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Miri chef Kenny Gan Wei Kiat finished third at the 10th World Tapas Championship in Valladolid, Spain, with a small plate built on ikan pansuh, the Sarawak dish of fish cooked in bamboo. The results were announced on Wednesday, 11 November, at the Cúpula del Milenio, and his third place came with a €2,500 prize. (Diario de Valladolid, ARA)
The podium
Gan's entry was called "Pansuh under the Borneo Canopy", and he cooked it for Hachi by Kenny's, his restaurant in Miri. Alejandro San José of Habanero Taquería in Valladolid won the title with a tapa based on suckling lamb and nixtamalised corn, and took €10,000. Alonso Luna Zárate of Ojo Bangkok in Thailand was second with a croquette and won €5,000. The finalists' entries came from Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa and Mexico. (Diario de Valladolid, ARA)
Sarawak broadcaster TVS also reported the third-place finish from Spain on 12 November. (TVS)
How a Miri chef got to Spain
Gan earned his place in June, when he won the national round of the World National and World Asia Tapas Competition (WATCEFS 2026) in Miri, ahead of 28 other Malaysian chefs. Ellyrius Sukimin of Jinhold Hotel & Serviced Apartment Miri was runner-up. At that round, The Borneo Post reported, his dish was a modern take on ikan pansuh shaped as a croquette, made with ikan patin from Sungai Baleh in Kapit and wild Sarawak ingredients. (The Borneo Post)
What is pansuh?
Pansuh is a traditional Dayak way of cooking: fish, chicken or other meat is packed into a length of bamboo with herbs and a little water, then cooked slowly over an open fire. The bamboo seals in the juices and gives the dish a gentle, smoky fragrance. Turning that into a one-bite tapa for a Spanish jury is no small feat, which makes this podium extra sweet for Sarawak.
Taste Sarawak at home
You don't need a flight to Valladolid to try Dayak flavours. In Kuching, Lepau Restaurant serves modern Orang Ulu and Dayak cooking. In Miri itself, Summit Cafe lays out a Kelabit and Orang Ulu buffet with wild ferns, red highland rice and leaf-wrapped rice.
For visitors in Spain, the competition tapas can still be tasted in Valladolid until Sunday, 15 November. (ARA)
Sources
- El concurso de tapas encumbra Valladolid — Diario de Valladolid, 2026-11-11
- Valladolid conquista los títulos nacional y mundial de tapas con Jiapan y Habanero Taquería — ARA, 2026-11-12
- Kenny Gan raih tempat ketiga Kejohanan Tapas Dunia ke-10 menerusi hidangan pansuh — TVS, 2026-11-12
- Miri chef to represent Malaysia at World Tapas Championship in Spain — The Borneo Post, 2026-06-22