Page 219 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE GUIDE TO SARAWAK
217
Bird’s Nests
Sarawak is one of the
world’s foremost producers
and exporters of this
exotic and expensive delicacy, which is literally worth its weight in gold!
For centuries, indigenous communities have gathered swiftlet nests – constructed entirely from the birds’ saliva – from Sarawak’s vast caves and sold them to Chinese traders to end up a delicacy in Chinese restaurants all over the world. Bird’s nest soup - a concoction slowly stewed with rock sugar or honey - is believed to have powerful health-promoting qualities. Nowadays, smart entrepreneurs are farming these swiftlets inside specially built concrete
Edible birds’ nests cleaned, prepared and ready for the pot. Generally, the whiter the nest, the higher the price, with the highest quality nests (left) fetching over RM7,000 per kg.
nesting houses, and the is exported all over the valuable end product Chinese-speaking world.
Birds’ nest soup, a famous Chinese dish said to have powerful health-giving properties. The finest nests come from the limestone caves and (more recently) the swiftlet ranches of Sarawak.