Meeting Maya

I've mentioned my blog-friend Maya before - she's the one who invented that divine Red  Dragonfruit Ice-Cream.  I can't quite remember how I stumbled upon her blog, but I was immediately captivated by her creativity in the kitchen, her intelligent and witty writing and her luscious photographs... and then I discovered that she actually lives in Brunei!  It's a small place so this was really exciting, and I hoped that one day we might meet.

Well, we just have!

I e.mailed Maya yesterday asking her a couple of foodie questions (where she bought her flower-shaped Polvoron moulds, and where I could purchase Black Sesame Powder in Brunei) and she e.mailed straight back with the answers, and inviting me to a Hari Raya Open House! 

The Open House was actually at her parents' beautiful house on Jalan Muara.  There were hundreds of people there (including a couple that I knew from school - I told you Brunei was a small country!) and there was lots and lots of excellent food. 

Everything was delicious - even the Beef Lung dish...  I'll try most things once, and I'd even eat that again.  There was also Soto, a lovely chicken noodle soup, plus some very tasty homemade biscuits for dessert

Everyone is always so friendly at these events and I chatted to Maya of course, but also some of her lovely friends and family.  One of her relations is the Bruneian Ambassador to Belgium, and he had been to school in Salisbury, my home town.  Small country, small world!

Anyway, Maya was of course a delight, just as fun and friendly as I had known she would be.  We asked her lovely daughter to take a couple of photographs of us together.  "Do a friendly pose!" she said:

And then we just got a bit silly!

Thank you Maya for the invitation - I know we'll meet again soon!