SUKA MAKAN: JAK MA'AN BIDAYUH CUISINE IN KUCHING, SARAWAK

Wonder what genuine Sarawakian food tastes like? Jak Ma'an is a relatively new restaurant that specialises in Bidayuh (Land Dayak) cuisine, essentially the jungle food of indigenous people of Sarawak. Opened by Dutch YouTuber Nick Jansen and his local Bidayuh wife Magdalene, Jak Ma'an celebrates its 2nd anniversary this weekend. It's also the most happening place on Ewe Hai Street / Carpenter Street during the evenings. 

Live music by Steve Goh,
celebrating Jak Ma'an's 2nd anniversary.

The first evening was so crowded that we had to make a reservation for the next evening, and it was well worth the wait. The dishes were served in boat-shaped receptacles made of leaves and presumably biodegradable. We were particularly delighted by the midin dish cooked in garlic, comprising jungle fiddlehead fern, probably the most unmistakable of Sarawakian dishes. It was simply delicious, not just fulfilling Janet's plaint of "Where are the greens?"

Midin, edible jungle fiddlestick fern.

Ayam Pansuh, chicken cooked in bamboo

Lamb in black pepper sauce

The Bidayuh feast was completed
with Jak Ma'an fried rice

We have yet to try the ultimate jungle cuisine, ulat sagu (jungle grubs). Perhaps the next time, if ever! And by chance, we got to meet Nick and Magdalene the next afternoon, and we have him to thank for introducing us to all things Sarawak! 

See, it's a real fern!

JAK MA'AN 

BIDAYUH CUISINE

85 Ewe Hai Street

93000 Kuching

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KUCHING'S VINTAGE EATING PLACES

Kuching's Carpenter Street,
which continues onto Ewe Hai Street

Believe it or not, Pianomania goes to Kuching, Sarawak! No, we are not attending concerts here but to sample legendary Kuching cuisine. Kuching is almost at the same latitude as Singapore, and it's only an hour's plane flight away. The late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain hailed Kuching's "Breakfast of the Gods", and there are more than many places - mostly simple coffee shops - where such dishes can be enjoyed. Ewe Hai Street and Carpenter Street in the old town centre has a collection of coffee shops and gentrified eating and drinking places.

Just within 24 hours, we managed to catch some of our new favourite dishes, many of which are variations of what we have in Singapore. Instead of wan tan mee, we have kolo mee, noodles with pork parts. The laksa is different here too, with a slightly sour twang to the lemak version we are used to. These are simply divine. The bad news is: we have to leave in two days' time!

Juat Siang Cafe at 34 Carpenter Street

One of few eating places still open after 3 pm

Sarawak laksa, large portion

Kolo mee, large portion

We were just plain hungry!

The next morning,
Kim Joo at 73 Ewe Hai Street

A traditional kopitiam,
many still exist in Kuching, not Singapore.

Mui Xin Laksa,
at Lau Ya Keng Food Court
23 Carpenter Street

Seafood laksa,
with all the trimmings!

Yes, that was the second breakfast of Good Friday!

This coffee shop has an opera stage in its premises!

RANDOM HEARTLAND EATS: BUKIT BATOK BLOCK 217

More often than not, one stumbles on a random eating place. It is almost an accident, and completely unscripted that we find somewhere in the heartlands to have a simple meal, and then get to enjoy it. That is simply Singapore. Good food is everywhere. Here is one of them, Wan Hao Kopitiam, located in Bukit Batok (yes, that most "Hungarian" of housing estates) Block 217.

It is early evening, and after a home visit to Ming Yen and Amy's cat Miki, we spy this colourful kopitiam (coffee shop) off Bukit Bartok Steet 21. It's a regular HDB kopitiam / food court. It's crowded with diners, a sure sign that the food is good, and off we go for our comfort foods. We were not disappointed. 

Janet got her "humful" laksa, while my usual choice is a Vietnamese beef pho (beef rice noodles in soup). And both were hits. The cockles were not those puny ones that come from a can but actual hum which would even warm up Jamus Lim's heart. And my pho was dac biet, or "special", a word which I learnt in Ho Chi Minh City, which is the same as the Chinese word te bie. It's full of meaty goodness and the broth is just as savoury. 

Jamus Lim, eat your heart out!

A pho bo hard to forget.

Must try the other stalls as well

Looks like the god of fortune
has visited here many times.

BUKIT BARTOK BLOCK 217

somewhere near Bluebeard's Castle

SUKA MAKAN: MALU BIAN BIAN @ EXCELSIOR SHOPPING CENTRE

The concert has finished late, and most of the eating places have closed. Where do you go? If you are near the Victoria Concert Hall / Theatre or The Arts House vicinity, Malu Bian Bian Hotpot at Excelsior Shopping Centre, just behind Funan Mall, is a good choice. It closes at 5 am in the morning.

Part of a Chinese chain of hotpot restaurants, this Singapore outlet is decorated to look like some busy hangout somewhere in China. Street signs, colourful old-style advertisements, neon fixtures and murals of Chinese city life vie your attention, as does the menu. Hotpot meals with hundreds of choices of skewers are its speciality, but that's for another time. At 11 pm, we opted for something simpler, and its side dishes are very savoury and tasty.

This is a place you can linger, and chit chat. Nobody is going to rush you home, and there is a free flow of cold tea. Prices are reasonable, unless you opt for the more expensive hotpot alternative, which can be savoured on another evening without a concert to catch.

Fried lean pork strips

Mala beef dish

Tofu with chili flakes

Now this looks really appetising

Good old fried rice with Chinese sausage

Glutinous rice ice dessert

One of the most picturesque eating places, I just could not help taking more photos and bask in some sort of nostalgia. Never lived in China, but one can imagine this place to be somewhere in Chengdu or Chongqing. By the way, Malu Bian Bian roughly translates to "by the roadside", emphasising this is a place for locals.

The designer has something for mixed tapes

Scenes of daily life in China's hutongs

MALU BIAN BIAN HOTPOT

5 Coleman Street #01-01

Excelsior Shopping Centre

Singapore 179805