THE reverberating boom of traditional gongs bounce off the walls of the mammoth Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association building (KDCA) in Penampang, Sabah. It’s on the sprawling grounds of this cultural centre that throngs of people gather on May 30 and 31 to revel in Sabah’s most anticipated celebration of the year, the harvest festival known locally as Pesta Ka’amatan.
The festival honours the rice spirit Bambaazon and gives thanks to Kinoingan (God) for a bountiful rice harvest. It weaves a tapestry of sights and sounds of the Kadazan-Dusun culture, from elderly women decked in elaborate ethnic costumes, to the warrior cries of men competing in traditional sports, and to anxious young women nervously checking their make-up before going up on stage for the Unduk Ngadau (Harvest Queen) competition.
It was scenes like these that brought a young Sandra Paut to the doorstep of the KDCA a few years ago. But amidst the infectious energy, something was amiss — there wasn’t a trace of indigenous food to be found. “Indigenous food is at the heart of Ka’aamatan celebrations. I was shocked to see young people selling grilled steaks and nasi lemak instead,” recalls Sandra.
Her realisation that young Kadazan-Dusuns might have forgotten the appeal of traditional foods sent her on a quest to revive the recipes of her ancestors. Together with her business partner Lisa Thien, Sandra set up D’Place Kinabalu, offering authentic Kadazan-Dusun food. After three years, the restaurant recently moved into a bigger space in Kota Kinabalu, signifying what Sandra once thought might be impossible — the revival of indigenous food.
SAVING GRACE
“I remember going to the tamu (market) in Doggongon after that and buying some indigenous vegetables you can only find in the kampung,” recalls Sandra, referring to the iconic market where farmers from all over the state gather to sell their crops. “And it was purely coincidental because I wanted to help this old lady who came all the way from the interiors of Papar to sell her vegetables. I ended up buying so much more than I needed,” she adds, chuckling.
She didn’t actually have any idea what to do with those vegetables so ended up cooking a variety of dishes. “So for fun, my friend and I cooked, plated it and snapped some shots before posting on Facebook,” she shares. What happened next left Sandra in shock: The photos went viral. “An Australian tourist who’d seen the photos sent me a message to asvk where he could try this dish. Apparently he roamed the city to look for indigenous food but couldn’t find a place that offered the cuisine,” shares Sandra.
At that time, Sandra, a former banker, was running a small cafe called D’Place Kepayan. The cafe, she remembers, had a menu with regular meals. “It was nothing much, just the usual stuff like fried noodles and fried rice. But when this Australian asked where he could try this indigenous dish, we asked him to come over to D’Place Kepayan. It just took off from there,” she says, beaming with pride.
FOOD OF THE EARTH
Three years after those fated photos were posted, both Sandra and Lisa are now running their restaurant at a much bigger venue — Plaza Shell in the heart of Kota Kinabalu, a change that’s reflected in the restaurant’s present name. “That we had to move to a bigger space is an indication of just how much the appreciation for traditional food has grown,” says Sandra, who divides her time between cooking in D’Place Kinabalu’s kitchen and speaking to patrons at the restaurant.
Indigenous food isn’t just starting to stir up the culinary scene in Sabah. In neighbouring Sarawak, restaurants like Tribal Stove, Awah Cafe and The Dayak have already made their mark in Kuching, serving authentic Kelabit, Bidayuh and Iban food respectively. Globally, particularly in Canada, indigenous people are reclaiming their heritage though food by setting up cafes, food trucks and restaurants, offering patrons a taste of a long-forgotten cuisine.
“Personally, I feel it’s important for all Malaysians to try traditional food because it’s our way of sharing heritage, stories and identities. We want people to get to know our culture,” confides Sandra, but is quick to add that the food is also made for young people of Kadazan-Dusun stock. “A big reason behind starting this is also because we don’t want the next generation to forget their roots — something which was so evident when we visited the KDCA during Ka’amatan.”
OUR LAND, OUR STORIES
D’Place Kinabalu is perhaps the only restaurant in the sprawling state which has a full menu of indigenous food. From the popular Hinava (raw fish) to the highly underrated Tuhau (a type of wild ginger),
the fruity charm of Bambangan and the much revered Botud (sago worm), the restaurant is focused solely on indigenous foods. “We wanted to showcase the variety of dishes that can be found in indigenous cultures in Sabah so we’re focusing on all these dishes.”
The restaurant is at full-capacity almost every night with both locals and tourists pouring in. Indigenous food, as she points out, is extremely difficult to come by in Sabah. “There were only a few shops in KK where you could find maybe one or two traditional dishes. The rest of the food on the menu would be the normal stuff, much like what we used to offer at D’Place Kepayan,” she reveals.
Looking thoughtful, she adds: “Maybe it has a lot to do with how difficult it is to source for indigenous ingredients. The tamu happens only twice a week. If I don’t get my ingredients from there, I’ll have nothing to serve. Some vegetables like losun, she shares, can only be sourced from another district in Sabah, Tambunan.
Sourcing indigenous food, she adds, also requires some knowledge. “Bamboo shoots, for example, can be found in jungles but it takes skill and knowledge to know how and which part of the bamboo you must cut off or retain. There’s also a pantang for each dish — but these are the things handed down for generations,” she remarks.
NO FRILLS, JUST LOVE
For Sandra, who had no formal culinary training of any kind, except for what she learnt from her mother, cooking traditional food takes a lot of passion. “When I wanted to hire a cook for D’Place Kinabalu, the applicants could cook up a storm with Western dishes. No one had any knowledge of how to cook traditional food though. But who can blame them? When hotels and restaurants hire, there’s no aspect of traditional food in their menus.”
For now, Sandra is training a team of four people to help her in the kitchen. “Traditional cooking takes a lot of time, patience and practice. We still use certain traditional methods of cooking because it makes a difference to the taste. Yes, it can definitely be quite exhausting,” she explains.
At the base of it all is cooking with heart, says Sandra. “There’s no need for anything fancy. With traditional food, cook everything with heart and love.” Concluding in her unmistakable Sabah twang, she says: “We cook the food here betul-betul style kampong (village style) bah.”
D’Place Kinabalu
2.01&2.02, 2nd Floor,
Plaza Shell,
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.