The most common type of fishes used to make umai are anchovies, black pomfrets or mackerels. The calamansi juice cures the fish while giving it an elegant and sourish taste - just like Thailand’s kerabu or the Peruvian seafood ceviche. UmaiUmai is a native traditional Melanau dish made by combining raw fish with thinly sliced onions, bird's eyes chillies, salt, and freshly squeezed calamansi juice. Tebaloi is best enjoyed with a cup of hot coffee.
It is then cut into squares and stacked with heavy wooden blocks to flatten the biscuits further, before being dried inside a wooden stove for a crispier texture. The dough is then placed on large banana leaves and flattened with a rolling pin before it is cooked on hot embers for approximately 20 minutes. Sarawak Famous Snacks: TebaloiTebaloi is a traditional Melanau sago biscuit snack made using sago flour, desiccated coconut, eggs, sugar, and turmeric. The taste of Pucuk Midin is just as sweet as spinach, and it is a very popular choice at Nasi Campur stalls around town. In Sarawak, it is typically stir fried with spicy shrimp paste, garlic, and chillies to make up a simple yet delicious dish. Pucuk MidinPucuk Midin is a type of jungle fern shoots. For some, this hearty soup can also benefit those with menstruation problems as it is effective in easing blood circulation.
Combined with a generous amount of ginger, it is then slowly boiled in a pot with chicken to extract the earthy flavours and goodness from the ingredients. It is made using the healthy and nutritious Motherwort herbs known locally as ‘Kacang Ma’. Manok Kacang MaManok Kacang Ma is a unique dish with Chinese origins. The cooked meat comes with a splendid taste as it is infused with the subtle fragrance of lemongrass and bamboo. The bamboo is then cooked over an open fire, effectively preserving the natural flavours within. It is then covered at the top using a lid made naturally of tapioca leaves from the cassava plant. The bamboo stalk is filled with chicken pieces, water, lemongrass, and seasonings. Manok PansuhA traditional Ibanese and Bidayuh dish, Manok Pansuh is a way of cooking chicken or ‘manuk’ inside a bamboo known locally as ‘pansuh’. Mee Kolok is often served with a bowl of warm and clear chicken soup. You can also find halal alternatives for the dish, where chicken is used instead. Mee KolokA local favourite dish of springy hand-tossed egg noodles that comes with minced meat, fried shallots, bean sprouts, chopped spring onions, and slices of ‘char siew’ or barbequed meat slices.