On a recent sunny day, the team drove to Keningau to visit a local cocoa farm with the founder of @jawsclawschocolate @josephinepplu to learn more about the different varieties of single estate cocoa for our Heritage Menu. The farmers monitor these trees closely as the pods slowly turn vibrant shades of yellow, red, and orange, signaling the perfect time for harvest. The cocoa is carefully fermented and dried to reveal its deeper, more complex notes. This journey from tree to table allows us to celebrate the vibrant, rich flavors of cocoa in a way that honors its origins and the care that goes into every harvest. From fruity or floral to earthy or nutty, you will find touches of chocolate on the menu this season.
From the Heritage menu - Linopot, a traditional Dusun dish from Sabah, features Sabah heirloom rice cooked with tuhau sambal and flavorful doringing stock, wrapped in daun doringin and steamed to impart an earthy aroma. Accompanied by Ikejime Easter Grouper grilled with XO oil, accented with kaffir lime zest, and served with bok choy and rich XO beurre blanc.
Chef Raphael’s thought into Heritage Tasting Menu
We are lucky to have a dedicated and passionate seafood supplier that bring us such amazing quality seafood. All of our seafood has gone through Ikejime technique before coming to our door step. This humane technique ensures the highest quality by preserving the natural textures and flavors, delivering unparalleled freshness and a pure, delicate taste. The grouper will be the aged and brine before grilled to temperature, serving in our main course of “Sinalau” inspired dish.
Inspired by “Sinalau”, which means “smoke” in the Kadazan Dusun language, this traditional cooking method involves smoking protein, especially pork, to dry it. This practice has become a cherished part of Kadazan Dusun culture.When traveling through the mountainous region of Sabah, particularly Kundasang, you might notice makeshift stalls in open-air structures along the winding mountain roads. If you see smoke rising from a building, don’t worry—it’s likely a nearby “Sinalau” stall. The meat smoking process can take up to six hours, requiring an early start to prepare for the lunchtime crowd.Drawing from this cultural inspiration, we smoke a large quantity of mushrooms with fresh wood, infuse them into our master stock, and clarify it into consommé to serve with Shio Koji Ikejime Grouper.
Harvest Ingredient in a dish - Buah Pangi or often refer to “Keluak”. This intriguing ingredient begins its journey as a toxic fruit, from Kepayang Tree. The fruit falls from the tree, local villagers crack it open to reveal the seeds, which must undergo a meticulous detoxification process to become edible.It’s truly remarkable how humans have discovered ways to transform this initially dangerous nut into a gourmet delicacy. The villagers boil and bury the seeds in ash for over a month. This traditional method breaks down the harmful cyanide compounds, turning the creamy white nuts a deep black.In our kitchen, we would soak the seeds in running water for overnight to rinse it and then boil in water for more than 3 hours until the seed flesh turn from white to black in order to remove the toxin in the seeds. We then incorporate keluak in different ways. Keluak offers a unique, acquired taste reminiscent of cacao. In our dessert dish, we use it in our chocolate mousse, adding a rich, complex flavor that enhances the dessert’s depth and sophistication to compliment our single origin estate chocolate gelato from @jawsclawschocolate #oitomrestaurant #sabahfood #kotakinabalufood #kkfood #finedining #tatler #tatlerdiningmy #sabahtourism #sabahtravel #kotakinabalu #sabah #sabahlocalfood
Ingredients from the IDEAS Menu 1) De-shelling Slipper Lobster caught from Semporna 2) Kudat Mud Crab just chilling on the bench 3) Beautiful Aged Ikejime East Star Grouper 4) Prepping Perak Duck before into dry ager 5) 8 hours Keluak nuts 6) Cleaning Semporna Sea Grape in cold salt water 7) 4 hours Bambangan puree to be mould for the dessert
From the IDEAS Full Experience Menu,
Grilled Slipper Lobster from Semporna paired with Tuhau Sambal & Saffron Bisque
Inspired by our heritage cuisine, Tuhau native ingredient to Sabah, crushed and chopped to release beautiful fragrance then cooked together in our signature Sambal.
Paired with Caramelised Carrot & Miso Puree, Locally Grown Asparagus & Carrot Kombucha Glaze
