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Kuala Lumpur’s best-known entertainment strip is getting a cultural makeover tonight (23 May) as the BB Borneo Festival 2026 takes over Changkat Bukit Bintang from 6 pm to 3 am.
Presented by Persatuan Pengusaha Perniagaan Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur (COBBA) and held in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2026, the one-night festival brings the spirit of Borneo — its music, culture and flavours — into the heart of the city, with 18 participating outlets along the strip joining in the celebration.
The festival coincides with Gawai Dayak, one of Malaysia’s most colourful cultural celebrations.
Observed officially on 1 June each year in Sarawak, Gawai marks the end of the rice harvesting season — a time of rest, thanksgiving and reunion for the Dayak peoples, a collective name for tribes including the Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit and Murut.
With the next planting season only beginning in September, June is a month of reward for those who have laboured over their rice fields.
Celebrations include brewing tuak (rice wine), traditional feasting, music, dance, and welcoming guests into longhouse homes — a tradition of open doors that reflects the warmth at the heart of the festival.
Toss a Coin, Win a Shot
Organisers have confirmed that part of the road along Changkat Bukit Bintang will be closed for the event, with activities spilling onto the street.
A Hop-On Hop-Off bus will also operate, making it easier for visitors to get around the area.
Festival-goers can also take part in a coin-toss game tied to selected spirit purchases, with winners walking away with a free shot of TUAQ, a Borneo-origin spirit, redeemable at any participating outlet.
The mechanic is simple: buy a qualifying drink, toss a coin into a shot glass, and if it lands — you win.
The event is open to the public, though the drinks promotion is limited to those aged 21 and above and is strictly for non-Muslims.
The Spirit of the Longhouse
Tuak holds a place far beyond the glass in Dayak culture.
Brewed from fermented glutinous rice, it is present at every major milestone — harvests, weddings, festivals and the welcoming of guests.
Being offered tuak in a longhouse is an act of hospitality and respect; declining is considered impolite.
At the stroke of midnight on Gawai eve, it is tuak — specifically the Ai Pengayu, the rice wine of long life — that the longhouse chief raises first, as the community toasts together to health, prosperity and the year ahead.
@kristy_b66 Malam Gawai ,31 Hb 5 ngirup ai pengayu#kristybahu #ngirupaipengayu #fypシ゚ ♬ original sound – KRISTY BAHU
Where tuak is the heart of the celebration, langkau is its fiercer cousin; tuak is brewed by fermenting glutinous rice with ragi (yeast) and left to mature, producing a rice wine that ranges from a gentle 5% ABV when fresh to around 15–20% when aged.
Langkau takes that same fermented base and goes one step further: it is distilled, pushing the alcohol content to 30–35% ABV — closer to a spirit than a wine.
Same roots, very different punch.
Both are deeply rooted in Dayak tradition, and both find their way onto the table during Gawai — tuak for the toasts, langkau for those who prefer their celebrations with a little more heat.
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