Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak — Restaurant in Sarawak

This is an Eatery focused Iban/Dayak Foods. It's quite a Big Place that houses Several Different Stalls. Although Google Maps lists it open at 4pm, many stalls are actually closed and from what I understand, really open only after 6pm or so.

Stall: Babitinu Original Babitinu = RM9.00 Crispy Babitinu = RM9.00 Highly Recommended (Taste very nice, but portion is small)

"Tinu" roughly means "Barbeque" in the Iban Language and this is what "Babitinu" is essentially, Barbequed Pork. When this was first served, there is a very Beautiful Spiced Smell and it Smelled Fantastic! Crispy is Noticeably Saltier, while Original has a More Porky 原味. Both has a very Deep Smoky Flavour. The Chilli provided is also Deeply Complex and dipping the Babitinu into it was Shiokness.

Overall, this was a very Well Smoked, Well Barbequed Pork. Excellent! If I had something to pick on, I felt that 100g of this felt a little expensive, and being that this was my first meal in Kuching, I'm also not sure if this is considered overpriced or not. But Quality is certainly worth it IMO, so I thought that was still ok.

Stall: D'Lulun's Kitchen Pansoh Ayam Tua = RM15.00 Highly Recommended (Soup is Amazing, but Meat is Tough)

This is Bamboo Cooked Chicken, apparently another Classic Iban Dish and the Traditional Way is to cook this in a Hollowed Out Bamboo.This is basically Chicken Soup and the Soup is SO GOOD OMG!!! Its so Full of Chicken Flavour and Goodness, so Rich and Complex and Full of 鸡油. Felt like I was Drinking a Whole Bottle of Essence of Chicken. This Soup would be Perfect to drink on a Rainy Day. Absolutely Amazing Soup!

While the Soup was certainly Amazing, I felt the Chicken Meat let down the Dish. The Meat is very Tough and only later did I realize that "Tua" meant "Old". So this was probably 老母鸡 Not only was the Meat Too Tough and Chewy, I didn't like that most of them were Bony Cuts. About 6 Pieces of Chicken in Total.

Stall: Lai Lai Seafood Crispy Mee Tomato RM9.00 Average

Unique to Kuching, this is a Variation of a Tze Char Styled Yee Mee that we have in Singapore. Instead of a Savoury Oyster Sauce based Gravy, it uses a Tomato Ketchup Gravy instead and doesn't taste too Sourish or too Sweet.

I didn't really like the Chicken Slices and Fishball Pieces on it though, their inclusion made the Dish taste Cheap perhaps because they're obviously rethawed Processed Foods. Slices of Pork Loins would probably have been a Better Choice. Portion is accpetable for the asking price, and it feels quite unusual to eat Yee Mee with a Tomato Sauce. Interesting, but I felt the Version at this Stall could have been Alot Better.

Stall: Lai Lai Seafood Midin Belacan = RM16.00 Average

Midin is a type of Fern Unique to Sarawak. It has a Long Green Stalk and ends with a Cute Curly Curl at the End. The Initial Bitefeel is like Kang Kong with an "Oily" aftertaste like 帝皇苗.

While Frying it into Belacan smells very nice, I felt it should be alot spicier. The one I had felt too mild in spiciness. Also the Dish felt entirely too Wet and Oily and I felt it should be much Drier. Some Haebee would have also helped alot. I don't like this stall's interpretation of Midin. Price is not worth for this Quality.

Stall: OoooHah! Blackcurrent Tuak "Sugar Daddy" = RM11.00 Average

The Stall that sells this is called "OoooHah!" and its located a few steps away in another nearby Kopitiam. Tuak is Fermented from Rice. And Tuak is STRONG. Even when already diluted into a Cocktail, I still felt its very Strong Alcohol Taste. Not smooth like Toddy. Was recommended to try this Blackcurrent one as it is Popular here, but I'm afraid this is not my preference. TBH, I felt Blackcurrent tasted like Cough Syrup.

Some Hits and Misses, but Overall not bad for a Taste of Iban / Dayak Foods.

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This place is great for chilling with friends, to have drinks and sides while having a social gathering. They even have live bands to entertain the crowd.

The roast pork was really nice and crispy. Marination profile is different from the chinese style. The BBQ intestines still got a bit of smell...so not as enjoyable as the roast pork.

Oh I loveeee the BBQ Oysters and Lala here. So fresh and so generous with their garlic. I prefer the spicey garlic oyster than their garlic version. The glass noodles underneath the lala..soaked in all the flavours from the lala sweetness and spices...absolutely love the noodles. If my stomach capacity is bigger, I would have order double portion. 🤣

6pcs big oyster for RM58 and lala was RM13. Coming from KL, these are great prices for me.

The Tuak and Langkau cocktails are a must-try. One glass RM11. I recommend to go with "Sugar Daddy" (yes they have very exotic names lol). Mojito over power by lime..so I didn't taste the langkau much in the mix.

What I love about the place is the community concept. The operators are kind to the stray dogs..giving them the leftovers after the patrons left. But I'm a dog lover...sad to see so many stray dogs roaming for food. Love the community for showing kindness to them. If I ever return to Kuching, I would definitely...

Quite a large place with about 10 vendors, 3 of which sells BBQ pork. We tried the one on the far right end.

BBQ pork was alright, the skin was still chewy and hard. The meat wasn’t as juicy but seasoned nicely. The pork ear was not bad. But the pork intestines were really good. It wasn’t chewy and was creamy and flavorful. We enjoyed it.

There was a stall on the left selling Umai. We ordered the mix seafood. It was tasty, not sure what the original umai tastes like. Filled with onions yet not too strong nor spicy.

On the front right hand side is the drinks. We ordered the cocktails which had quirky cheeky names. Its a mixture of tuak and langkau. Pretty strong but very delicious and sweet.

Overall, nice experience here. Its pretty warm as its open air and all the bbq going on, though theres fans around. Theres a few other stalls selling rice dishes too which majority of people order. Overall, recommended to come here for the feels, not so much to...