Back at seaside Sematan town in Sarawak again after one year away. Sematan at the far west of Sarawak is literally the edge of the world.
During the 16th century when the Sultanate of Brunei ruled most of Borneo, the territory of Sarawak was its far west, and the edge of its world.
Sematan started as a trading post connecting the Dayaks in the interior with the outside world. The 50s and 60s were Sematan's heyday thanks to bauxite mining. The ore was needed to make aluminium to feed Japan's burgeoning car industry.
But, bauxite mining ceased in the 1960s, and Sematan slipped back into tropical seaside slumber.
Only a sprinkling of small buildings remained, including two rows of century old wooden shop houses.
We had lunch at Yat Lau Kopitiam & Seafood located at a corner shop at the end of one of the rows of shop houses.
Typical small town local hangout place. Eclectic furnishings, slightly worn but is a well kept, clean, welcoming space.
Lau Yat serves drinks, and staples like kolok mee, Sarawak laksa as well as house baked breads and buns.
Actually, we had breakfast at Yat Lau last year.
This time, we had lunch here.
Yat Lau is run by the Lau sisters. Stacey on the left in photo manages the front office, and sister Yan 刘琼艳 on the right is the chef. She cooked all of today's dishes.
Yat Lau was founded by the sisters' great uncle two decades ago, handed over to their father, and now the sisters are the third generation owners.
The gentleman on my right is 鲁胜利 former pemanca Lundu district (which Sematan town is a part). Pemanca 鲁胜利 is also 舅公 grand uncle to the Lau sisters.
I always order local vegetables when I travel, so it is sayur midin and sayur paku here. Only sayur midin today.
Nicely executed with garlic, belacan, soy sauce and oil, retaining the fleshy fern's crunch, juice and flavours.
Crunchy sayur manis with egg and garlic was nice too.
Wow.. Yat Lau's fried chicken is great.
The light brown batter was moderately thick but light fluffy crisp and tasted just gently savoury from fermented bean curd marinate. It encased tender, moist, naturally sweet meat.
If I am around Sematan and only needed a snack, I will come to Yat Lau just for SFC - Sematan Fried Chicken 👍
We were hoping to snag some of Sematan's famous swimmer crabs (flower crab) but they were off season. So, no crab, prawn also can lah (since they were in season).
We had them steamed. What can I say?
Fresh white prawn, steamed on point, so all of us were rewarded with all the pleasures that the good crunchy meaty crustacean can offer.
Yeah, it's always best to eat what is in season.
Steamed red snapper.
Ditto as per steamed prawn. Mother Nature's gift, enjoy it with as little human intervention as possible.
Fried ikan kurau (threadfin) fish steak.
This was so good. The crisp batter kept all the juicy tenderness and natural sweetness sealed in for us, shielding the thick slab of fish from the hot oil.
One thing about exploring small "forgotten" towns is there are usually limited food options. Fortunately, at Sematan, we have Yat Lau which compares well even with big city 煮炒 zhi char (cook & fry) shops.
Total bill for this meal came to RM170.
Restaurant name: Yat Lau Kopitiam & Seafood 憶劉海鲜餐厅
Address: 6, Jalan Seacom, Pekan Sematan, 94100 Sematan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Tel: +6016 891 0116
Hours: 7am - 10pm (close at 3pm on Sun | off on Mon)
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Written by Tony Boey on 24 Mar 2025
There’s something about the flavour profile in Sarawak. My palate doesn’t feel tired after a meal there. Easy to over-eat though.
ReplyDeleteIt is an honor to serve you all... 🙏🙏
ReplyDeleteI look forward to meeting you all again. 😄😄