The food: Ambuyat (the big, white blob pictured in the bottom left bowl)
Where to find it: Tarindak D’Seni Restaurant, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
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In Brunei, the oil-rich government pays off its citizens to shut up and be happy. The country might be Asia’s little utopia. Like some kind of sanitary, Islamic Disneyland, malls, museums and mosques sprout up from the freshly-shaven lawns of capital Bandar Seri Begawan—and the buildings seem built at 5/8 scale just like Disneyland, too.
All is well in Brunei, and that means one thing: serious boredom. I stayed here for one evening, and that was good enough. While other nations might twiddle their thumbs to pass the doldrums away, Brunei wraps their traditional staple food: ambuyat. With bamboo forks, they churn, twist and stir this gelatinous starch sourced from the interior trunk of the sago palm. Much like alternative uses of mashed potatoes, many-a-child in Brunei have wielded this blob of bland, culinary goo as glue for food structures and dinner plate paintings.
Other than assisting the construction of the next leaning tower of pecans, this sticky, gum-smacking starch tastes like nothing. Well, that is until you dip it in the essential ingredients—the side sauces. From fermented, pickled chili fish paste to sweet fruit jellies, you can mix a parade of flavors with ambuyat. Of course, when eating it, remember to swallow it whole, as per tradition.1
In the end, ambuyat represents Brunei quiet well. Like ambuyat, by itself this country might be a suck-hole of benign blandness, but, like the sauces, its multi-ethnic citizens come together to kick in their blend of zest and intrigue.
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1 Well, it’s not exactly easy to chew this gooey blob of carbs anyway.
2 Here’s a cool video of how to make ambuyat.
3 JOB OPPORTUNITY: The above picture comes straight out of another scene from my travel & food web series I’m shooting in Asia. Longa Travels Productions is currently seeking (documentary/trailer) editors for post-production. If you’re interested in learning more, then please send an email to [email protected].