Exotic food exploration continues

The quest for exotic fruits in Borneo continued so I visited a few more markets to see what I could find.  I went to Kuching’s Sunday market, which intriguingly actually starts on Saturday morning.  It runs until late Saturday night and then starts again at the crack of dawn on Sunday, finishing around lunchtime on Sunday.  The stall owners come from miles away - a complete other part of Borneo - so they actually sleep at the market so they can sell as late as possible and start again the following morning as early as they can.  

I also visited an indoor food market in a town called Sibu, about 114 miles north east of Kuching.  In was in Sibu that that I saw an even wilder variety of new and interesting food – from fruits and vegetables to meats and fish.  The colours and smells were once again incredible, although not always a blessing on the nose!

While looking at all the glorious but strange foods, I realised that I should tell you more about ALL of what I saw, not just the exotic looking fruit.  I can't keep all of those delights from you.  What follows will therefore consist of a photo diary of the different types of produce that I discovered.  I have to be honest, the names of some of the food are still missing – mainly because I don’t speak Malay and the stall owners didn’t speak English.  Still, it was exciting enough just looking at all the products, and of course tasting them where possible.  If you know any of the names please let me know.

Indoor market at Sibu

 

These may look unappetising but the fruit inside was sweet and juicy

My investigation into Borneo food was helped a great deal by an awesome local man called Ming.  He was superb and in the evenings he took me out of town to the local food courts where we tucked into some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten.  It was here that I tried a lot of local delicacies - from sting ray to jungle fern.  Below is a picture of some fresh jungle fern at the market.  It's so tasty when cooked with chillis and served as a side dish.  Mmmm.

Jungle fern

What alarmed me most about the markets across Borneo and, come to think of it, several other countries I have visited is the lack of cleanliness, hygiene and proper storage of the food.  The fish and meat, for example, just sits out in the heat with flies and other insects doing a jolly dance on it all until they are beaten away by the stall owners.  At least the flies are having an absolute blast!  Having said this, all the fish that I sampled while in Borneo was absolutely delicious so I can't grumble too much.  When in Rome and all that...

So there we have it.  The latest in a long line of photos that illustrate my time in Borneo, soaking up the local food, culture and traditions.  I'll be sure to regale more stories and photos from the rest of my trip, which took me to Australia, Singapore and Bali.  Until then...

Simply Borneo.

Simply Nectar