A Borneo culinary adventure with Dewakan is up for auction!

Winning bidders will get the chance to witness first-hand the agrarian lifestyle of the Lun Bawang community in the pristine Long Semadoh Valley in Sarawak. Photo: Langit Collective

The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing global lockdowns have thrown the international restaurant industry into unprecedented chaos. Some of the top restaurants in the world, which could once count on months-long waiting lists to get in, are now in dire trouble.

In line with this, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants is organising a 50 Best for Recovery fundraiser, which encompasses a smorgasbord of over 160 worldwide gastronomic experiences, including getting face time with chefs like Massimo Bottura, Gaggan Anand and Dan Barber, among a host of others.

In Malaysia, homegrown modern Malaysian restaurant Dewakan (the only Malaysian restaurant to have been listed in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants lis) will be participating in this auction.

The Lun Bawang produce excellent heirloom rice. Photo: Langit Collective

The restaurant is collaborating with local brand @langitcollective to run a four-day, three-night culinary odyssey for six people in the pristine Long Semadoh Valley, tucked in the Sarawak highlands.

The winning bidder will get to discover the pure, untrammelled agrarian lifestyle of the Lun Bawang community, who produce excellent heirloom rice. The winners will also enjoy community meals, and a chance to forage for little-known ingredients before finally sitting down to a family meal prepared by the team at Dewakan, headed by acclaimed local chef Darren Teoh.

“The meal will be made up of foraged ingredients, but we have no idea what those ingredients will be yet. Overall, I think it is a good opportunity for people to discover the valley and learn about the Lun Bawang, ” says Teoh.

Teoh and his team will be producing a meal, made up of foraged ingredients. Photo: Dewakan

Bidding ends on 12 July and the current top bid for this local epicurean experience is 2,750 pounds (RM14,796).

“I am happy with any amount, I don’t really have a number that I’m looking at. I think every little bit helps, ” says Teoh.

Other experiences in the 50 Best for Recovery fundraiser include a day with Mauro Colagreco at Mirazur, the world’s best restaurant; a farm-to-table day with Dan Barber and his famed Blue Hill at Stone Barns, dinner for two with drinks at acclaimed restaurant Pujol in Mexico and so much more. Head to https://www.theworlds50best.com/recovery/ to find out more or place your own bid for a world-class meal experience.