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SETTING the tone for the evening was a carefully curated menu by OITOM founder cum Head Chef Raphael Lee, who presented a spread rooted in Borneo’s indigenous ingredients and local culinary identity, a fitting complement to a night centred on the value of Sabahan culture and creative expression.

“Right in front of you, you have two canapes,” Raphael told guests as he introduced the warm starters. 

The first is the Kudat Corn, a corn tartlet served with creme fraiche mousse, koji butter corn and ikura, drawing its centrepiece ingredient from the farms of Kudat. 

The second was the Lontong Arancini, featuring tiger prawn with borneocado dip and fried turmeric leaf, a dish Raphael said was born from a chance encounter with a chef during his travels to Kuala Lumpur. 

A Brioche Roll with tepache reduction glaze and nori butter completed the starter course.

The main course featured Salai, OITOM’s signature smoked preparation of Tenom chicken served with kulim emulsion, wild honey and kale. 

Guests rounded off the meal with Panggi for dessert, a combination of Pasir Puteh chocolate gelato, Borneo vanilla oil and keluak mousse.

Reflecting on the restaurant’s philosophy, Raphael said the establishment was more than a dining venue. 

“The soul of the restaurant is always the chefs and the cooks,” he said, adding that OITOM operated with an investment mindset, training culinary talent with the expectation that graduates who left for Dubai, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore would eventually return with greater skill. 

“That is the idea of the restaurant,” he said.