SEPARATED by sea no more, you can now have your palate delighted by the most authentic of Sarawakian indigenous cuisine until Nov 27 at the Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton, Kuala Lumpur.
Launched on Nov 8 by Tourism Deputy Minister Datuk James Dawos Mamit, the Exotic Sarawak Festival features an extensive range of the state’s mouth-watering traditional cuisine prepared by two special guest chefs.
Chefs Antija Dawen and Binyas Suem, both Bidayuhs, head the kitchen in preparing some 30 traditional specialties from their family recipes.
Among them are nang duah kian pansoh (seafood with local spices cooked in bamboo), nasi ujan (Sarawak-style rainbow rice), koming kari (Bidayuh-style lamb curry with potato) and nang galah rebus serai (freshwater prawns cooked with lemongrass).
The feast also includes Sarawak’s popular street food – laksa Sarawak, kolok mee and mee belacan.
Both the guest chefs from the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching wanted the cuisine to be as authentic as possible.
“We flew almost a tonne of ingredients all the way from Sarawak,” said Chef Antija.
They used the best ingredients to ensure that patrons get to relish in the essence and enjoy the authentic taste of the street foods.
“The belacan that we used to make the mee belacan is the kind that you can only get in Bintulu and Miri,” said Chef Binyas, adding that they have chosen the freshest and the best belacan which cost a whopping RM50 per kilogramme to prepare the savoury street favourite.
A pastry chef back home, Chef Binyas said he is honoured to have been invited to cook for the festival.
Chef Antija explained that while the many appetizers, mains and desserts they are serving here are considered specialities in the peninsula, they are in fact “what our parents serve” on a daily basis.
“This is us doing back-to-basics cooking,” said Chef Antija, explaining that their delicacies are prepared from the very same healthy methods that have been practised by their fathers and forefathers.
The only setback they had when it came to using the age-old recipes were the measurements for ingredients. While their parents used the measure of their hands and taste, Chef Antija and Chef Binyas had to calculate and put numbers to them.
Despite the challenging task at hand, both the chefs deliver heaven in every dish they put out. Patrons will be treated with a sumptuous buffet of traditional Sarawakian cuisines fit for a king.
The festival also boasts cultural performances over dinner on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Dancers from Persatuan Warisan Sarawak Kuala Lumpur in full traditional costumes will perform native dances from the Iban, Bidayuh, and Orang Ulu.
Attractive meal promotions are also available for lunch on weekdays and high-tea on weekends at RM59++ and dinner at RM89++ per adult.
There will be an ongoing Jom Sarawak offer from Monday till Thursday, where guests enjoy a 30% discount if one person in their group is a Sarawakian.
The two guest chefs will also conduct a one-day cooking class on Nov 19, priced at RM69++, which would feature three Sarawakian dishes, a high tea, and a Makan Kitchen apron.
For reservations, call +603 2172 7272 or visit www.makan-moments.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment