Semai Cuisine...au naturel and at its best

I had the luck as well as the pleasure last Sunday morning to visit Kampung Samut at Pos Betau in the interiors of Pahang, Malaysia. We packed heavy Sunday picnic in anticipation of a long brunch after the boat ride but did not expect the outcome...as we started offering our meals to the children who came to us as well as their curious parents, we managed to chat up on their way of life and of course, the eating habits of indigenous people (this village is a Semai Tribe of the Sen'Oi that mostly live along the central region of the Main Range). As this place was once known for its Kelah (Tor tambroides), I was curious to know if the recent ban on fishing upstream has had any effect. The gentle Semai man replied that it is still infrequent compared to the good old days but at least it is under check at the moment.

Flashback to present...the parents of the children who shared our meal were actually very gentle and reciprocate as they immediately told us not to rush back as he will prepare us something 'speacial'...and special it was! He dug a piece of tapioca directly from his garden, chargrilled it and surprises of surprises, served it with the best piece of smoke fish he had in the kitchen - a large chunk of smoked Kelah! Needless to say, the taste of the salted and smoked fish goes perfectly with the chargrilled tapioca au naturel washed down with plain water sourced from the mountain. It was a perfect meal on a perfect day.

The fish is first smoked cured and later chargrilled slowly over heat. Heavenly and surprisingly refined. This goes to show that local ingredients without any pretentions makes some of the finest things for the senses...and we were'nt even hungry the time the dish was offered to us.