Tamu: A Guest at the Bornean Table

Bryan Koh's fascinating books on the foods of Southeast Asian regions always offer impressive depth and reveal a passion for understanding the people who create the local foods and culinary customs.

In this personal exploration of the island of Borneo, split between Malaysia and Indonesia and home to the microstate of Brunei, Koh, himself a native of Singapore, does not seek to be definitive. He is fascinated by blurred lines between traditions and nomenclature, by overlaps and differences in usage.

He pays particular attention to some of the indigenous ethnic groups who are not the dominant Malays, as well as a myriad of outside influences, from Hakka Chinese goldminers to settlers and traders from other nearby islands. The book's title, Tamu, comes from the name for markets in Indonesia at which farmers and food producers from these groups congregate in larger cities and towns to sell their wares. In the Malaysian parts of the island, by contrast, tamu means guest.

We're thrilled to have copies of Tamu while they last. Distribution of Koh's books has long been frustratingly irregular, but we will do our best to keep this title in stock and available.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.