It’s the first day of Chinese New Year today. As usual, Dad went back hometown to celebrate the occasion with my grandfather and it’s only Mom, Sister and I celebrating in Brunei.
As there were only the three of us, Mom decided to take a break from cooking a feast and we ate out instead. Sister and I chose Korean cuisine for Chinese New Year Eve dinner as most of the Chinese restaurants would be fully booked and they don’t serve ala-carte but dinner sets.
Complimentary Banchan(s) when you order at least a main course from them. Accompanying on the side were some of the condiments for Bossam.
Jjajangmyeon | B$6.00
As Mom loves noodles, we got her Jjajangmyeon. She didn’t like it the first time she had it but she said it was different this time round. Of all the Korean restaurants in the Sultanate, I honestly think that Padi-Mas Restaurant serves the closest authentic Jjajangmyeon in my opinion.
Jjajangmyeon was served with flat Udon and topped with a mixture of vegetables in a thick black bean sauce. Sister commented that it wasn’t as salty as the ones that she used to have in Seoul but it’s quite alike and close to the real deal.
Fish Tangsuyuk | B$12.00
So, what does a salty Jjajangmyeon paired best with? Tangsuyuk! I learnt it from the Korean drama series which I had previously watched. Instead of ordering Pork Tangsuyuk, we got the Fish Tangsuyuk instead.
Prior to ordering this, I asked the waitress if their Fish Tangsuyuk is served with frozen dory fish fillets and she was kind enough to confirm with the kitchen for me. You can choose to have the sweet and sour sauce covering the battered fish. We chose to have the sauce served separately and so that we could dip as we like.
Bossam | B$18.00
Instead of having Samgyopsal like we previously did, we got Bossam instead as Mom wasn’t keen on having grilled food. Bossam is the steamed version of Samgyopsal. We got the smallest portion and we were informed that it would take about 20 minutes to be served.
The radish kimchi served on the side of the dish was spicy. So, do eat in moderation if you are not a spicy eater. The pork belly served came from frozen pork belly in my opinion. The leaner part of the meat was rather dry and slightly tough in my opinion.
Pork Dolsot Bibimbap | B$8.50
As usual, it was my task to do the Dolsot Bibimbap. What I would do is add in some of the Banchan(s) provided. The Bibimbap paste served wasn’t enough. Hence, I requested for more and tossed in Kimchi along with the juice. It was tad spicy but definitely a satisfaction to eat especially when it’s tad spicy.
Padi-Mas Restaurant
Unit 6 & 7,
Block C, Warisan Mata-Mata Complex,
Simpang: 322, Jalan Gadong,
Bandar Seri Begawan,
Negara Brunei Darussalam
Tel: +673-2457644
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