Somewhere along the switchbacks seesawing to Māwsynrām, the menu at Samantha and Oomnen’s ‘5 Star Resturan’ is as much an oddball as the couple—it’s quite a story about how a tiny Khasi woman domesticated a wandering hulk from Kerala. That’s another time; this is a food story. Their food is fused with reciprocal love: a crisp dosa paired with tungrymbai and tungtap, Khasi fermented soy beans and a fish mash of punchy flavour and texture. The sambar and coconut chutney are seasonal/optional, leaning on supplies reaching this wet, wet world in Meghalaya. Pozhudhu sadam, the southern curd rice, accompanies a bowl of dohneiiong, pork chunks in a viscous curry of black sesame seeds. When the winter draught peeks through cracks in the shack’s wainscoting, they serve meals in insulated poly-casseroles. Fermented food tastes best in room temperature, they say. Not hot, not cold.