Let’s just begin of how it all began from scratch just like our food. Farid (the patron) is a passionate polo player, and been competing in different countries, and would have grill after polo games based on an Argentinian polo tradition. This goes back in time when the British began bringing the Argentinians to England to care for and train polo horses. The Argentines brought a bit of home with them. They brought asador tradition with them, a meat lover’s fantasy. Based on this Argentinian Polo Tradition: a whole animal would be cooked and fed to everyone working the ranch after a polo match (chukkas). Hence, the name of our restaurant After Chukkas Asador, which literally translated to after polo grill.
Upon this explosion of the Spanish polo culture, he decided to bring it to Brunei with the help of his partner, Abby, that made the business plan, proposal and budgeting and in end turn the vision into reality that we have today. Of course, this idea had to be tested in the Brunei market first. Hence it started as grilling a whole lamb in individual houses. They had good receptions from people, with more than 100 lambs sold. Business was peaking up until COVID hit. This made them venture into a challenging yet intriguing idea, opening a restaurant. However, dine-in was not an option at that time. Thus, they had to adapt to the situation and introduced Empanadas during the Charity Polo Event in 2021. People were intrigued by them, and a take-away option was available of chicken, beef, spinach and cheese & onion empanadas. More than 600 pieces were sold daily.
Argentinian dishes started getting introduced by chef Maria from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her husband, Chef Emanuel, a polo trainer, would passionately help in the kitchen. This was during COVID. Hence drive-through was more convenient. In Eid 2022, the restaurant was fully opened for a dine-in experience, where locals were hired as service and kitchen crews. The uniqueness of this restaurant hides behind the love and care taken into crafting each meal from scratch, from bread to pasta to sauces, etc. Home-made and fresh. Do not miss out on this experience and book that table.