LEPAU, a traditional restaurant located near the streets of Ban Hock, Kuching has glorified the beauty of Kenyah/ Kayan cuisine along with other ethnicity’s traditional meals since 2014. Lepau is roughly translated as “Rice Barn” or Farm Hut in the Kenyah/Kayan language. This unique restaurant serves a variety of local native cuisine within its hut-like structure.
The owner of LEPAU Restaurant Kuching – Roslyn is known to be dedicated in serving dishes cook from the heart of Kayan elements. The restaurant’s signature well known dish would be none other than the Ayam Pansuh – a meal that is cooked with tapioca leaves and stuffed on the head of a bamboo shoot serving as the cover to ensure the meat stays tender and soft.
The restaurant itself is airconditioned and also houses an indoor event space that invokes an authentic homey rustic feel along with slight hinge of an outdoor setting filled with fresh air which ultimately gives out a good environment that is further coloured by the vibrant lightings and ornaments.
Another highlight of the place is that, each table are named after the regions in Miri/Baram. To highlight the meals made available in LEPAU Restaurant, here are the details towards the top three most sought after meals in Lepau.
UMAI: A kind of traditional sea cuisine within the Melanau community of Sarawak. Umai itself can be considered as the cousin of Sashimi from Japan. Umai is prepared in thin slices and boneless. Usually, the Umai is mixed along with lemon juice and cili for a more extragavant eating ses- sion.
In Lepau, there is a selection of Prawn Umai, Squid Umai and many other seafood selection. AYAM PANSUH: Based on the context in Wikipedia, Ayam Pansuh is a dish prepared by cooking chicken meat in a bamboo stalk, filled with water (which will later be the soup), seasonings and covered with tapioca leaves from the cassava plant (later can be eaten together with the cooked chicken).
The origin of ayam pansuh is unknown, but the Ibans and the Bidayuhs from western Borneo always prepare this dish during festivals, especially during the Gawai Dayak, a thanksgiving festival marking a bountiful harvest). Ayam pansuh is typical among the people in Sarawak, Malaysia and also popular in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
TAPAI ICE-CREAM: The first question that comes to mine is the word “TAPAI”. Tapai in translated roughly as fermented rice cake in the english language and Tapai happens to be one of the most popular snacks in Malaysia. For this cuisine variation.
The ice cream of your selection is garnished with Tapai Pulut , giving every savoury bite a different level of texture of taste. This restaurant is highly recommended to those who are craving for traditional meals or exploring a new depth of cuisines made available in Sarawak.
Newcomers should definitely gives the ones mentioned beforehand as a starter for their journey in discovering the taste of traditional local food. The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday and opening hours are split into two session from 10.30AM to 2:00PM and 5.30PM to 10.00PM. LEPAU restaurant is guaranteed to give your taste buds a new perspective in the world of cuisine.
