Book: Traditional & Classic Dishes of Brunei Malay Cooking

By Siti Radiah Merrett

The pile of cookbooks I wanted to buy when I was at the fabulous Books for Cooks shop in London earlier this year was about 20 high. I had to whittle it down so that my luggage would not be overweight, but this book made the cut.

As much as I love Malaysian cuisine, I do not know enough about it to be able to differentiate between the subtleties of how it is done in Malaysia and how they do things in Brunei, where the author, Siti Radiah Merrett, is from. She tells us that some ingredients are only available in the sovereign state, although I am sure at least a few make it across the border into Malaysia.

With the more unusual ingredients, such as daun pawas (young shoots of a wild tree) and daun lamiding (fronds and young leaves of a wild fern), she also gives the Latin names.