My friends and I, including San Diann crossed the border for dinner at Kuala Lurah yesterday evening. It was an impromptu decision made when we were having coffees at The Wildflower yesterday afternoon. We went back to collect our cars in Gadong and went separate ways to go home for passport collection.
I managed to make a return trip back to Hua Ho, Kiulap in less than 45 minutes. Thankfully, there was no queue at Brunei’s side of checkpoint. Parking was a bit of a hassle and we had to park the car on the roadside. We didn’t know which stall serves the best food. Hence, we settled with Le Tian as San Diann mentioned that it was one of the stalls which he frequented when he was in the area.
First round of food that came served was the grilled food which consisted of Taiwanese sausage, fish cakes, grilled chicken wings and pork belly skewers. I think San Diann paid about RM22 for these. The pork belly skewers were RM1 each.
An up close shot of the pork belly skewers. One of the reasons why my friend had been so enthusiastic about having dinner at Kuala Lurah was this. To be honest, I didn’t find anything special about this skewer. The meat was tad dry for my liking as the bottom part was lean meat. Perhaps it tasted better with beer?
Deep Fried Nan Lu Pork Belly | RM15
Nan Lu, known as fermented beancurd in Chinese. The taste of Nan Lu was pretty strong and I liked it. It was served with mostly fatty bits. I honestly think that it would be nicer if they serve with some house made dipping sauce? I had it with the hot and spicy sauce from the grilled food.
Stir Fry Midin with Red Wine | RM10
The Midin was rather mature for my liking. I ate most of these as I was trying to eat in moderation with the meat. The sauce at the bottom of the Midin was really salty and had to be paired with rice or noodle. None was served yet at the time when this dish was served.
Stir Fry Bittergourd with Three Eggs | RM15
I had been craving for this since last Friday and it was good to know that San Diann eats bittergourd too. My other friend on the other hand hates bittergourd. I managed to finish half but I think I had better ones in Brunei. The bittergourd was bitter but on an acceptable level.
Fried Bee Hoon | RM15
Do not underestimate the portion based on the picture above. It was actually a lot more than what was shown in the picture. The portion served could have easily fed five or six in my opinion.
I had requested for no beansprout and to be cooked with pork. However, there was no pork in sight. My friend commented that there was a subtle taste of pork in the noodle. LOL! In overall, I think this was the blandest dish of all we ordered. We could only manage half and they told me to bring home the leftover which I didn’t.
Verdict: This was my first experience ever having dinner at Kuala Lurah in all my years of living in Brunei. I came back with a pounding headache. It was not from the alcohol (if you’re wondering) but the smokey environment. I didn’t even touch a drop of alcohol as the two guys drank. There must be at least one of us sober to drive us back in case they got drunk, right? Truth is, I can’t drink. LOL!
The foods were hits and misses in my opinion. San Diann agreed that the food we had yesterday were only average. It was agreeable that the pricing was on the cheaper side comparatively to Brunei due to the currency exchange.
If you wanted some booze with dinner but lazy to be on the road for two or so hours to Miri, Kuala Lurah would be your nearest available option for cheaper food and booze. You can also buy duty free alcohol on the way back but in limited quantities. When Jia read my Instagram posting, she commented that we should have gone to Paloma as she didn’t like the food from Le Tian either.
DAILY SNIPPETS OF LIFE 