Feng Ling Cafe 楓林小館 is actually a zhi char type seafood restaurant, and according to locals it is THE eating place in little Lundu town in Lundu District, Kuching Division, Sarawak.
We were on an enjoyable 6 day self drive adventure in Kuching Division that took us from the city of Kuching to Telok Melano in Sarawak's far west, and back.
Lundu District has about 35,000 people while Lundu town has about 5,000. The community is a mix of Dayak, Malay and Chinese (Hakka).
The name Lundu came from ikan lundu, a small catfish that live in Sungai Lundu which flows down from Gunung Gading (the national park famous for the giant Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world).
Both Gunung Gading mountain and Rafflesia flower are on the Lundu District crest.
Sarawak’s state flower is Orkid Lundu, scientifically known as Phalaenopsis Bellina, found in the forests of Lundu. It was renamed Orkid Normah and officially proclaimed the state flower on 28 Aug 1983.
Orkid Normah honours the late Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Normah, wife of the fourth Governor of Sarawak and third Chief Minister Tun Datuk Patinggi Abdul Rahman Ya’kub.
The Chinese name of Lundu is 倫樂. Some call Lundu, 雲落 as the hills are often shrouded in low cloud.
Feng Ling is a cafe, is a seafood restaurant.
Feng Ling is a village home type of restaurant - open, spacious, cool, rustic, calm, very relaxing atmosphere. There were several big round tables for large groups.
Actually, we were here the day before but it was closed. Feng Ling has such a big reputation, we just had to make another trip to experience this famous Lundu restaurant.
Chai is the local expert and Feng Ling veteran, so we left the ordering to him.
The deep fried sotong was good - fresh squid encased in savoury sweet batter fried to a light golden crisp outside. Inside, the soft tender moist squid retained its texture, moistness and flavour.
Fried salted egg yolk chicken.
Rich umami savouriness from the salted egg yolk with a bit of heat from chili and aromas from curry leaves. The chicken cubes inside were moist, tender and sweet.
Next was asam pedas fish. During my two days in Lundu, I was hoping to try a ikan lundu dish but didn't have the opportunity - seems it is neither widely available nor popular.
They don't have ikan lundu here at Feng Ling either.
Instead, we had golden pomfret stewed in a savoury, sour, spicy, sweet sauce together with vegetables and aromatics.
The meaty tender fish was fresh and sweet.
My favourite part of a fish, the belly area around the pelvic fin. The meat is tender with a bit of fish fat. Soft tender, juicy, and more pronounced fish sweetness.
The obligatory greens, and of course, it has to be a fern, either sayur midin or sayur paku.
This is sayur midin stir fried with Sarawak balacan.
I love these fiddlehead ferns (both midin or paku is good for me).
I like the simple preparation of stir frying with garlic and Sarawak balacan. The ferns were fleshy, soft crunchy, sweet, overlaid with a bit of subtle bitter and spicy heat from the garlic, and umami savouriness from the balacan. Sarawak balacan is not as salty as those in peninsula Malaysia. I prefer it as it is less likely to overpower the delicate flavours of other ingredients it is cooked with.
Three of us on the dawn till night food trail, cleaned up everything 😋 The food at Feng Ling Cafe is nice. We paid RM123 for this meal.
A word on the alternative. The previous day when Feng Ling Cafe was closed, we switched to Ah Hang Seafood Corner at the Tua Pek Kong temple. It was actually a very enjoyable meal too with a different kind of ambiance and experience. Worth trying both if you have the time and tummy space.
Ah Hang Seafood Corner 👈 click
Restautant name: Feng Ling Cafe 楓林小館
Address: Jalan Bahagia Jaya, 94500 Lundu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Tel: +6019 868 2166
Hours: 10 am - 1 pm | 5pm - 9 pm
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ChshjAY8Sgx1ZpX87 (can't embed Google maps anymore 🙄 )
Written by Tony Boey on 23 Mar 2024
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