Rizqun International Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

While booking for my recent trip to Brunei, I decided to stay at the Rizqun International Hotel as the reviews were quite good and it also had a shopping mall next to the hotel. This was my first time to Brunei and I was not sure what to expect.

The hotel was fairly new and the decoration at the lobby was rather grandeur in the Malay style. It was spacious and a high atrium.

A balcony overlooking the lobby

Nice high atrium

Quite lavish decor

Lots of stained glass

The entrance

Beautiful stained glass ceiling

They gave me a large room and it was large but quite spartanly furnished. What was interesting is they had a second toilet.

A view outside

A view of the bathroom

The shower and long bath

The second bathroom

The service at the hotel was good and the breakfast was very good. It was a mixed of Malaysian (Brunei is very much Malaysian food wise) and western fare.

Overall with the mall next door, the hotel is value for money.

Until the next time, cheers.

Seaside Seafood in Rawai, Phuket, Thailand

On another night in Phuket, we had dinner with an old friend of my wife who we have not seen for some time. She brought us to this restaurant. The location and decor of this place is fabulous. It even had live music and it was good too. It is located just off the jetty on the south east side of Phuket island. With the al fresco dining and nice weather, the ambience was just right.

A view of the restaurant

The entrance to the restaurant

Nice view of the jetty which was lited up

Another view of the restaurant

To start off, we had the oyster Thai style. Instead of just adding lemon or tabasco sauce, you add some vegetable, fried shallots, lime, garlic, a prawn paste and a special sauce. It's heavenly.

Oyster Thai style

How you eat the oyster Thai style

We also had a barrage of popular Thai dishes as you can see below. The cooking was reasonably good although not the best I've tasted.

Namprik with vegetables

Somtam or papaya salad

Phra ka pao moo or prok cooked with basil leaves

Phad Thai

Deep fried fish with fish sauce

Vermencelli with crab

View of the food

Fried rice for my daughter

The total bill came to about Baht 2,200 which was not bad considering the ambience and the amount of food that we had. Unfortunately, I could not remember the name of the restaurant as I wrote this much later and sorry about the delay.

Until the next time, cheers.

Bangkok's cheap and delicious food

While on my monthly trip to Bangkok in early August, we went for dinner to a Thai style steakhouse. Somehow this is very popular. This particular one is called Sante Fe and located in the Esplanade Mall on Ratchadaphisek Road, not far from my office.

On arrival at around 6.30pm, the place was already full and there was a waiting line. Normally, I hate to wait in a line for dinner but this time I did because they wanted to eat western instead of Thai or other cuisine.

The name and logo of the restaurant

Another look at the restaurant

People queuing at the front

In the end, we had to wait for about 20 minutes which was not too bad. However, what is surprising is that the food was served quite fast. It came about 10 to 15 minutes after ordering. This may be due to the fact that most people ordered about the same items.

While western food is popular, the main meat will still be pork rather than beef as a number of Thais do not eat beef.

The food was not bad and the portions are reasonable. What is most surprising was that the prices range between Baht 78 for the sausage and pork chop dish and Baht 199 for the BBQ pork ribs. Considering the restaurant is located in a mall in the middle of Bangkok, this is considered real value for money. (US$1 is approximately Baht 30). Have a look at the pictures of the dishes.

A creamy soup that came as a set

A sausage with pork chop

A chicken gordon blue with pork chop

A large pork steak

BBQ ribs

Mixed pork chops

In addition, I also had this bowl of noodle soup with 2 pieces of chicken thigh for Baht 35 (slightly more than US$1). This however is in Samutsakorn, a province just out of Bangkok. Apart from the low price, it was good too.

The varied, delicious and the prices for food in Bangkok never cease to surprise and amaze me. No wonder I enjoy going there so much.

Until the next time, cheers.