Indi, duweh, taruh, maan sungkoi! If you don’t already know, Maan means to eat in the Bidayuh language. Today, we got the chance to try out some well-known Bidayuh food at Maan Cafe & Restaurant, the ONLY restaurant that specializes in Bidayuh food in Miri, Sarawak. Located at a corner shop lot in Pujut 7, Maan Cafe & Restaurant is famous for their Bidayuh food amongst the students, and locals in that area.
Maan
English: (verb) to eat
Bahasa Malaysia: makan
Bidayuh Food at Maan Cafe & Restaurant – The Origin
Maan Cafe & Restaurant is a family business that started back in 2018. I got to talk to the owner’s sister, dayung sangon Wendy, and asked her a little more about their restaurant. They are originally from Bau, Kuching but moved a long time ago to Miri, Sarawak. Wendy also mentioned that all of their workers are family!
On a side note, I really love the interior of the restaurant. It somehow exudes the modern and cultural vibes – with the modern industrial concept and frames of the native Bidayuhs on the wall. Totally a great place to gather with your friends and family. Alrighty! Now, let’s get to the more interesting section. The food!
Dahang
There are many variations of the fermented dishes. In Bidayuh, they call fermented dishes Dahang. They have Dahang Pangan (fermented pork), Dahang Ikan (fermented fish) and also Dahang Daun Banung (fermented tapioca leaves). Dahang can be eaten as a side dish or cooked in various ways – soup, steamed, or even stir-fried! With all the different varieties, we didn’t know what to choose so we tried ALL of them!
Tipuyak Goreng
Next, we had the tempoyak or tipuyak as they call it in Bidayuh. Tempoyak is a Southeast Asian condiment of Malay and Indonesian origin. In West Malaysia, tempoyak is used to make gulai tempoyak ikan patin. Whereas in East Malaysia, specifically Sarawak, tempoyak are usually fried.
Tempoyak is a traditional food so it’s an acquired taste. I, myself don’t eat durian BUT, trying tempoyak, made me change my mind. It’s a dish you come to love over time. At Maan, you can choose to have tempoyak fried with pork or anchovies, or prawn. We chose the fried tempoyak with pork and it’s just chef’s kiss! I love, love, love it!
Sungkoi Tukus
For us Asians, no food is complete without rice. Instead of ordering just rice, we decided to try the Sungkoi Tukus! It is basically rice wrapped with leaves. The Sungkoi Tukus here uses brown rice which are richer in nutrition and fiber than white rice.
Sup Pangan Kampung Tempoyak
Just like the fermented dishes I mentioned earlier in the article, tempoyak can also be cooked in various ways, for example soup! We had the Kampung pork with fermented durian soup which was just perfection.
I personally think, if you’d like to have tempoyak but do not like the strong, earthy taste it has as a condiment, you’d love the soup. It gives you just a hint of the tempoyak taste balanced with the soup. In other words, you should try it!
Sungkoi Samal Pangan BBQ
This is one of their ala-carte dish that are local favorites. They have a lot of choices, from Tapioca Leave Fried Rice with BBQ Pork to Ulam Rice with Fried Chicken. We chose Ulam Rice with BBQ Pork and did not regret it. With every serving of these ala-carte dishes, condiments like tempoyak, sambal, and the green goodness as seen in the picture above!
An honorable mention for Maan Cafe and Restaurant menu would be their Bamboo Rice with Chicken. Known more as the Asam Siok to the Bidayuh people. This dish needs to be pre-ordered 1 day before dining in/take away.
Sago Sambal/Sambal+Tempoyak with Soup
Last but not least, the famous Sago dish! There are two ways you can enjoy this dish at Maan Cafe & Restaurant, and that is with sambal or with soup and tempoyak. What did we try, you ask? Of course we tried both!
First is the Sago Sambal. Fun fact, the origin of the Sago dish is actually from Brunei and it’s called Ambuyat but it is widely consumed in Sarawak and Sabah. It’s a sticky porridge-like dish, made from sago flour. Other ethnicities, like the Melanaus, are also popular for this dish. However, they differ from the way it is prepared.
The Bidayuh style of preparation starts of by mixing the Sago Flour with room temperature water, then pouring the mixture to a hot boiling water into a cauldron. Being a Melanau myself, it’s refreshing to see a different method to prepare this dish because we don’t prepare it while on a stove, we just use hot boiling water.
Sago served on itself is tasteless, so it is best paired with Sambal! A little heads up though, the sambal at Maan was a tad bit spicy for me, but still amazing! I love it spicy, but my tummy says “No, hoooman!”
Sago Sambal Tempoyak Soup
Lastly, is the Sago Sambal Tempoyak soup. If you’re like me, someone who loves it spicy but can’t take too much of it, this is recommended. Because it is the same dish as above but made into a soup consistency. It’s a mix of their tempoyak with sambal and hot water to achieve the soupy, watery consistency and lastly add the Sago into it. Yumssssss! I love this dish, it was so good. Bidayuh food is bae.
The Verdict
It has been a while since I had great Bidayuh food! The food at Maan Cafe and Restaurant are definitely worth it and delicious. Aside from the food that we mention in this article, they have many other dishes you can try too.
On a side note, they also have nasi campur for lunch! So, if you’re in a rush, you can get their ready-made dishes from the nasi campur area. As a conclusion, Maan Cafe and Restaurant is the perfect place to satisfy your local cravings! Do share with us your experience if you’ve been here before.
Location
Shop Name : Maan Cafe & Restaurant
Address : Lot 2979 Ground Floor, off, Jalan Pujut 7, Jln Pujut 5D, 98000, Miri, Sarawak
Operating Hours: Monday – Saturday, (9.00am – 2.30pm)(5.00pm-9.00pm)
Closed on Sundays
Waze/ Google Maps : Maan Cafe & Restaurant
Status: Non-Halal
Facebook Account: Maan Cafe & Restaurant
