The German Shop

Last Friday, I discovered this gem of a foodstore called "The German Shop" (above) in Kg. Sg. Hanching in Jalan Muara. It seemed a bit strange why it was labelled that at the road junction entering it because the signage over the front of the store actually says "European & Arabic Food & Drinks". I'd actually passed by in front of the store once but was hesitant to go in, probably due to that rather conspicuous Brandenburg Gate banner serving as the store's frontage.

The other curiosity I had - why was there a store selling German foodstuffs in Brunei? The Arabic-food part is not really much of a surprise as this is Brunei, a mainly Muslim country. Then it dawned on me that we have quite a number of German nationals residing here! Yes, there's the Royal Aircraft servicing crew from Lufthansa and their families, the diplomats, BMW/Mercedes mechanics, even people working for Hyatt at the Palace. Yes, the demand is certainly there.

Well, we ended up with a number of goodies - all processed, of course, but who cares? Being in that shop reminded me of my time living in Germany. That was a wonderful period of really unhealthy eating for me, however on the positive side, I did end up making good German friends who call me till this day. So, yes the German Shop brought back a lot of happy memories for me.

The goodies we ended up with.

Is there a Her Cake? LOL... 'Him' is short for Himbeer, which is raspberry in German. I can still read and understand the language after all these years, what a blessing. Now, speaking it is a different matter altogether.

Diva D. came with us and she got some Rye bread flour which she turned into this lovely, crispy and slightly sourish bread.

She also made these potato dumplings from the packet. They were hmmm...ok, but just needed some gravy to bring them to life. 

Anyway, the proprietor of the German shop was a very friendly Arab gentleman married to a German lady, and they hailed from Dusseldorf. It's a real pity that our national Airlines, RBA, no longer flies to Germany because I recall that they used to land at the airport in Dusseldorf. Well, the shop owners have two very cute daughters named Nora and Aminah and they both attend Yayasan School in Jln Kebangsaan. Since they have been schooling here for nearly 6 years (since Kindy), their Malay was yes, very spanking Bruneian. I was rendered speechless in amazement and awe as the girls spoke to us! Wistfully, I found myself wishing I spoke German like a native, which was rather ridiculous considering I've been back here for so long already. Sigh.