Two tribes…

Well, there are definitely more than two – as a matter of fact, we have quite a few of those ethnic racial groups here and they are usually collectively referred to as the Dayaks of Sarawak or Borneo. There may be some slight similarities in their cultures and likewise, in their cuisines but each tribe may have its own special dishes that are peculiar only to its own group of people. Some of these are really very nice, I tell you – simply out of this world and will leave you craving for more.

Of course, there is no way you can get to eat any of them unless you can cook your own…or you have some friends from these groups of people …or you go and visit them in their longhouses and villages and they cook for you. That is why I was delighted when I saw in some blogs that they had opened this restaurant in Kuching…

…serving some of those tribal delights and when I was in Kuching earlier this week, I jumped at the chance of dropping by the place to give it a try even though I was very full that night from a feast of pies and pork ribs and more the moment I arrived – those will come in another post, no worries.

I liked the decor…

– very authentically ethnic…

…right down to the old kerosene lamps…

…and the cloth with the very nice traditional Dayak designs that they used for their table cloth. I did wish they would use the pu’a though – the traditional blanket but not the expensive handwoven ones, of course. There are some factory machine-made ones that are actually quite affordable…especially for a somewhat classy restaurant like this.

Business was good – you can see in the photos that there were people of all nationalities…

…and colour…

As for the food, you do not have a choice as far as the rice is concerned. Anyone who wants rice will just have the order the whole-grain unpolished indigenous rice (RM3.00)…

Hey! I did not see this that night!

As it appears, I think they actually charge you, should you decide to ask for an empty plate or bowl to share the rice. Hmmm…next time, we will just eat from the same plate then if we’re sharing the rice.

I wished they had other options as well though – like Bario rice, for instance. No doubt it is supposedly healthy but I do know of some people who are not too fond of this unpolished rice. They claim that it is hard to swallow but it is perfectly all right for me – never have a problem with that!

We ordered the ayam pansoh or what is listed as manok lulun on the menu (RM22.00)…

– their chicken cooked in bamboo with tapioca  leaves and everything else but I would say that at best, it was all right. Yes, it did have a hint of the taste of what the dish should be but I found it rather watered-down or diluted…or perhaps that is done on purpose to cater to the taste of the general clientele. My missus’ tastes a whole lot stronger with all those things added for that extra fragrance that I feel would make the dish very much nicer.

The cangkuk manis and pumpkin dish – their changkuk manis guring labu (RM10.00) was good…

We enjoyed that very much but I’m afraid our attempts to cook something as nice as what we had here had been futile.

But this was really really great though – their jani kari (RM20.00)…

– pork belly or three-layer pork simmered in rich curry gravy…and yes, the gravy was thick and very rich and went absolutely well with the rice – a must order, I would say, for anyone dropping by this place…

We did not order a lot as like I said earlier, we had had a lot to eat for tea the moment I got into town. Somebody was telling us about a very nice dish with cincaluk (fermented shrimps) but when we got there, it simply slipped our minds. I guess that would have to wait till my next visit and in the meantime, should anybody happen to drop by Kuching and would like to sample some authentic ethnic food, this is probably a pretty good place to go to for that.

Thank you so much to my cousin and my aunt (her mum) for taking me and Melissa here. It was pleasant enough, I would say…and finally, I can say that I’ve been here.