One of the interesting food that I
come across while plying along the Tamparuli – Ranau road was 'sinalau bakas'
which simply means barbecued wild boar. This was truly an unexpected load of
goodness and fun. Of course, some of my students told me that the wild boar
meat could have been easily substituted by the actual local boar itself but the
one I had was authentically wild boar because I know the taste. It is gamey, chewy at times and slightly tougher than the local boar itself but nevertheless, good & pleasurably edible.
We chanced upon sinalau bakas while we
were travelling back from Ranau and we did passed by some stalls then but it
wasn’t that attractive enough to make me wanna stop the car and try it. Sure,
there were plenty of smoke and some nice looking pieces out there but somehow, the lure wasn't tempting enough. So, I rode on without battling an eyelid.
It was on the urging of Rusni and
SLing that we finally made a stop at one of the stall along the Jalan
Tamparuli- Ranau route. By that time, I have had no “sasau” meat in my system
and I am almost on the over-drive of shock and hypovolemic shaking due to
withdraw symptoms of not having any pork in my system! hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa………….. So, imagine my relief when we
made that stop for the sinalau bakas, man.
There were three stalls there and we
chose the centre one as the pieces were already on the grill and people seemed
to go there. As I arrived at the stall, I could see and smell that wonderful
choice cuts on the grill. They were simply in glistening colors of pinkish red
and I could see any rib meat pieces as they were bought by a local young lady
who carted them away when we arrived.
I analysed the simple brick grill
which was three layered. The hot coals were at the bottom section while smoke
goes through freely on the meat while the distanced fire/coal cooked the meats
slowly but surely. Yup, that seemed yummy enough for me. The next thing was to
choose the cut. Rusni picked for us the leaner side of the meat and it was fine
for me. I did not want the moving oil part nor the oily goodness as the trip to
the doctors this time could be costly in the future. But whatever it is , eat
first and oiled the vessels nicely…..hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa……..Just wanted to
know what sinalau bakas is all about.
The seller, a young lady cut up a good
portion that cost us RM 5.00, sliced it up nicely, placed it on a special fish
grill contraption, sprinkled some salt, pepper and grilled it for a few
minutes. The anticipation was killing me as I looked lovingly towards the other
cut pieces on the grille. Finally after about 3 minutes, the meat was done and
they were put into a container with some sharp toothpicks to go with. There was
even a splash of diluted very potent chili sauce to go with it.
We took it to
the car and I was the very first to take a good dig at it. Everyone waited for
my answer……all I could say was …… FANTASTIC ! The taste was absolutely spot on.
The hint of salt and pepper made the meat so much tastier, actually. The slight
char on the top and the pinkish succulent meat was heavenly, I must say.
I remembered skewing up 3 pieces in a
row and my trusty co-driver, Rusni was there to feed me then. They all laughed
as I told them my vision had suddenly sharpened while my body parts and systems
seemed to be functioning at excellent level after the input of sinalau bakas. I
told them it was the new found magical and potent energy level source for me!
They could have sworn that I was happier and more energetic after consuming
sinalau bakas!
Well, all I could say is that it was
truly an experience I must thanked both Rusni and SLing for asking me to pull
over the road to have a sample of it. If not, I would have missed the best food
in the world that Sabah can offer! Yeah,man – Die Die must try one!
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