His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam during the meet-and-greet at the get together celebration with the people of Brunei

The celebration for the Bersama Rakyat in conjunction with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 70th Birthday ended at the Brunei-Muara District which took place at Taman SOAS yesterday. Normally it’s meant to be the biggest of all celebration among all the districts in Brunei. Last year the celebration coincided with my sister’s wedding in August.

Most of the pictures you will see below are the pictures behind the scenes and they contributed to the celebration at Taman SOAS. I would have to say that the crowd weren’t as much compared to last year. Nonetheless the mood was still high as ever. All the royalties spent quite some time with the public, taking photos and selfies. Well, it’s the best time to do so and come to think of it, I haven’t taken one with His Majesty the Sultan. Perhaps, one day InsyaAllah.

As usual, I caught the boat from Kg Tamoi and dropped at Yayasan as I don’t have to worry too much about road closure and the trouble of finding parking. This allows me a better time management too.

Oh yea, I didn’t apply for the media pass for many years though I’m a collector of passes. One reason being is that I hardly cover the official program but more of behind-the-scene pictures. I should also remind myself not to sport a bag pack while covering a Royalty event as a media. My bad.

I didn’t take much pictures as I would like to but focused on more videos. Here you go.

My boat trip to town while having O3 green tea #yummy

The Guling Tangan band livening up the mood during the celebration

With a United Daily (Miri News) reporter who has only been in Brunei for a few months and she likes working in Brunei so far

The portable steps do come in handy if you want better shots of the Royalties

A sea of people taking opportunity to take greet our ruler and also taking photos

Jackson Ting, Managing Director of D’Sunlit, has been attending the event every year and one of the biggest contributor to the celebration. In other news, he voiced out on the unprofessional behaviour of the umpires during the semifinals of the SpeedSend Cup which happened last Saturday.

Sally Pri and Vincent Hong mingling behind the scenes. These are the usual reporters I bumped into once in a while.

Taking photo with Yang Berhormat Dato Hj Mustappa, the Minister of Communications

The Minister of Communications talking to Pierre Imhof, the CEO of Baiduri Bank. Interestingly enough the Minister called for local ITs to help with the logistics (Uber like concept) to improve the transportation in Brunei. Click image to read more from the interview in The Brunei Times.

Progresif team had a special memento to His Masjety yesterday

Some of the booths that were not taken.

The public waiting for the opportunity to greet His Majesty and other members of the Royal Family

The students singing a birthday to His Majesty

The school band

The performers on the field

 

Trying out different Chinese tea at Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop located at Gadong Central

Many selections to choose from at Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop

A few years ago, I had an outing with my friend in Penang and we had a great conversation by the beach and he brought along a travel tea pot where we had endless drinking of Chinese tea in small portions. Without realizing, I actually drank more than usual because the conversation with my friend Tungie was great and the Chinese tea complimented well with the setting.

Fast forward to this year, I was impressed that Brunei has a Chinese tea shop which located at Gadong Central. It is called the Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop. They sell the authentic Chinese tea sachets and not only that but also assorted accessories and ornaments that are made from Chinese tea. For your info, they are imported from China and Chinese Taipei.

What I like about Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop is that you are able to taste the samples from the wide variety of Chinese tea and depends on what you really want to benefit from drinking Chinese. Apparently different Chinese teas have different functions and it does cater to the needs of the individuals.

Hence the customers can sit down at a dedicated table behind the shop and you can sit down and mingle with the managers or the staff at Tea-Fu who can guide you on what suits you.

Did you know that Chinese tea is not just about consuming it but also the preparation in a much traditional way in moderation. I have a friend from Singapore who actually takes up tea lessons where they will teach you techniques of brewing and even pouring the tea to the mini cups. So it’s cool that the owners of Tea-Fu are able to educate their customers on brewing tea the right way to get the most out of the (essence) tea.

The prices vary from different types of teas and like I’ve mentioned before, each tea caters to different benefits.

There’s the White Tea, Green Tea and Black Tea.

The White Tea reduces risks of cancer, blood pressure, cholesterol level and cardiovascular diseases and strengthens our bones and teeth as well as our immunity. The Green Tea reduces cardiovascular disease, cancer and you will have lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as well as reducing the risk of diabetes. The good thing about the Green Tea is that it helps to burn fats and boost your metabolic rate. As for the Black Tea, it reduces cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. Drinking lots of Green Tea will give you healthier skin and hair and good immunity.

You can visit Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop at No.37, Ground Floor at Gadong Central (same row with Sushi Tei and Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop) and you can also call 242 8979 for more details.

Brewing tea to get that authentic taste

Tea is ready to be served

The art of pouring tea

Before the tea is being brewed

This is actually made of tea. Interesting and it’s for sale too

Located at No.37 Floor Floor at Gadong Central.