People in Malaysia practice an open house on festival day. A unique feature of Sarawak's open houses is the modern layered cakes. Modern Sarawakian layered cakes were introduced to the people of Sarawak from Indonesia officially around 1988. The Indonesian version has been known since the Dutch colonial era; its most famous varieties are the Lapis Legit, a spice-flavored multilayered cake, and Lapis Surabaya.

Sarawakian modern layered cakes can be divided into two categories: cakes with ordinary layers and cakes with patterns, motifs, or shapes. All must have at least two colors. The cake can be baked in an oven or microwave. The batter uses butter or vegetable oil, milk and eggs, and requires a strong arm or electric mixer to be properly prepared. The baked cake has a high, firm texture and the layers are fastened together with jam or a similarly sticky sweet substance. More detailed cakes often require special moulds to maintain the perfect layer thickness.