as well. Not much different in term of flavouring but obviously in term of texture, there is different as donuts have airy texture as compare to rolls. Hence, this flavour is a good try of taste which is familiar to our taste buds but enjoying it with different texture is a new thing :)

Last but not least, all these sweet treats are best served with a hot cup of coffee. For this time, I’ve chosen Latte (no sugar) with a hint of coco powder. The slight bitterness of coffee combined with milk, best suit the sweetness of the donuts.

Otto Takeaway has recently renovated their place, hopefully they now can serve enough donuts for all their customers. Last but not least, all the best for your future endeavors Otto Takeaway.

To my dear reader, all the best for your donuts hunting, remember all the tips to get hold of your 🍩 & ☕

Drop by in the comment section for your recommended 📍

[thesignature]

Fresh baked & Prepared Daily: Otto Takeaway

📍Unit 27, Ground Floor, Bangunan Lim Eng Ming, Kampong Kiulap BA1712 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

📱 877 2262

🕙 open daily at 10am till 8pm except for Friday

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Sapphira Cake House and Cafe.

Sapphira Cake House is a must try café to indulge your craving for Malay authentic dessert especially their sweet and satisfying cake lapis for all occasion.

Established in 2004 as a family operated joint specializing in traditional Malay delicacies, featuring all freshly baked kueh talam, food & cakes. The talent behind Sapphira Cake House is a self taught baker who developed her skills in making Kuih by self studying books and enrolled into professional baking courses. Her early work was only tested on family and friends as her hobby and eventually she began to receive commissions.

The sweetness and moist texture of the cakes will melt in your mouth and will share satisfaction with every taste buds.

Upon entering the shop, I was greeted by the welcoming ‘’aunties’’ that will happily serve you. Order for the cakes can be made as you tour the cake choices presented in the woven rattan basket (Their signature presentation) covered with clear dome. Hence, the attractive colour of the kuih will catch your attention and place it in your order list. The prices varies from BND0.90 to BND1.90 each. Each of the cake will be cut to 3 pieces. Thus, each kiuh is sufficient for two.

My most recommended cake is Lapis Masam Manis @ BND1.80 each. This kek lapis will give you a hitch of sour taste but will leave you with a sweet after taste.

If you crave for something chocolat-y, with a bit of crunch along with the aromatic pandan flavour, Kek Batek Pandan  @ BND1.90 each should be included in you order. Though it sound so sweet, Sapphira’s Kek Batik Pandan has the right sweetness to satisfy your craving.

Looking for a family high tea bringing along your children? Worry no more as Sapphira Cake House’s Lapis Nutella @ BND1.90 each will be your kid’s favorite. One will not be enough (P/s: Kids will end up hyperactive with post-lapis nutella) and this is one of my favorite as well as it released the child in me :)

The Classic Bingka Ubi Kayu @ BND0.90 each. The rich flavor from the coconut milk and the texture of grated coconut complimenting the sweetness of the cassava, makes this desert has a unique flavor and taste. 

“Gula Anau” sugar was and continued to be a very important ingredient for local delicacies such as Kek Mata Kucing @ BND1.80 each. However, the taste of this cake is not as sweet as its sound but you can taste the aromatic after taste from the gula anau and you will for sure dig in for more.

Best to be serve with the classic “Kopi Kampung”

To balance out the sweetness of the authentic Malay delicacies, it is best to be serve with the classic “Kopi Kampung”, which is a traditional coffee without sugar or if  you are not a coffee drinker, teh ‘O’ panas also known as hot tea without sugar will do as well. The sweetness of the cake will complement the bitterness of the coffee or tea.

Sapphira Cake House and Café also serve other dishes and meals in their menu such as Bruneian’s favorite Buttermilk Chicken ;) I will for sure come back for more.

Signing off, TheSignature.

[thesignature]

The Signature’s First Stop: Sapphira Cake House & Cafe

📍 Unit 3, Seri Anigma, Kiulap, Bandar Seri Begawan

☎️ [phone]

Opening Hours:

Monday - Saturday: 8:30am - 6:30pm Friday: 8:30am - 12:45pm & 1:45pm - 6:30pm Sun: 8:30am - 5:00pm

[thesignature]

Dear Reader of The Signature

Home-based . Retail Chain . Local Cafe

A simple fact that food takes up a huge part in Bruneian Identity. In other words “We Bruneian Loves Our Food”. 

Hello Dear Reader,

Welcome to The Signature.

Hi! I’m Izz. I love my coffee the first thing in the morning to kick start my day :)

The Signature: Join my journey in discovering the ‘not so typical’ places to grab your coffee shot with extra sweetness and dining place for your joy in testing how far your taste buds can stand till you crave for the items featured in here. The Signature will feature the story of several cafes and other dine in places along with their recommended food and drinks.

As a coffee drinker myself, I always find new cafes fascinating and interested to try their special brew whilst introducing myself to the different type of beans and their bitter but sweet scent. As a compliment to the bitterness of my coffee, I usually add sweetness to their signature brew with their sides such as cakes and cookies.

The Signature will not only limit itself to review coffee but not forgetting the aromatic fragrance of tea culture as well as dine in venue especially the diner that I have recently discovered.

Modern . Vintage . Gaming  

Coffee Culture has been a booming trends since decades; not just among the youngsters recently. It has been a culture that was part of the morning and early evening activities by the elders to gather with their friends and family. 

With the current trend, coffee culture has been evolving towards cafe culture;  not just serving coffee as the main consumption, adding tea to the list. Cafe has been the preference for Bruneian, not just to gather socially, but also as the hot-spot for group discussion for students to complete their school tasks. It is obviously can be observe during the assignment season, the cafe will be fully packed with the students.

Some cafes in Brunei offer classic and modern days board games. This will help to reduce the anti social culture among the Generation Z, who have been raise with the internet and technology.

Brunch & Dinner

Raised in a family that is much more familiar with home cook dishes by my mother, the diner has never replaced the top 1 cook in my heart a.k.a. My mother. However, with the establishment of The Signature, I have decided to go out and discover the other cooking style other than my mum’s (whose home cooked foods are irreplaceable)

SIT BACK,  RELAX AND.... HAPPY READING!

[thesignature]

Every thought you produce, anything you say, any action you do, it bears your signature.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Photo by Me.