Brunei – a royal cafe
Despite Brunei being a dry country in terms of alcohol, caffeine – thankfully – is legal and within easy access. And caffeine addicts like me can always sniff out the small places serving up those strong hits mixed with charm and character.
Since I spent my time in and around Bandar Seri Begawan area, it wasn’t difficult to come across the cafes. There aren’t that many.
DeRoyalle is a small narrow cafe big on coffee, good food and eclectic interior. Add some ever charming Bruneians serving up the caffeine and you have a home away from home. Or at least, a cafe away from home.
by Cate
Coffee is a popular drink around this part of Asia and small cafes like DeRoyalle are showing their colours. It’s a meeting place for expats, visitors even locals. Ignore what the LP guide wrote about this cafe, it is by far, superior than its neighbour the CBTL and that much more enjoyable to be in.
by Cate
Even the coffee is a superior grade, or maybe the staff here just know how to make it taste better. They claim the coffee is Italian, but I suspect it’s local going by its taste. Coffee from SE Asia, no matter which country you’re in, has a distinctive taste, colour, and aroma.
by Cate
DeRoyalle is a small cosy cafe. If you are into cosiness timing is important. It can get noisy from the mix of tv, chattering staff, and espresso machine. It is a good place to hang out if you feel noise deprived or just need to be somewhere familiar. Plus there is free wifi – can’t beat that.
You can’t miss the location of DeRoyalle, it’s right next to the CBTL in the city centre.
Caffeinated Traveller
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Do I spy a cookie next to your coffee? LP isn’t the only authority so I appreciate your take on cafes Cate! This place looks right up my alley. Thanks!
Sharon – free cookies!!!!It’s your kind of cafe, well you will love NZ!
Nowaydays I’m not such a big coffee drinker, but it’s interesting to learn more about the coffee culture in other countries. Am just curious, are these posts current? Are you in Brunei now? Or are you posting from past trips as well?
So what is distinctive regarding SE Asia coffee, exactly?
Have you seen any tea plantations, yet, on your current trip in Malaysia? Are they high in elevation? How much water does a tea plant need anyway?
Bear – yes I visited the tea plantations and I will be doing a post on this one NOW. But I can’t answer the water question, I never thought to ask the guide. I was bombarding him with other questions like: what was the name of the dutch guy that smuggled the tea plant out of China in the 16th century?
Stay tuned I hope you will enjoy this next post and crave for some real tea.