Holiday Ayo - Cited from akurasi.id, when you are visiting Bontang City in East Borneo, Indonesia, make sure to try Gami Bawis. It is a typical food of Bontang that has been passed down for generations from a long time ago.

Gami Bawis consists of bawis fish, which is the local name for a type of siganus canaliculatus. Gami refers to the sambal that has been known among the people of Bontang Kuala.

The fish is cooked together with the sambal that has been grinded together. The ingredients are red chilies, bird’s eye chilies, tomatoes, onions, sugar, salt, and cooking oil.

Bawis fish has many small bones and the biggest ones are only as big as an adult’s palm. What is unique about this fish is that it can only be found in the waters of Bontang. It also dominates the fish population in Bontang.

What is unique about Gami Bawis is that it is cooked and served on a mortar, without the pestle. The mortar is put on the stove and you can tell when the dish is properly cooked when the sambal started to let out small explosions.

Gami Bawis is quite popular even outside of Indonesia. It was introduced during culinary event in Den Haag, Netherlands.

It also won first place in Traditional Culinary Festival of East Borneo in 2014. It was also among the top ten in Indonesia Charm Award (API) 2017 as one of the most popular traditional dishes.

Today, there are many food shops that serve Gami Bawis. Not just in Bontang, but also in other regions like Samarinda and Balikpapan. One of the most popular ones is Si Bolang Food Shop. It is located at the Street of Batu Sahasa 5, Bontang Kuala Sub-district, North Bontang District.

The Gami Bawis that is served here is priced 20,000 IDR to 25,000 IDR per portion. It also uses the gami sambal with other ingredients, like chicken, eggs, clams, and other kinds of fish.