Kadazan-Dusun
Linopot
Linopot is rice, usually hill rice or a mix with sticky rice, wrapped in a doringin, tarap or banana leaf into a neat parcel. It is the traditional Kadazan-Dusun, Murut and Rungus way to carry and serve rice with side dishes.
Interior · town
Where to eat in Keningau
The interior's main town, with Murut and Dusun food traditions and a busy weekly market.
Keningau is the largest town in Sabah's interior, set in a valley surrounded by the Crocker Range. It's a meeting point for Dusun and Murut communities, whose preserved and fermented foods appear at its markets.
Keningau is a working town in a broad interior valley, about two to three hours from Kota Kinabalu over the Crocker Range. It serves surrounding villages, and its markets bring in rice, river fish, wild vegetables and preserved foods.
The interior is home to the Murut and Dusun peoples, whose cooking includes fermented and preserved dishes made to keep through the year, such as fish or meat packed with rice in bamboo. It is less polished than coastal food and far less touristy.
Updated
Popular food
All Sabah dishesWhat to eat in Keningau
Kadazan-Dusun
Tuhau
Tuhau is a pungent Kadazan-Dusun and Murut relish made from the stems of a wild ginger (Etlingera coccinea), chopped and mixed with chilli, lime or vinegar and salt. It is eaten in small amounts with rice and fish.
Kadazan-Dusun
Bambangan
Bambangan is a large wild mango (Mangifera pajang) native to Borneo, with rough brown skin and bright yellow-orange flesh. In Sabah it is best known pickled with salt and its own grated seed, as a sour relish for rice.
Recommended
Filter all restaurantsRestaurants in Keningau
- Kopitiam
Keningau · Jalan Milimewa Lama
Kedai Kopi Tien Hwa
Sources mention: Fish noodles in tom yam-style soup, Seafood meehun
ChineseSabah LocalStatus unconfirmedResearched from 3 sources · not yet visited
Eating tips for Keningau
- Combine Keningau with Tenom for Sabah-grown coffee.
- Markets are busiest early. Go before the midday heat.
Nearby food towns
Schematic map, not to scale. Select a town to see where to eat.
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Keningau food FAQ
What is unique about food in Sabah's interior?
Interior food from Murut and Dusun communities relies on rice, river fish, wild vegetables, and fermented or preserved dishes made to last, and is rarely found on city menus.