Food of Sarawak

Sarawak Laksa - The Sarawak Laksa is essentially vermicelli rice noodles (bee hoon), cooked in a shrimp-based broth that is made to thicken with coconut milk.  This dish is served with generous amounts of crunchy bean sprouts, a few boiled prawns and garnished with shredded chicken and slivers of egg omelette.  For added spice, there's the thick sambal paste that is usually served on the side.  For some extra pizzazz you can squeeze some lime juice (limau kasturi) into your dish as well.

Kolo Mee - A bowl of piping hot Kolo Mee (Kolok Mee) is just the thing to start your day. This  light yellow egg noodle consists of lard, char siew (barbecued pork) sauce and black vinegar.  A common enough dish found in Sarawak, the Kolok Mee is available for breakfast, lunch and even supper!  (Note: Halal version is also available at Malay stall)

Ayam Pansuh - The Iban dish of Manok Pansoh (ayam Pansuh) or chicken in bamboo is a must try.  Cut chicken pieces, mushrooms, lemongrass and tapioca leaves are stuffed into bamboos and cooked over an open fire.  This seals in the flavour and the result is succulent and juicy tender chicken, with gravy hinting of lemongrass and bamboo.

Midin Belacan - Local vegetables are served widely, particularly the two types of crispy jungle fern, midin and paku.

Ikan Terubuk Masin - The numerous waterways provide the people with an abundance of fresh water fish like the Tilapia, which incidentally is the most widely cultivated.  it's no surprise then that some of the popular Sarawakian dishes also include these 'gifts' from the sea.  The salted ikan terubok is sold in markets around Sarawak.

Umai - Umai (Umei), This is a dish for the brave. The umai is traditionally a standard lunch meal for the Melanau fisherman.  Thin slivers of raw fresh fish, usually iced but not frozen, combined with thinly scliced onions, chili, salt and juice from sour fruits like lime or assam go into preparing this dish.  The dish is usually accompanied by a bowl of toasted sago pearls and is so simple that fishermen prepare it easily on their boats.

Kompia - Guang Bing (Kom Pia) initially served as dry food for Chinese hero Ji Guang's soldiers to carry during the anti-Japanese occupation war in China.  Ji Guang is credited with creating this popular Foochow food.  WHile resembling the French bread in taste, the Guang Bing also has a little extra in the form of sesame seeds sprinkled generously on top of the bread.

Terung Dayak Soup - This round yellow color fruit is popular among the locals for cooking sour dishes like assam sour fish and sour soup.

Dabai - Dabai is a seasonal fruit.  The skin of the fruit is black while the flesh is yellow in colour.  The seed is also yellow and diamond shaped and is also edible if you can crack it open.  The Dabai is a hard fruit but when you soaked for 10-15 minutes in semi hot water with a bit of salt, it becomes soft and edible and the texture becomes like dates.

Foochow Mee - Also known as Kampua Mee is very much similar to Kolok Mee.  This dry noodles is served with several slices of barbequed pork and a bowl of soup.  Kampua  can be prepared according to your preference, either you like to have it plain, with soy suace, with chili sauce or both.

The result was based on our facebook SarawakTravel  poll in 2011.

Done by: Keiron Chew and Tan Phay Hong

Festivals of Sarawak

Festivals of Sarawak

Sarawak celebrates colourful festivals such as the generic Gawai Dayak (Harvest Festival),  Gawai Kenyalang (Hornbill Festival), Gawai Burong (Bird Festival),  Gawai Tuah (Luck Festival), Gawai Pangkong Tiang (House Post Banging Festival),  Gawai Tajau (Jar Festival),  Gawai Sakit (Healing Festival) and Gawai Antu (festival of the dead).

Hornbill, the state bird of Sarawak.

Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawak

Compiled by Ooi Hong Liang.

History Of Sarawak

History Of Sarawak

The eastern seaboard of Borneo was charted, though not settled, by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. The area of Sarawak was known to Portuguese cartographers as Cerava. During the 15th century, Sarawak was self-governed under Sultan Tengah.^[3] By the early 19th century, Sarawak had become a loosely governed territory under the control of the Brunei Sultanate. During the reign of Pangeran Indera Mahkota in 19th century, Sarawak was facing chaos.^[8] Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II (1827–1852), the Sultan of Brunei, ordered Pangeran Muda Hashim in 1839 to restore order and it was during this time that James Brooke arrived in Sarawak. Pangeran Muda Hashim initially requested assistance in the matter, but Brooke refused. In 1841, Brooke paid another visit to Sarawak and this time he agreed to provide assistance. Pangeran Muda Hashim signed a treaty in 1841 surrendering Sarawak and Sinian to Brooke. On 24 September 1841, Pangeran Muda Hashim bestowed the title Governor to James Brooke. He effectively became the Rajah of Sarawak and founded the White Rajah Dynasty of Sarawak, later extending his administration through an agreement with the Sultan of Brunei. Sarawak was thus an independent kingdom from 1841 until 1888, when the state was placed under British protection.

James Brooke was appointed Rajah by the Sultan of Brunei on 18 August 1842. Brooke ruled the territory, later expanded, across the western regions of Sarawak around Kuching until his death in 1868. His nephew Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke became Rajah after his death; he was succeeded on his death in 1917 by his son, Charles Vyner Brooke, with the condition that Charles should rule in consultation with his brother Bertram Brooke.^[9] The Sarawak territories were greatly enlarged under the Brooke dynasty, mostly at the expense of areas nominally under the control of Brunei. In practice Brunei had only controlled strategic river and coastal forts in much of the lost territory, so most of the gain was at the expense of Muslim warlords and of the de facto independence of local tribes.

Information From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawak#History


“Sarawak dollar note under the rule of British”



“Sarawak at the 19th century”




Information From: http://shou92.wordpress.com/history-of-sarawak/

Compiled By: Alvin And Zaree