Reaching for greatness sometimes doesn’t feel glamorous. Often, the path to achieving recognition is filled with the humdrum of the daily grind – a relentless pursuit of passion and perfection. And as ‘probably the best fish and chips in Manggis’ Satu, local chippy Fez & Cip is beloved to many but did you know that they’re also award-winning?
Amongst the winners of the 2025 National Fish & Chip awards, stands Norlein – a most unassuming fish and chip shop owner – representing in the awarded Top 3 for International Operator of the Year (2025) alongside Beach Buns from Strandhill, County Sligo (Ireland) and Affenbar of Tokyo (Japan). Her husband Khairul originally started Fez&Cip as he was missing UK food, especially the fish and chips as no one was doing a proper version at the time in Brunei. “He wanted to bring the taste and experience of real British fish and chips here, as he was missing it,” explains Norlein about how the local chippy got started. The brainchild of married couple Khairul and Norelin originally began operating in 2012, but only opened on Sundays out of their home kitchen. The couple had paired up with their friend Muhd Khairud Dahri who at the time was an unemployed 33-year-old with a PhD in chemistry from UBD, to turn Fez & Cip into a full-time operation,
Naysayers will say it’s all paid for, and how could Brunei win in something called the National Fish and Chip Award anyway? The award was started in the United Kingdom in 1913, by the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), to celebrate excellence in the UK’s fish and chip industry, and feature categories like Takeaway of the Year and Restaurant of the Year for U.K. based chip shops. As lovers of the beloved English dish returned home after their time in the U.K., so did the desire for that wonderful crisp battered fish and fried potato dish. With over 10,000 vendors in the U.K, alone, there’s no proper estimate on the global number of fish and chip specialists but if the numbers are anything to go by then you’re probably going to find a purveyor somewhere in your city/country. So for Fez & CIp to win this international recognition amongst the hundreds and thousands of stores around the world? Priceless.
All of this year’s winners were treated to an unforgettable celebratory trip that included an educational visit to Stokke, Vestfold County, to see sustainable seafood production in the region. There was a tour of the Holmøy Production Facility– a state-of-the-art site that showcases the Norwegian seafood industry’s commitment to innovation and the ongoing advancement of sustainable seafood production. On land there are salmon pens that monitor live salmon for signs of illness or stress, and these prized fish are given quality feed until they’re ready to be processed. For Norlein, a highlight of the trip was a voyage aboard the Langøy, a Norwegian Frozen at Sea member vessel owned by Prestfjord who are part of the Holmøy Group. The group got to experience the craftmanship and sustainable practices that define Norway’s whitefish industry, including watching how fish get processed from filleting to being frozen and ready to offboard in ten minutes! Now that’s fresh. Many of the winners were surprised to find out that FeznCip are still doing fresh handcut chips, as well as offering haddock on their menu. For Norlein, it was an overwhelming response of support from the NFFF and fellow fish and chip vendors, and validation that FeznCip is on the right path.
