Herbal Jelly @ Koong Woh Tong

Although Koong Woh Tong has been here in Malaysia for a very long time, I had never actually been there until KS brought me to try the herbal jelly or guai lin goh.  Somehow, my parents never fancy herbal jelly and so, my exposure to the herbal jelly is close to zero.

But after my first visit, I have never failed to return for it again and again (KS is very happy about it).

To be honest, the herbal jelly is not as bitter as everyone claims it to be (at least for Koong Woh Tong).  If eaten with the honey water, it is actually very pleasant.  I have never tried the warm version - always been ordering the chilled version.

Not to forget there's the health benefits of eating this herbal jelly especially on a hot, sunny day as it expels the heat from your body or to detox.

Dayak cuisine @ the.Dyak, Kuching

All my life, I have no idea what the orang asli (the aboriginal tribes of Malaysia) cuisine actually tasted like.  So, when I was out for a trip at Kuching for my very first time, I made up my mind that we must at least sample a traditional orang asli cuisine, no matter what.


Many people commented one particular restaurant serving Dayak cuisine, giving very good ratings on TripAdvisor.  Given its reliability, I decided to put the.Dyak at the top of my to-eat list (along with the sarawak laksa & kolo mee).


So, on our very last day of our trip, we stopped by this fine-dining restaurant.  It was sort of a "thank you" lunch to our friends-cum-tour guide, who had taken time off their busy schedule to bring us around.


Since our friend had recently tried this restaurant, we left the ordering to her & her husband.  Since I didn't have to go through the menu, I had all the time taking pictures of this wonderfully decorated restaurant and slowly enjoy.


The restaurant is very beautiful & cosy, and the owner had put a lot of thoughts into decorating the restaurant.  You can see many pictures, paintings & other decorative items (vase, swords, musical instrument) of the Dayak tribe.  Coming here is like visiting a mini museum of the Dayak tribe.


In fact, one of the waiters came to know that we are tourists, and he handed us a printed paper with a whole lot of history & descriptions behind each of the items displayed in this restaurant.


It was an interesting experience, learning about the tribe while waiting for the food to arrive. (Quite a pity though, as I didn't manage to digest every information)

Food
(Note:  The descriptions are all taken from the.Dyak's Facebook.  I could barely remember most of the names of the dishes, let alone those ingredients)

Manok Lulun - Chicken cooked in bamboo with ginger, onions, lemongrass, wild ginger flowers & tapioca leaves

This dish, although it look very simple and bland, is very flavourful.  I drank the sauce as though it was soup. Very light & freshening.  Close resemblance to Chinese cuisine.

Paku Kubok Gulai Bungai Kechala - Jungle frens stir-fried with wild ginger flowers & chillies

I love this dish.  Tasted like kangkung belacan, and the ferns are still very crunchy.  Not as slimy as I thought.

Jani Tunu - Well-marinated three-layered fatty char-grilled pork served with a refreshing sambal mixture.

A little disappointed as it was not very juicy as I have expected but still nice (I think I ate this the most).  But the star of this dish is the sambal sauce.  Dipping the pork with the sambal mixture just make you want to have more.

Daun Ubi Guring - Finely-chopped tapioca leaves

Don't be fooled by how unattractive it looks.  Surprisingly, it tasted nice & very juicy.  I am not sure what actually goes into it, but it tasted well on its own.

Tuak ice-cream - For desserts, we ordered the special version that has two types of rice wine.  Greedy, we are.

But somehow, I got taken aback with this dessert as the alcohol level is a bit to strong for my liking (not really an alcohol person).  A very unique taste, is all I can comment.  I think for all the tuak lovers, you may like this.

The service is fantastic.  The waiters are very friendly and polite - all with big sweet smiles on their faces.

Overall, it is a comforting place to relax and enjoy good food after a tiring day-out.  I totally love the ambiance of this place - it felt like you have just entered into someone's house and the host is whipping out his finest dishes while you learn about the stories of his family, history & culture.

An experience you should not miss!



the.Dyak
29, Ground Floor,
Panovel Commercial Complex,
Jalan Simpang Tiga,
93300 Kuching
Sarawak

Happy Duan Wu Festival!

Duan Wu Festival (端午節) is a festival that falls on the 5th day 5th lunar month.  This year, it falls on Saturday, 22 June.

They were many different versions of why there is Duan Wu Festival.  But the version I listened as a little girl from Daddy revolves around the suicide of a loyal minister, Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan was an important minister during the Chu Kingdom in China, who is a loyal advisor to the emperor.  Somehow, Qu Yuan's advice to the emperor was not heeded, and ultimately the Kingdom slowly fall to destruction.

Qu Yuan became very sad of the predicament of his beloved Kingdom and decided to throw himself into the River of Puo Luo on the fateful 5th day of the 5th lunar month.

The villagers, who were touched by his love for his country, threw rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river to distract the fishes from eating Qu Yuan's body.  Some went as far as going down the stream in a boat while beating drums and shouting out loud, hoping it would scare the fishes away.

This tradition of making rice dumplings & the dragon boat festival continued until today.

What are the other versions of the Duan Wu Festival that you have heard?

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When you talk about Duan Wu Festival, I believe the first thing that comes into your mind is the rice dumplings (also known as zong zi 粽子), filled with glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo/lotus leaves.

Recently, there are many different kinds of rice dumplings.  Some goes as far as making it super luzury by putting in abalone slices & other seafood.

For me, the best rice dumpling is the traditional rice dumpling - filled with juicy pork belly, chestnuts, salted egg, mushroom & various beans, seasoned with dark soya sauce.  I just love how the beans integrate into the rice & that lovely tender pork, especially when served piping hot.  The most important is to have the rice seasoned well.

Warning note:  Do not attempt to eat more than one dumpling at one time as it can be pretty hard to digest (not to forget how unhealthy it can be if it was prepared with pork lard).  You don't really want to end up with a bloated stomach the whole day.

KS's mum recently made some rice dumplings, and I was lucky enough to taste the home-made rice dumplings (I was craving for it for the whole week!)

Home-made ones are really delicious and healthy because you decide what to put in and what to omit.  And most importantly, you can control the level of oiliness & saltiness.

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To-do-list:  Start learning how to make the rice dumpling!!