Wouldn't you know, the month I decide to go find out food in Brunei, and give up alcohol is the month I find a restaurant I can drink wine with my dinner.
I have heard good things about the Senja Lounge Restaurant in the Riverview Hotel on Jalan Gadong bandar Seri Begawan Brunei , but until last week I had never been. I have to say, it wasn't what I expected but it was good. I had envisioned a wide, light restaurant high above the ground with an expansive view of the narrow, murky, brown river enclosed by lush, green jungle. What I got was a dark, intimate old fashioned style cafe with solid, heavy furniture surrounded by blackboards with the menu and specials scrawled on in chalk. I liked it.
The menu is extensive to say the least. I am not good at studying and carefully choosing my dinner, I usually browse and then go with my gut feeling. Too many choices give me a headache. Also many of the dishes are loaded with creamy, heavy sauces and dressings. I like my food simple and uncomplicated. I decided on two entrees and a dessert - mushrooms stuffed with crab and mozzarella, caesar salad with prawns and chocolate mud cake with ice cream. They were all good and only set me back $20.00, a bargain!
My dinner companions enjoyed a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (go the NZ wine) and an Italian Vespolina with their dinners. The lamb chops looked particularly appealing to me and if I were a meat eater, I would have had them with a glass of red.
The nice thing about the Senja Room (aside from the obvious for drinkers) is you can have the relaxing, upmarket experience without breaking the bank. There are so many things on the menu from big to small and reasonably priced to expensive, you just choose what you are in the mood for.
The restaurant is so small that I suggest you make a reservation especially if you are dining after 7.30pm. We were the first in the restaurant at 7.00pm and then by 8.00pm it was full with diners.
where: the restaurant is in the riverside hotel on jalan gadong in bandar seri begawan
wine: take your own and your own bottle opener
Address: Jalan Gadong, Bandar Seri Begawan BS 8670, Brunei
Phone:+673 223 8238
http://stilltravelling-sarah.blogspot.com/2012/04/senja-lounge-riverview-hotel-bandar.html
