Donggongon Tamu Again

If you come to KK, you must visit the Donggongon Tamu on a Thursday morning. and especially during the months from mid-August to October. Why? Let's count some of the reasons:


Wild jungle durians that taste a thousand times better than regular durians, so creamy that the texture is nearly waxy. Proudly found only in Borneo.


Fresh veg, most of them from the jungle (ferns and native veg) or home-grown, all freshly picked.


Nearly extinct fruits called yew gum jai, very sour and eaten with salt or pickled in sugar-vinegar-chili solution.


Common ginger and its flowers.


Native pickles; bambangan; mangoes and the fruits of the season--tarap (proudly only found in Borneo!) and kampung durians.


Handicraft; yeast for making rice wine; pepper roots (I was talked into buying--by a Singaporean-- a bundle to make soup) and chopping boards.


Singaporean tourists buying unpolished multi-colored hill rice (and ginger, mustard green sprouts, dried shrimps, fried tofu--I was like, "What, no fried tofu in Singapore??" Answer "They don't make them so authentic anymore!"); another Singaporean trying out the gongs; native handicraft and lady selling areca nut paraphernalia.


Bananas & tapioca (cassava); rambutans (hairy fruit); rosella flowers and dragonfruits.


Clams; dried fish; dried shrimps & anchovies and whelks.


Bunga kantan; wild jungle orchids (going for RM10-15 only! But should we buy them and speed up their extinction?) and an assortment of houseplants.


Petai (giant stinky beans); tuhau (a variety of ginger); chilies, breadfruit and the freshest and strongly scented (not the wimpyly-flavored variety in western salads) watercress found growing in running streams.


Frogs; tortoise (or maybe turtle); terrapins and eels,.


How to make a betal nut snack with tobacco, slaked lime (I think), areca nut and betel leaf.

And if all that fails to move you to visit Donggongon Tamu, how about some juicy creamy...


...sago worms? I hear they are delicious.

p.s. This is Sabah, Borneo, Land Below The Wind, the sandstorms, wildfires, typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, droughts and volcanic eruptions. Sadly, we are not exempted from politicians.