BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

RESTAURANTS and eateries in the capital opened earlier than usual for His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 69th birthday celebration yesterday to cater to attendees of the ceremony.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, a manager at Syazwan Café and Catering, Dilshad Ahmed, said his business started operating around 5.30am.

“Many people come to have their meals prior to the start of the event, and the number of customers we received was more than usual (for that time),” he said.

He said that more people usually turn up from 7am onwards and the eatery will be packed with customers.

Sharing this sentiment, the owner of Babu’s Kitchen, Phoan Chean Len, said her restaurant opens very early whenever a celebration takes place at Taman Hj Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien.

“It has always been like this every year and we opened at 5.30am. It was a full house and we have been expecting this,” she said.

Meanwhile, the fast food outlet, Ayamku Restaurant, started its operations three hours earlier than its usual time.

“For today’s event, we opened at 6.30am to cater to those who came to the field early,” said the supervisor of the restaurant, Kok Jun Kong.

The Brunei Times