The Borneo Broadcaster goes for some Authentic Kelabit Cuisine.

You like food right?  I know I do.  I love to eat.  Which apparently is one of the reason I landed myself in so much trouble a few years back but here in Borneo, you just can't help but eat and really enjoy your food.  I went out for lunch today with two of my friends.  We went to a little place which was located right in the heart of what is known as the center of Kuching City.  The major hotels are located here, the budget hotels and there are malls nearby, it's near the Kuching Waterfront, so a perfect place to open a cozy little restaurant.  This restaurant is located just across the street from the Kuching Hilton, you can't miss it.  It's called Tribal Stove.
Hi, welcome to the Borneo Broadcast, the restaurant I went to is called Tribal Stove, formerly called Tribal Scoops.They are the only restaurant that serves authentic traditional Bario Sarawak Kelabit Highland cuisine in Kuching City.

Tribal Stove is the brainchild of Esther Balan-Gala who opened Tribal Stove because she wasn't able to find authentic Kelabit food in the city.  Esther's aim at the time and still is to this day is to promote authentic ethnic food from Sarawak which is healthy and organic and to give everyone an affordable option.
This cozy little restaurant is very comfortable and inviting.  This is only my second visit to Tribal Stove and the first time I was there, I enjoyed my meal there.  So what about this visit?

I have to say that I enjoyed the food and the overall dining experience.  Sometimes it's not possible to have both.  It's one or the other but I enjoyed what we ordered and the overall service was excellent.  Okay here's what we ordered today.

Okay we had a dish called Kari Buaq Kabar which is Pineapple Curry (Yum), we also had the traditional Labo La'al Senutung which is Pansuh Manok or Chicken cooked in Bamboo and Labo Senutuq which is Shredded Beef.  We also also ordered some Bario Red Rice, mashed and wrapped in a leaf.

We also had something I never tried before, Bario Highland Salt, which you can sprinkle over the Bario Red Rice.  I was surprised cause the Bario Highland Salt went very well with the rice.

Well, we took our time and enjoyed this wonderful meal and just when we thought that was the end of a great meal, we forgot that we had ordered some dessert as well.

This was just the perfect ending to a great meal, here we had some Tapioca and Rice Cakes.  Served with Gula Apong which is Palm Sugar.  Here's how you enjoy these delicious little cakes.

By the time we all finished this meal, we just could not walk out of the restaurant, we were THAT full, the food was that good.  Personally I will go back there again one day and have dinner there.  As we were about to leave, it starts to pour and we didn't have an umbrella with us.  The owner told us just sit down and just wait for the rain to stop, no need to rush off in the heavy rain.  Then she brought us these items to help us pass the time while waiting the rain to stop, a drink and some snacks.  Now remember we just finished a big meal and dessert and now they offer us some snacks and Tuak (which was very good)  What is Tuak?  It's Rice Wine.            

Well, we finished the drinks and snacks and the rain still didn't stop.  The owner then said that they had some umbrellas for us.  Wow, this restaurant had great service which is just really great.  It was a great experience having lunch there.  They treated their customers very well which is good.

If you're in Kuching City and you want to try some Authentic Kelabit Cuisine, then head over to Tribal Stove.  Have a look at their menu and try the food and the drinks as well.  It's good.  It's very good.  If you want to know more, just go to www.tribalstove.com

Right now I'm going to try and walk off what I had for lunch today, thanks for dropping by for the Borneo Broadcast, drop by anytime, you're always welcome here, (urp) excuse me.  Take care.