The cover of ‘The Guide to Sarawak’, published 2015 by Leisure Guides. — Photo courtesy of Regina Fabiny
AFTER the pent-up frustrations of the Covid-19 pandemic, one would be right in saying that tourism is now back with a vengeance and tourists are now getting on planeloads to visit their favourite places of interest.
Just to mention some of the countries of Asean, it would appear that Thailand still enjoys the bulk of the tourists, with the newer destinations of Vietnam, Cambodia and even Indonesia making strong showings.
Further afield, those who can afford it would go to Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, with Singapore always being the standby, although its hefty exchange rate tends to be prohibitive!
The overall tourism industry is now so mature and jaded that sights and attractions will no longer be attractions in the near future.
After all, how many times can you view cherry blossoms under the trees, or visit the temples in Thailand?
Sarawak must quickly project itself into the forefront of attracting culinary tourists – those who would come to experience unique and special foods only available here for both the locals and tourists to enjoy. There are already a myriad of these foods and their preparations are all exceptionally special.
The problem it would seem to me is that we have not been able to produce enough promotional aid, leaflets, literature and books to promote these products.
In my travels to many other tourist-favourites like Penang, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and even Melaka, I have been able to either grab hold of a free copy of a listing of foods and eateries at the local Tourism Promotion Board office; failing which I could buy a copy of a book written extensively about them.
Page 1 of ‘A Culinary Experience by Edgar Ong in the ‘Guide to Sarawak’. — Photo courtesy of Regina Fabiny
How is it that we have not been able to produce something along this nature?
In 2015, Regina Fabiny of Leisure Guides in Kuala Lumpur was commissioned to produce an official guide to Sarawak, but that was more of a government venture in itself.
It took her almost four years to publish it and was launched without much fanfare, and copies of it had sporadically appeared at the premium bookstores.
Inside that 415-page book in glossy paper with full colour, there was a 19-page chapter called ‘Flavours of Sarawak’, which I had the honour to write.
I had written about all the foods, fruits and dishes available in Sarawak in a concise manner. It had also suggested some outlets and eateries that served the best Sarawak-styled foods.
But the book is now eight years old and throughout that time, many of these eateries have either closed down or changed their businesses.
Due to the very limited space that I was allocated, I had to leave out a lot of foods.
It would be wonderful if the new Culinary Arts Association led by Datin Dona Drury Wee could come out soon with a more updated, expansive and all-inclusive food guide to Sarawak.
After all, she has already had a feather in her cap with her ‘Heritage Cookbook’ of some years back.
Another page of the ‘Culinary Experience of Sarawak’ that highlights a number of native delicacies. — Photo courtesy of Regina Fabiny
An essential part in producing such a volume must also include names, addresses and the foods they serve of all the different types of eateries – from the posh 5-Star hotels to the bistros/coffeehouses; from specialist vegan outlets to full-fledged cook-your-owns; from coffee shops to the little holes in the walls in the small towns dotted throughout Sarawak.
Please ensure too that all kinds of foods are included and not to be over-sensitive to any politics or religion on such matters.
Obviously, I’d draw the line at turtle eggs and shark’s fins.
We must also be able to get contributions from a wide cross-section of the public, and not rely on the eating habits and tastes of a few elite or ’cliques’ – this is easier said than done, but with enough passion and effort, it can be achieved.
Personally, I do not believe in giving points or marks like 5/5 or comments like Grade A,B or C, as all of us do tend to have varying palates and our tastes change.
I have also found out recently that my taste has changed recently on my favourite ‘Laksa’.
The ‘Restaurant Listing’ shown in the 2015 book – you may notice that many have closed. — Photo courtesy of Regina Fabiny
So there, some personal insight.
The food reviews can just note the actual taste notes of the dish and leave the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the taster.
In a sense, it is fairer too.
I must also suggest that together with the foods, we must also write about the desserts, sweets and ‘kuih-kuih’, and also obviously, about our hundreds of tropical fruits.
Believe me, when and if this book ever gets published, it would be a bestseller!