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Last year I got a message from a packed-food OEM company in West Malaysia.

The person who contacted me was not from Sarawak. First time coming across dabai in their life. They were exploring it for a new product in their OEM range, and their first question was simple: "What exactly is this thing?"

Fair question. And I am happy to say they went ahead, did the R&D properly, and came out with a product that tasted fantastic. So let me answer it properly for anyone else in the same position.

So what is dabai, exactly?

Dabai (Canarium odontophyllum) is a wild fruit native to Borneo. It grows alongside and upriver from the Rajang river system - places like Ulu Kanowit, Ngemah, Song, Sarikei, and Bintangor.

Visually it looks like a small olive. Deep purple skin, yellowish flesh clinging around a hard seed. About the size of your thumb.

Locals here in Sibu call it the Sarawak olive. Some people outside Malaysia just say Borneo black olive. Both names do the job.

What does it actually taste like?

This is where it gets interesting for F&B buyers.

Raw dabai is astringent and not very pleasant. But soften it in warm salted water for a few minutes - or process it properly - and the flavour transforms completely.

You get a rich, buttery taste - honestly the closest thing I can compare it to is mashed potato, but fruitier and with its own exotic aroma that does not belong to anything else. The texture in paste form is deep purple and smashed smooth. It is oily but not heavy.

That OEM contact could not name the flavour either. There is genuinely nothing else like it in Malaysian cuisine.

Why does seasonal supply matter to your business?

Here is where I have to be honest with you.

Fresh dabai actually has two seasons each year. The short one runs July to August. The bigger, more significant season runs December to February. Once each window closes, it closes. No negotiating with the trees.

That is the whole reason we at SFE started making dabai paste. A properly processed paste, made at peak harvest and stored correctly, lets food producers use dabai all year round - not just during those frantic weeks when every Sibu auntie is also trying to buy the same fruit.

People call me Budak Dabai (the Dabai Kid) for a reason. I have been chasing this fruit up and down the Rajang since before it was fashionable.

What can F&B buyers do with dabai paste?

More than you might expect.

The paste we produce is a single-ingredient, minimally processed product. No artificial colour. The deep purple colour is completely natural - and it comes from a high anthocyanin content in the fruit itself. Some buyers ask if we add anything to get that colour. We do not. That is just what dabai is.

Is dabai hard to source reliably?

If you are trying to source fresh fruit from outside Sarawak, yes, it is genuinely difficult. The fruit bruises easily and does not travel well.

Paste form solves most of that. Consistent specs, stable shelf life, and you are not dependent on harvest windows to plan your production run.

We work directly with collectors along the Rajang - from Sarikei and Bintangor all the way up to Ulu Kanowit and Julau - which gives us better visibility on volumes before each season peaks. Not perfect, farming never is, but better than buying from a middleman who is also guessing.

If you are curious about minimum order quantities, shelf life specs, or just want to understand whether dabai paste fits your product line,