each Malaysian auntie I've met has had a
unique approach and has given me much
food for thought
a true Malaysian style it's built with
lots of complex layers and it's hard to
get your head round because it could be
completely Indian yet Malaysian or yet
it could be completely Chinese yet
Malaysian which is so frustrating
because Malaysian cooking at its best is
delicious
I've got one more stop before I pick my
new skills against Malaysia's auntie's
in the cooking competition in Kuala
lumper I'm flying a thousand miles to
Malaysian Borneo to get my first taste
or the region's most famous and
extraordinary delicacy I feel slightly
frustrated that I've been cooking for
over 20 years I've never had a real
taste of a pop of bird's nest' lots of
fake sort of glass noodle bird's nest
soup but I can't wait to really sort of
understand what it tastes off fresh an
hour's drive from the airport I'm
meeting my guide to get me to the nest
Alain is a member of the remote IDN
tribe who harvests the nest
[Music]
most of the tribe including Ellen have
moved away from the area returning for
the harvest for a few weeks each year
after the birds have flown the nest
for the have a season we come from our
first village and then we coming here to
harvest the goodness so you have to two
homes yes spent like a lot of people do
in England have one in the central
London and one of the south coast
[Music]
allons tribe began flocking nests to
rich Chinese traders 500 years ago
collecting them from the limestone caves
just outside their village
[Music]
today Malaysians exports our bird's nest
to China and worth five million pounds a
year and I can't wait to see what all
the fuss is about
that's incredible
but my journey to the caves is about to
get a lot rougher just it wonder all
[ __ ] oh yeah okay what's that smell
the guano guano what's gonna growl is a
bet [ __ ] bat [ __ ] yes Oh No
yes look at that do these things taste
delicious
no I never did well I never eat the bed
sheet iguana ha [ __ ] your donut I'm
talking you're talking about humid nails
no see he's good he's nice bloody yeah
hello this is turning into my worst
nightmare Oh Betsy okay watch out for
the bat [ __ ] doesn't open your mouth
while you're looking at oh here here we
go we have to crawl to the tunnel
this is insane I've done a great extreme
for some fantastic projects before but
I'm telling you now I hope this takes
[ __ ] amazing
crawling out of the tunnel we arrived at
the hundred foot high cave at the heart
of the rock and right at the top
Alan's mates are walking the high wire
to collect nests made from Swift saliva
[Music]
my god and now Alan wants me to have a
go on a ladder made of bamboo I hope it
can hold 15 stone again yes bring it
onto a piece of [ __ ] bamboo I'm
beginning to think no ingredient can be
worth this she's getting wetter and
wetter come on you see the nests already
no I can't see any nests all I can see
is bashing
[ __ ] there's a massive spider up here as
well oh yes
bingo
now I'm up here I've got to get my hands
on it that means taking them off this
ladder it's so slippy [ __ ] bloody
hell
come on [ __ ] it's incredible
like a little ball of wool okay into my
back my god come down now Jesus another
trusted bamboo so much in my entire life
for the makeshift bamboo ladder yes
unbelievable look at this little baby
it's like a little white sort of
mustache my goodness me and so that's
the birds live labor so with the
feathers in there we take the feathers
out here yeah we must remove the fittest
mm-hmm
doesn't look that appetizing does it but
they're again ordered the truffle when
it's six foot under a lot of people sell
at home now again it looks disgusting
but I mean there's got to be something
unique in the flavor and think what they
go through to get that there that little
bit of phlegm woven birds spits the
nests of worth so much the village that
they don't eat them themselves
thankfully like most Malaysians Ellen's
got an auntie and she's agreed to show
me bird's nest soup the Chinese way so
this is the real bird's nest soup just
sugar water
no and that says no chilies
mmm so how did this mmm it's very sweet
and so would you have this as a dessert
easier perhaps more yes Goten quiz work
on the spoon I'm just like a sweet jelly
like a warm jelly I didn't expect it to
be a dessert yeah different I also
expected a hot spicy seafood soup damn
go to that extreme to endanger your life
to go and get it to go and drop it in
water seasoned with sugar doesn't make
sense
I've had an extraordinary time here but
now I need to head back to the big city
tomorrow I'm in Kuala lumper for a
competition against Malaysia's best
aunty cooks that's if I ever make it out
of Borneo
beautiful island and we don't need this
anymore
any chosen is skinny downtown