The way to eat it is first rinse it then soak in lukewarm water until it softens. Season with salt or black soy sauce. The yellowish fresh taste creamy. Actually you can preserve it just by soaking it in a jug with black soy sauce or with coarse salt (without the seed). I believe there are hawkers who sell dabai fried rice also.
The second best thing that comes out from one single fruit is the seed. Wash clean and sun dried the triangular seed. Crack it open by using mortar and pestle coz I found that a nut cracker device doesn’t work on this seed… and then you find this lovely, crunchy, greenish nut. If you have problem taking it out from the shell, use a toothpick.


July 9, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Dabai and Kembayau are not the same fruit. Dabai is dabai and Kembayau is kembayau. They are not the same taste. I prefer kembayau then dabai. Make your further research if i’m wrong.
July 9, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for correcting me.
My research came from the internet and since kembayau and dabai have the same scientific name canarium odontophyllum, I presume they are the same. Likewise these websites stated they are the same.
http://www.brunet.bn/org/bsmehp/invest/agroindu/smecrop.htm
http://borneocollection.netfirms.com/Borneoarticle.htm
http://crvbola.blogspot.com/2005/05/canarium-odontophyllum.html
Oh dear… are they the same or not?
July 13, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I call it O-Lam which ever way. And I always got mine air-flown from Sarawak!:)
July 13, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Ya sis, don’t forget you also got your midin and cincalok air-flown in. You might as well just move back to Sarawak
September 14, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I can testify that Dabai and Kembayau are not the same and their taste are also different. You can check out the seeds. One will have a triangular shaped and the other smooth and round in the middle.
Furthermore, Dabai has thicker flesh while Kembayau does not.
Dabai has a longer shelf life while Kambayau does not.
The scientific name may be the same but I am sure the variety is not. This is where the confusion starts.
September 15, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Hi dee,
Advice well taken. I shall look out for kembayau and take pictures of it. I’d love to try it too, wonder which is nicer…
Cheers!
February 5, 2009 at 4:26 pm
we go to dubai comming soon nice to meet you
November 16, 2009 at 4:20 am
I agree with Andrew that dabai and kembayau are two different fruits. Dabai is quite commonplace in the upper Rejang, especially Kapit area. Kembayau is mostly found in the jungle. Dabai fruits are different in taste and some are more fleshy than the other. Kembayau offer a slightly different taste, a lit bit more sweetish and the skin is harder than that of dabai. No reference needed, as I am a hunter who use to encounter kembayau trees in the jungle. Anyway kembayau is fast becoming scarce because of logging activites. Thanks.