Community cooking at an Orang Asli village

Cooking food using natural wood

Coming together on big occasions and helping each other out seems to be a norm in most small, tightly knit communities. Such is the case of one particular Orang Asli in the Bera region in the state of Pahang.

I was fortunate to be part of a nature trip led by Malaysian nature guide John Chan into the remote part of Bera. The Orang Asli community there was already expecting us and come lunch time, it seemed obvious that a lot of effort was put in by the villagers to feed almost 37 of us.

We were on a nature guided trip of the village and the surrounding areas. All the walking and sweating has definitely made lunch a much anticipated event. A special hut has been prepared for our ‘makan’. The women of the Semelai people were busy preparing the hut. With a hut made of all natural jungle produce, the small touches of woven mats made the whole eating experience extra special.

Hand woven mats were used to cover the bamboo floors

A village elder preparing some of the dishes for the guests

There were many helpers around.

All the dishes are now served. Some of us were already drooling

What amazes me most was how the food is cooked. Almost all the raw materials (except rice which may have been purchased from a nearby town) came from the jungle that surrounds the village. There were chicken, mushrooms, freshwater fishes, pounded chilies (they are super hot), bamboo shoots and other plant shoots cooked to perfection. The food tasted really good. The cooking were simple but the flavor of the food kept me wanting more even after the trip!

So many types of dishes. Yummy…

Rice cooked in pitcher plants

I couldn’t remember when the last time I had such a meal was. Simple yet very fulfilling. One thing in particular I noticed about the meal was that it did not make me thirst too much after. Unlike the food I would normally eat in towns which are probably laced with salt and MSG, my Orang Asli meal at Bera was satisfying and ‘clean’.

I truly enjoyed my meal that day. Given the opportunity, I would have packed some of the dishes back but that would perhaps be a bit rude considering the food is to be shared with the villagers as well. I will miss the food and the taste will probably linger in me for some time. I gotta make another trip there soon.