Be My Guest

In his latest cookbook, Tamu: A Guest at the Bornean Table, Bryan Koh explores the region’s diverse cuisine, which is as rich as its landscape

- Dudi Aureus

Cookbook author Bryan Koh, co‑founder of home‑grown bakery Chalk Farm, has always been fascinated with the cuisines of the world. In fact, his particular interest in Bornean fare was sparked early on in life by one of the nurses who worked for his father, who is a retired doctor. “She was from Sarawak, and she would bring back unusual fruits and dishes to Singapore after her annual trips [home],” he shares, adding that this opened his eyes to Bornean food.

However, it was an immersion trip to the third largest island in the world many years later, at the invitation of a friend who was based in the east coast of Malaysia, that shaped his latest tome, Tamu: A Guest at the Bornean Table, which is dedicated to its culinary tapestry.