Discover Sarawak

  1. EAT LAKSA SARAWAK & KOLO MEE   THE two favourite signature breakfast meals of Kuching are without a doubt Laksa Sarawak and Kolok Mee.  A visitor to Sarawak cannot leave without having a taste of these two iconic dishes.   Ranked the No. 1 Food in Asia by TasteAtlas and dubbed as ‘The Breakfast of the Gods’ by the late Anthony Bourdain, Sarawak Laksa consists of vermicelli rice noodles soaked in a spicy-sour shrimp-based broth made from over 30 different herbs and spices, thickened with coconut milk, topped with crunchy beansprouts, boiled prawns, shredded chicken, thin slices of omelette, a sprinkling of fresh coriander, served with spicy sambal made from pounded chillies and belacan (shrimp paste) and a freshly cut calamansi (golden lime).   Kolok Mee is a bowl of fresh noodles cooked perfectly al-dente, swirled vigourously in lard and vinegar until each strand is evenly coated, topped with slices of char siew (barbequed pork) and minced pork, dressed with chopped spring onions and sliced chillies. Kolok Mee can also be enriched with fishballs, wontons and vegetables such as choy sum. Halal versions of Kolok Mee can be found at Muslim outlets.   2. FEED THE ORANGUTANS AT SEMENGGOH   Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, located 20 kilometers south of Kuching, is a renowned sanctuary for the conservation of the orangutans in their natural habitat. For over 20 years, the wardens at Semenggoh Nature Reserve have been training young orangutans, who had been orphaned or rescued from captivity, how to survive in the wild.  They spend most of their time roaming the forest but frequently come back to the Centre for a free meal. During feeding time, visitors will gain the golden opportunity to interact with the orangutans as they will swing down from trees for a free hand out of fruits.   3. KAYAKING AT SEMADANG RIVER   Adrenaline junkies will love the wide variety of all-inclusive day-trip adventure tours along Semadang River, ranging from river kayaking, bamboo-rafting, caving and jungle trekking. The Semadang Kayaking experience includes all kayaking, rafting and caving activities. Also, after a massive workout from kayaking, visitor can further enrich their local culinary experience with some traditional, home-cooked food using locally-sourced ingredients by the river.   4. EAT GULA APONG ICE CREAM   Good news for dessert lovers – you will love Sarawak’s Gula Apong Ice-cream. Gula Apong is a type of palm sugar made from nipah palm, which grows abundantly in the coastal lowlands in Sarawak.  It has a subtly different, nuttier flavour compated to the gula melaka in West Malaysia.  Vanilla ice-cream really tastes best when gula apong syrup is drizelled over it, or you can also enjoy gula apong flavoured ice cream.   5. EXPLORE MULU NATIONAL PARK   A UNESCO World Heritage Site, a trip to Mulu National Park is a must when you are in Sarawak. Located in Miri, Mulu is well known for its rich biodiversity and its karst features. The varied topography of Gunung Mulu National Park includes swampy lowland rainforests, towering limestone cliffs, and lofty sandstone mountains – these provide a great diversity of habitats and are one of the reasons behind the astounding biodiversity of this reserve.  Mulu’s most remarkable feature is the world’s finest karst collapse and the 50metre-tall razor-sharp limestone Pinnacles on the northern end of Gunung Api.   6. DEEP SEA DIVING AT MIRI-SIBUTI CORAL REEFS NATIONAL PARK   The Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park is a protected area, and the thriving marine life is a testament to this. There are over 40 dive sites throughout the park with something suitable for divers of all levels. Among the popular dive spots in the national park include Belais Reef, Anemone Garden and the exciting Barracuda Point where a school of the large predator can be seen swirling in a never-ending circle.   7. TREKKING AT GUNUNG GADING NATIONAL PARK    To all hikers, nature, wildlife and jungle enthusiasts – are you looking for a challenging jungle trekking adventure in a tranquil, lush, natural and timeless environment? Then Gunung Gading National Park is the place to be. Gunung Gading is home to the rare Rafflesia, which is also known as the corpse flower because of the stench it gives off while it is blooming. There are a number of treks at the park and not all of them will feature the Rafflesia, so be sure to tell your guide beforehand if you want to see it in all its glory and he will take you where you will be able to spot it. Some of the jungle trails here will also lead you to scenic waterfalls and jungle streams. Have a refreshing swim at these ice-cool waters before you leave.   8. MORNING BIRDWATCHING AT KUBAH NATIONAL PARK   Kubah National Park is situated on a sandstone plateau, mostly covered by mixed dipterocarp forest which interspersed with patches of scrub and unusually rich area of Kerangas forest, is the home of mammals, birds & many species of reptiles and amphibians. Upon arrival, bird watchers can aim to spot some endemic species like Blue-banded pitta, Bornean blue-flycatcher, Yellow-rumped flowerpecker, Bornean Black-magpie, Chestnut-crested yuhina, Dusky munia & etc.   9. EXPERIENCE THE SERENITY OF BARIO   Lying at an altitude of about 3,500 feet above sea level in the north-eastern corner of Sarawak is the famous Bario Highlands, a Kelabit territory, one of the minority Orang Ulu tribes of Sarawak.  Bario means ‘Wind’ in Kelabit language. It is the gateway to the Kelabit highlands with about thirteen villages are located in & around Bario area, with Kampung Bario Asal being the first.  This is a must-visit longhouse where one can see the ancient timbers of the unique kitchen darkened by the constant smoke of generations of cooking fires.  Bario’s most enchanting attraction is its’ the calmness, the serenity and the natural splendour of its surroundings against a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop of paddy fields at the base of mist-covered hills standing tall as far as the eye.   10. VISIT SIBU’S TUA PEK KONG   The Eng Ann Tua Peng Kong was founded more than a 100 years ago, making it the oldest and best-preserved Chinese Temple in Sibu. From the original wooden structure, it was rebuilt in 1897 with an adjacent 7-storey Goddes of Mercy (Kuan Yin) Pagoda, considered as one of the most perfectly proportioned pagodas outside of Mainland China. Tourists not only visit the temple for religious purposes but also to climb its steps to enjoy the magnificent sunset view overlooking the Rajang Rivers and the Sibu Waterfront.  

  In an effort to cultivate a culture of Responsible Tourism amongst personnel from Sarawak Divisional Offices, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) recently organised a virtual workshop for their Divisional Tourism Task Group (DTTG) in Sarawak, with the objective of inspiring them to adopt a sustainability mindset.   The workshop, entitled Design Thinking for Responsible Tourism, was managed by Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence (SCOPE) and gathered 20 participants from DTTGs in Kuching and Southern Sarawak region.   Puan Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor, Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Tourism Board in her welcoming remarks during the workshop said Sarawak Tourism Board is determined to make Responsible Tourism an integral part of all tourism practices, and to cultivate a forward-thinking culture to be a step ahead in line with   “Sarawak is blessed with bountiful green treasures waiting to be explored and it is indeed our duty to continue to protect and conserve its diverse Sarawak’s Post Covid Development Strategy 2030.ecosystem, so we are able to preserve it for future generations to come,” Sharzede said.   “This workshop will not only empower us to face future concerns, but also help to embrace an experimental attitude so we are able to quickly identify what is needed to develop effective strategies and innovations that will benefit the entire ecosystem,” she added.   The workshop, helmed by advisor for Center for Technical Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS), Dr Valdew Singh, is designed to embed Responsible Tourism as a collective effort and shared responsibility among the various key stakeholders, such as, government ministries & agencies, tourism-related companies and the local communities in transforming Sarawak into an eco-tourism destination.   “By embracing useful and viable design-thinking methods to address problems in tourism practices with a user-centric mindset, it will help build an environment that will help accelerate Sarawak to become a preferred leading eco-tourism destination,” he said.   At the end of the workshop, the participants are divided into groups to complete and present a project on exploring and identifying problems of tourism products in their division, define the “how we might help” solutions and present their proposal in a sharing session.   STB’s Director of Product & Corporate Relations (PCR) Division Maurice Balang said from the deliverables by the participants, STB is looking forward to future collaborations with the DTTG members to pursue their RT initiatives in their respective divisions.   “With such collaborations, we hope that all divisional offices in Sarawak are fully on-board with STB’s RT agenda which is in alignment with the state’s Post Covid Development Strategy 2030.   One of the workshop participants, Louis Andria Barieng from Samarahan Resident Office, said he appreciates STB’s collective effort in placing sustainability value at its forefront.   “The workshop has enabled my team to identify, define and resolve challenges in the Responsible Tourism space and allow us to consider the concerns from the perspective of others, which facilitates a better understanding of Responsible Tourism. It has also taught us on how to apply the design thinking concept finding solutions to overcome those challenges with sustainability as a foundation,” he said.   The next Design Thinking for Responsible Tourism workshops will also be organised for the DTTGs in Miri (northern region) and Sibu (central region) respectively.

  The natural resources of the rainforests are a source of livelihood for the natives of   Sarawak, and people back in the old days came up with various cooking methods and jungle food which are still put to practice to this day. Sarawakian ethnic tribes would utilize any resources found in their surroundings and nature to use as cooking tools and food sources.   The jungle can literally be their kitchen. By using mother nature’s earthly elements and resources, Sarawakians can pull off all sorts of dishes that are deemed meals made for the gods.   Sarawak cuisine and its long traditional cooking methods have been passed down from one generation to the next. Traditional cuisine is still being served to this day at home, food stalls and restaurants in Sarawak due to its simple recipe and exquisite taste.   Wild ingredients you can find   In Sarawakian traditional cuisine, the freshness of the ingredients plays an important part in the jungle kitchen.   Other than the common ingredients that are easily found elsewhere like salt, ginger, and pepper, Sarawak has many indigenous ingredients to offer which can only be found in the jungle like tepus, asam paya, nibong, daun jampang and terung asam (local eggplant) to name a few. Aside from the famous wild vegetable midin, buah dabai is also exclusively grown here on the island of Borneo. Buah dabai (Canarium Odontophyllum from the family of Burseraceae) is a native fruit and considered a local olive. Locals would usually eat this with sugar and soy sauce.   These ingredients are available all year round and can be found in local stores.   Anything is possible in the jungle   Now that you know what ingredients and resources are used to make these traditional jungle food, what about the kitchenware? What sort of equipment did the natives use to concoct these dishes back in the old days? With the resources of the jungle, one can get creative.   First off, bamboo is gathered in the wild and used as a pot to cook. Bamboo is also used to store and carry the ingredients around in the jungle. The versatility of the bamboo stalk does not stop there – it also acts as a cup. And then there are the isip leaves which are used as a plate like the banana leaves platter in local mamak cafes. Not only that, the isip leaves are also used to wrap rice so that the rice packs can be carried around and consumed anywhere.   Besides isip leaves, the sago tree barks are used as bowls to serve dishes in larger portions, and these choices of natural tableware are environmental-friendly.   Innovate with Mother Nature   As for traditional cooking methods in Sarawak, the methods commonly practiced are fermentation, boiling and smoked cooking.   Take ayam pansuh for example, chicken is stuffed in a bamboo stalk and cooked over an open fire. The bamboo is continuously rotated to avoid burning. Another example is umai, a traditional delicacy made of thinly sliced raw fish fermented with asam paya (swamp fruit), lime juice, onions, chilies, and a pinch of salt. The lime juice acid works into the raw fish naturally curing the fish. Be sure to use a fish of good grade for better quality.   As for smoked cooking, locals prefer this method to cooking over the fire as it requires less wood, and the fire itself is controlled to avoid any unwanted fire hazards in the jungle.   The Sarawak rainforest is more than just a jungle – it is also the biggest kitchen in the world   Despite the technological advancement made in kitchen, traditional cooking in Borneo is very much alive and is still in practice to this day. Cooking traditional Sarawak food requires a delicate touch, patience and innovative thinking using the natural elements from the surrounding. With Sarawak’s rich biodiversity, there are also various types of produce found in the jungle that have health benefits.   If you are keen to learn more about Traditional Sarawak jungle food, be sure to check out this article; https://sarawaktourism.com/story/sarawak-is-more-than-just-kolo-mee/ listing out the traditional cuisine that you can find in Sarawak.