Shopping and What to Buy in Kuching (Sarawak)
Part of the Kuching (Sarawak) travel guide — see every topic in All Kuching (Sarawak) Guides.
Sarawak makes things that exist nowhere else, which is unusual and makes shopping here genuinely worthwhile rather than an afterthought. The state's indigenous peoples produce textiles, beadwork, basketry and carving of real quality; the state grows most of Malaysia's pepper; and the local baking tradition produces a layered cake that is a minor engineering achievement. Main Bazaar in Kuching's old town concentrates most of it, with the usual caveat about reproduction.
Textiles
Pua kumbu is the Iban ceremonial cloth: cotton dyed by ikat, where the warp threads are tied and dyed before weaving so the pattern emerges as the cloth is made, in deep rust reds and browns from natural dyes. A genuine handwoven piece represents weeks or months of work and carries motifs with specific meanings and, traditionally, spiritual weight. Prices run from a few hundred ringgit for a small modern piece into the thousands for an old one. Machine-printed imitations are everywhere; ask directly and look at the reverse.
Beadwork, basketry and carving
Orang Ulu beadwork — Kayan and Kenyah — produces baby carriers, hats and panels in dense geometric and figurative patterns, using old trade beads where possible; a good baby carrier is a serious object. Rattan and bamboo basketry from across the state, including the tightly woven backpacks still used in the interior. Carving in belian ironwood. And the sape, the Orang Ulu lute, sold both as a playable instrument and as decoration.
Food and pepper
Sarawak white pepper is a protected regional product and among the best in the world; it is light, aromatic and completely unlike supermarket pepper, and it weighs nothing. Kek lapis Sarawak is the layered cake — dozens of thin coloured layers baked individually and assembled into geometric patterns — sold by the slab from dedicated shops, particularly in the Malay kampungs across the river. Also: Sarawak laksa paste, so you can make it at home; tuak rice wine; and Bario highland rice.
Where and how to buy
Main Bazaar is the concentration, with a mix of serious dealers and souvenir shops in the same row. The Sarawak Craft Council and the museum shops sell vetted work at fixed prices. Buying directly at a longhouse or at the Cultural Village puts the money with the maker. Bargain in the bazaar, not in fixed-price shops. Ask what is old, what is handmade and where it came from, and judge the answer — the honest dealers are direct about it. Note that some antique tribal material has export restrictions.
Shopping and What to Buy at a glance
| The textile | Pua kumbu — Iban ikat, weeks of work, natural dyes |
|---|---|
| Beadwork | Orang Ulu baby carriers and panels, Kayan and Kenyah |
| Best light buy | Sarawak white pepper — a protected regional product |
| The cake | Kek lapis — dozens of thin layers in geometric patterns |
| Where | Main Bazaar; Sarawak Craft Council for vetted work |
| Caution | Printed imitation pua kumbu is everywhere — check the reverse |