My food list will only cover the major cities / towns in Sarawak, a.k.a Kuching, Sibu and Bintulu. Sorry for not being able to cover the rest of the areas: Miri, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Kapit, etc. I think the food is more or less the same. Correct me if I'm wrong, or email me the information which I missed out.
SARAWAK
Bilin / midin / milin - it has different names, perhaps it was because we have different local dialects here. Thus different pronunciations? For those who don't know how does it look like. I derived it online first, will upload a new one next time:
It is a type of jungle fern which can only be found in Sarawak. We Sarawakians love this dish. We normally stir fry it with garlic, some prefer with belacan, some like it with Chinese red wine.
If you plan to visit Sarawak, must include it in your list. It's not possible to export it because its freshness is very short. It turns black after few hours which doesn't look so appetizing.
Umai is a type of dish from Melanau, native in Sarawak. Raw fish thinly sliced, served with shallots, chilies, lime juice. It tastes surprisingly nice. Spicy and sour, syiok!
Tuak is rice wine from Iban / Dayak, native in Sarawak. The alcohol content is high. It's not available in market, but if you visit any long house here, the natives might serve you tuak generously. Be careful, don't over estimate your capability.
Dabai fruit is a type of exotic fruit in Sarawak. Also known as "black olive", taste like avocado.
Kuching, capital city of Sarawak
Sarawak Laksa
Kolo Mee 哥罗面
Zheng / Cheng
Mattahorn & White Lady
Siobee 烧卖
Sugarcane + Coconut
Tomato Kueh Tiaw
Belacan Bee Hoon
Cha Kueh (Fried Carrot Cake)
Kueh Chap 粿什
Shao Bao 烧包
Bee Pang / Bipang 米香 (Rice Crackers)
O Jian (Oyster Omelette)
3 Layered Tea 三色奶茶
Kek Lapis (Layers Steamed Cake)
Tebaloi / Sago Biscuits
Dayak Cuisine
Sibu, town of Foochow, where the riches from
Kong pia / kompia / gong pia 光饼 - the bun is quite hard to chew, tasteless but full of sesame aroma. It tastes nice when freshly out from oven. Not many sellers in the market because the oven of making kong pia has to be custom-made.
Kampua 干盘面 - authentic kampua must cook with lard. Normally I like it with dark soy sauce.
Ding Bian Hu 鼎边糊
Zao Cai Bee Hoon 糟菜米粉
River Snails, this only can be found in Rajang river. We normally cook it with ginger and bring it to boil. It's my favourite, too bad it's seasonal.
To eat its flesh, you have to use a toothpick to dig it out.
This is another type of river snails. To eat the flesh, you have to master your sucking skill first.
Salted Crab. This is my family's favourite. I started crave for it when picturing it. It's only available in Sibu and it is seasonal too. Can only be found in market during harvest period. This is not the crab from river or sea, it's a type of crab can be found in rice field. We eat it raw, soak it in lime juice and chilies.
Mee Sua 面线
Chicken Soup Mee Sua 鸡汤面线
Ba Zhen Mee Sua 八珍面线
Foochow Red Wine 红酒
Bintulu, a small town turning into industrial land
Belacan paste 虾膏
Cincalok / Chinchalok / Cencaluk
* This post will be edited from time to time. For easy reference, you may find it at the top menu under the name of "MUST TRY".
