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BRUNEI STORIES: PART 1 (Jee Juan - The coffee shop I loved.)





Jee Juan, Kedai Kopi (Kedai - Shop, Kopi - Coffee in Malay) 


It's a perfect weather. Sunny and windy. Almost 4:30pm.
I rush to this place with my sister, just in time.
We order our favourites, they get it with a broad smile.
For me its the local (Malasyian) coffee with extra milk and a chicken curry puff.
For her, nescafe with a lil' milk and freshly baked warm toasts.
The coffee arrives, I smell it's aroma. I smile and take the first sip. 
Yes, this is what we call - BLISS! 


I named it Jai Jawan, to give it an Indian touch. It is one of the cutest coffee shops I have come across in my life. Located in the heart of Brunei Darussalam, the area where it resides is as pretty as it's name - Jalan Pretty (Jalan - Street, Pretty - well, PRETTY!) 


This Irani-chai-bun maska-mawa cake type small Kopi shop is owned by a very old Chinese family. Extremely clean, minimal basic ambience and very local in nature. They make their own breads, pastries and other bakery items like chicken curry puffs, egg rolls, etc. Sounds and looks like any other Indian Irani stall? YES. So why the excitement? Because it felt warm, honest and very welcoming, unlike the branded, fake coffee places. AND THE COFFEE WAS INDEED THE BEST COFFEE THAT I EVER  HAD, IN MY WHOLE LIFE. Filter coffee in Udipi hotels (India) comes close to the second position. But this one tops the list. 


The uniqueness about this coffee is that they add 'Sweetened Condensed Milk' instead of normal milk as the base with very concentrated black coffee on top of it. So when served, you see two layers in the glass. One white which takes up 20% of the glass and the other 80% is nice hot translucent black coffe. You stir it with the spoon and the perfect brown shade is created, blending both the ingredients.


The customers came there in the morning to read newspapers and in the evening to catch up with others after work. The people who served us were extremely friendly and had a cute, peculiar way of placing order in the kitchen. Everyday in the evening, just before sunset I would go there, have my cuppa coffee and share a few laughs with my sister. The bill always surprised us because it just never went too high, even if we had something extra. Very low rates for everything on the menu. The shop would shut at 5:30 pm and we would then head to the beach to catch sunset, live in action. 


This place was one of the biggest highlights of my trip. I wish I could go there again.


Yes people, Jee Juan Kedai Kopi - Highly Recommended. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★



4 comments:

Deepali Tumbre said...

Hey Curry Nice pics :D I loved the way you hv penned down ur experience :) Now that u hv said soo much about it..I need to visit this place ;)

ankur amre said...

hmmm sounds and smells aromantic....er aromatic.. :D
truly felt like calling you up and asking for directions to this cute 'copi' shop....next time google earth ka link dalna ;) cheers curry

curry said...

@Deepali: Thanks Pinku! So much to talk about, so many pictures. The trip had ended with beautiful travel stories and great memories. Wait for a few more :D
And yes, you SHOULD visit this cafe :D

curry said...

@ankur: Amreeeeee. The menu was yummy and it reminded me of kyani bakery, but better coffee. Now you know what I am talking about? ;)

And thankiee for that google earth suggestion. Will try linking it next time. Hugs :)