What a phenomenal night for Malaysian last night. If you have been hiding under a hermit shell, let me tell you, the entire Malaysia, perhaps most part of the world has been so excited for yesterday's Olympic's badminton matches. Our home heroes, Dato Lee Chong Wei, along with fellow men's double players Tan Wei Kiong and Goh V Shem played two amazing matches against their skillful China's opponents. We were amazingly proud of them and wishing the best of luck to Dato Lee for his final match in Rio's Olympic badminton game tonight.
Anyway, today i'm gonna share with you, a little gem i discovered during my Sarawak Trip months ago. Mr. J brought the bunch of us to have a simple lunch in this local restaurant in Kuching. East Malaysia is well known for its rich culture and diversity among the local indigenous people. In Sarawak, there are many indigeneous tribes, consisting mainly the Ibans, Punan, Klemantan and many more. These people are classified mainly as The Dayaks, simply means the indigeneous people of Borneo. This restaurant that we were visiting is one of a number of local indigenous cuisine available in Kuching. Mr. J said his father introduced him to the Dyak, and he felt in love with their cuisine ever since.
As we stepped into this warm and welcoming space, we were greeted by the friendly lady owner. She swiftly guided us to our table and handed their simple menu to us. I was fascinated by the amazing art work exhibited in this space. We were able to learn and embrace the incredible culture and history behind this Dayak family. They inherited these recipes from their tribe's princess, portrait in one of the few photos above. The grey background of the walls complemented the intriguing artworks like paintings, musical instruments and photos so perfectly.
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| Tuak Laki Stambak Ulu (Full-bodied Table Wine)--RM 16+ |
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| Three layered milk tea |
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| Ulam Raja--RM 15+ A salad of finely sliced shallots, wild ginger flowers, ginger, lemongrass, chilies, herbs, spices, drizzled with generous squeeze of lime. |
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| Paku Kubok--RM 10+ Giant jungle ferns stir fried with fragrant wild ginger flowers, anchovies and chilies. |
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| Ubi Randau--RM 15+ Sweet potato leaves stir fried with garlic, desiccated coconut and sun dried shrimps. |
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| Local brown rice |
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| Manok Lulun--RM 25+ Chicken stewed in bamboo with tapioca leaves; a salty and soupy dish commonly known as pansoh, traditionally served at Dayak feast. |
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| Tilapia Gulai Terung Dayak Asam Terjun--RM 35+ Clear, tangy and mildly spicy soup of Tilapia with succulent Dayak Borneo Aubergine (Brinjal/eggplant) |
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| Jani Tunu--RM 25+ Grilled three layers pork (skin, fat and lean meat), served with Chef's secret spicy sauces, garnished with lime and cucumber. |
Such a long list of dishes right? The serving here is rather small, only sufficient for 2-3 people. Hence, we ordered a set of two for the crowd. We began our feast with a simple Dayak salad. It was refreshing and full of texture. It was my personal favourite as it was something unique and refreshing that i seldom have. Next up, the paku pakis dish and stir-fried sweet potato leaves were something common that we used to have in Kuching and elsewhere, but was executed flawlessly indeed. Meat dishes had some hits and misses. I especially love their interpretation of 'siew yuk' which they called Jani Tunu, essentially a roasted three layered pork that was explosive with tonnes of flavours. The winning cause for this dish has to be the amazingly spicy and sour sauces that accompanied the pork perfectly. However, both the chicken and tilapia dish was quite bland and lack of significant flavours that i would expect from local Dayak cuisine. Mr. J said these probably had some Bidayuh influence behind. Nevertheless, it was such a wonderful experience dining here in The Dyak.
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| Dessert--The Special--RM 13+ A combination of Tuak ice-cream and vanilla ice cream, drizzled with tuak and crushed pistachio. |
Like i always say, no meal is complete without desserts. We had two house special desserts, they were Tuak ice-cream and the Tuak Special. Both of these were screaming tuak in each part of the items. We had tuak ice cream, tuak wine and even fermented glutinous rice within. The flavours were strong and pungent, some may not fancy the fermented acidity within but i was quite happy with this one-of-a-kind dessert that can only be found in The Dyak.
Overall, i had an amazing dining experience in The Dyak. It was my first time trying out Dayak cuisine and i have to say, i'm loving the authenticity, diversity of flavours and cooking styles, along with their utmost respect and tribute to their culture, identity and heritage. Although this meal is the most expensive one that we had in Kuching, but i would recommend visitors and travelers to give it a try when you visit the cat city for a memorable meal. Till next time, xoxo.
More Information~
Address: Sub Lot 29, Ground Floor, Panovel Commercial Complex, Jalan Simpang Tiga, Kuching.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.Dyak/?fref=ts
