Food Culture of Sibu, Sarawak

Sibu, Sarawak has never been the on my top 10 list but it should have been for the charm of the beautiful cultural diversity and the insight of the heritage and tradition of this gorgeous state. The experience has transformed perspective on people as I experience the cultures during my visit, when I decided to jump on board as a part of the air asia blogging community. Being the world’s number 1 low cost carriage, now everyone can fly. And, AirAsia flies to Sibu, Sarawak daily with 44 flights per week so planning a trip to Sibu really is really breezy.


Getting out of the comfort zone and keeping an open mind, here’s your bucket list when visiting this beautiful state. The state is unique and not only does it hold a plethora in traditional cultures and ethnicities, it is showcasing an emerging of unfold opening of the tourism economy. From visits to pepper farms and the journey to the long house, to the making of Mee Suah (popular and Kompia (a bagel – like pastry cooked in stone oven), Sibu will be a state that would have you mesmerised over the unique food and differences of food culture, whilst having you reminiscing and missing the friendliest and nicest people you will ever meet.

Visiting the pepper farm at Bintagor.




Meeting the host of our dinner at the long house.



Understanding the making of mee suah, as well as savouring the Fuchow Red Wine Mee Suah (RM 6)



Watch the making of Kompia and savour the freshly baked “local bagel”.
It is no secret that Sibu is well known for their authenticity of Fuchow dishes so whether it’s fine dine or just a quick snack that you’re after, there is much pride and honour in the preserved heritage. Also not to be missed is the culture of Melanau ethnic-one of the earliest settlers on this fertile land and helped growing it into what it is today. Here’s a guide to show you a good cross section of the most represented this city has to offer. We had the most authentic Melanau feast in the most comfortable and relaxing dining ambiance by the river side, featuring the highlight of the day – the si-et (silk worms). Yours truly had them both stir fried and alive and with that, one more “check” on the bucket list. And if anybody is keen to know what live silk worm tastes like? They tastes mildly sweet, creamy tart dominant and textured slightly similar to wet pudding. They maybe exotic but certainly not scary at all.


Have fun at the Fisherman restaurant (with 32 years history and running by the 2nd generation now)
Despite the different beliefs and religions don’t be surprised to come cross Melanau family with members of the family embracing Islam and Christianity. These East Malaysians over here are very tolerant of each other and are absolutely proud of their tolerance, it certainly warms my heart learning and knowing that that there is so much we could learn and embrace amongst people. A quick stroll at the night market where vendors come together with every stalls putting up the best of their offerings pretty much reflects the civility when it comes to respecting one another. Pork maybe non halal but it is not unusual to see all parts of pork delicacies at the stalls. While the halal vendors put on their grills and firing up their barbecues, watch the non halal vendors skillfully showcasing the knife skills as they chopped and sliced their way through every part of the swine. This one got us all super excited with the assorted offerings at every single booth.




The vibrant Night Market is located at Jln Market, between Jln Lintang and Jln Bengkel. It sets up every afternoon around 5pm and operates until 10pm or sometimes later.
Next up on the next posts, some of the detailed food reviews along with the fun that comes with it.
Here are some of the details from the highlights in this post:
The pepper farm that is passionately operated by a 70 year old Mr Sia with close to approximately 600 trees, these vine plant is one of the major produce of Sarawak.
Location : near Bintangor , Sarawak
GPS location : 2.111275,111.705225
Savour the red Wine Mee Suah at:
55, Jalan Pahlawan 7, Sibu, Sarawak
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pagesUncle-Bakery/
Also read about SycookiesXSarawak for all the food tirp in Sarawak and Sycookies Food Travelogue when I travel out of Klang Valley for food.
Click HERE for more photos on flickr.
A big thanks to AirAsia for having me on the AirAsia Bloggers community (aabc). It was an honour and privilege to venture Sarawak with the members of #aabc.
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