This week we traveled to a country about the size of Delaware tucked away on an the Malaysian island of Borneo – Brunei. Brunei is one of the of the richest countries in Southeast Asia – thanks to oil drilling in the South China Sea. And despite only becoming a real country in 1984, Brunei has been its own entity for nearly 1,500 years.

While its literacy rate and life expectancy rival that of the United States, there is still a stark economic divide.  The capital Bandar Seri Begawan, has modern building and new roads and in  the rural areas houses are built by hand on stilts over the river and the rivers are the main form of transportation.

For more information on Brunei check out our slide show here: Brunei

Interesting Facts

• Rainfall is extremely  heavy with annual precipitation ranging from 100 inches on the coast to more than 200 inches in the interior.
• Citizens in Brunei receive free education and medical services from the government.
• The Sultan of Brunei – one of the richest people in the world – owns more than 5,000 cars
• Bruneians don’t point using their index fingers; this is considered impolite. They point with their thumbs instead.

FOOD

Most of the food in Brunei has a heavy influence from its neighbor of Malaysia. With lots of spices and lots of coconut milk. Fish is extremely popular in Brunei as well and even eaten for breakfast. They also pride themselves on unique tropical fruits like pandan and durian.

Dinner

Ambuyat – This is the national dish of the Brunei and is, um, extremely interesting. We really wanted to try it ,but all of us but Andrew found it too disgusting after the first bit. It kind of looks like edible glue and you dip it in a stinky sauce shrimp paste and durian. (To be sure, we just used durian extract as we could not find actual durian fruit.) Apparently Bruneians love this dish, though, so….

Beef Rendang – This is more traditional Malaysian but eaten widely in Brunei and this recipe is delicious! Exploding with flavor! Definitely do this again.

Roti Canai – Can’t pass up a traditional fried flat bread! Super tasty, and what makes it specifically from Brunei/Malaysia is that the dough is really soaked in oil.

Breakfast

Nasi Lemak –  Again a  traditional dish from another country –  Indonesian – widely eaten in Brunei. It was delicious and fun to make. (We did not have pandan so just used the essence of it, which happened to include green dye  – thinking more for desserts – so our rice turned green.) The pandan flavor, though, really made the rice stand out, tasting a little like butter popcorn! The sambal was a little to fishy for everyone but me – so maybe we’ll just stick to the onions next time!

CULTURE

Bruneians have been heavily influenced by the Chinese, as they were trading partners dating back to 1500 years ago. Chinese influence that has remained since then comes in the form of a gong. But rather than the plain metal gongs, Brunei is famous for making gongs with intricate drawings and etchings. Gongs – or as they call the Tawak Tawaks –  are always part of traditional music in Brunei and used for important ceremonies.

Here is some more information on Brunei’s gongs: Tawak Tawak Info and here is some traditional Bruneian music with gongs: Brunei Ayasan.

So we decided to make our own gongs or Tawak Tawaks! We all had fun making and playing them and the sound on them weren’t half bad. Here’s what you need:

DIY TAWAK TAWAK

• Bottom of disposable roasting pan
• Aluminum foil – formed into a half sphere and glued-gunned in the center
• Pen –  for etching a intricate designs (so displayed side is raised)
• Yarn or string to hang the gong.

 

Thanks for traveling with us to Brunei! For C, the next stop is a tiny island nation in Africa called…

By Laura