Absolute Tribal: Fusion Hunt

One fine evening, out of the blue, we, actually Jolynn, decided to try something exotic for dinner. So we made our way to this restaurant down at the busy Tabuan Road, called Absolute Tribal. It’s famous for its mixed ethnicity of Thai and Dayak food. Don't be daunted by the sound of that, in actual-ness it's kind of impressive that the chef would try something so ballsy with two types cuisines that have such boldness in the use of ingredients. And if done well, like the chef did, you'll get such rich flavors that complements each other.

The chefs specialties menu, duck Kerabu,which caught our attention.

The one thing about this restaurant is that not everything is available,  and it depends on the season of certain ingredients such as durians, petai and so on. However, the waitress there suggests to make a call about one day earlier if you would like to place some special orders for those specific orders with those main ingredients which aren’t always in stock at their restaurant.
We wanted to try their tempoyak infused dishes, but since they didn't have durians during that time we had to go for other options.

First up, we had papaya salad.

The papaya salad, you know, the classic thai salad where they mix the taste of sour and sweet. The papaya was shredded, infused with a type citrus, hence the sourness. The salad was tossed with peanuts, that’s where the crunchiness comes from, and the red onions. The shallots left a sweetness in the palate, balancing the sour already there. It has also some other shredded vegetables making it  an overall light and summery dish. It’s fresh, doesn’t make you full, so you will have appetite for more dishes to come.
Here’s a close up of what’s inside it.

Definitely a must-try on your appetizer list.

What caught our eye on the menu was also the bidin kerabu. This is an interesting twist to the normal kerabu we always hear about. What they actually have in this kerabu is bidin, (you don’t say), and seafood: prawns, squids, fish and chicken strips, drenched in a generous amount of savoury sauce.

You could actually tell that there was a hint of salted fish used in the gravy, as well as a generous amount of coconut milk. It was amazing how these two flavours complemented each other very well, coating each ingredient, giving them a whole new different and interesting taste in this kerabu dish.

Next up was the Absolute Tribal Fish Curry.

As you can see from above, here, they have sour brinjal put into this dish; also known as Dayak brinjal. In this dish, coconut milk is evidently used, and actually, balances out the spiciness from the chillies inside.

Here’s a close up of what’s inside this dish:

Fish fillets, sour brinjal, mint leaves, chillies, serai, all cooked together in this thick curry. Just delightful when eaten with steamed rice.
Overall, you get a well-balanced mixture of sourness from the sour brinjal, that herby freshness from the mint leaves, the rich and smooth texture from the coconut milk incorporated into the curry base and a hint of spiciness and a taste of serai altogether with the fish fillets.

The fried oysters, was a pleasant surprise, we actually ordered something else, which was the oyster pancake, very well-known as the ‘o-jien’, in local terms, but in the end, due to a misunderstanding between the waiters, they served us with fried oysters – which was also divine! It was definitely delicious, crunchy, not too oily, and soft and juicy on the inside. It was served with some fine savoury and sweet powder; we think its plum powder, not entirely sure what it was. It went very well with the crunchy texture of the outer layer of the oysters.

Here’s a close up of the crispy oysters, and the inside of it.

Also a definite must-try from us the next time you decide to step into this restaurant.


Absolute tribal is open daily for lunch and dinner from 11am - 2.30pm and 6.30pm - 10pm respectively. Number for reservation is 082-237468. If not mistaken, reservations would only be taken for bookings of more than 2 pax. Do give this place a try. It’s a thumbs up for exotic, fusion food from us at The Makan Post.

Absolute Tribal Restaurant
78, Jalan Tabuan,
93100 Kuching, Sarawak.

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