作者： Foong Pek Yee

Proud to be Foochows

It is more than good taste
By Foong Pek Yee
foongpekyee@gmail.com
A bowl of red wine chicken mee sua  is not just another dish.
This authentic Foochow noodle dish brings to mind the community wherever and whenever it is served.
The Foochows from Ayer Tawar and Sitiawan in Perak arrived from China in 1903.
A close-knit and resilient community, they are proud of their culture, and would make it a point to introduce their food to their friends or guests.
Their love for their culture is evident in places like Ayer Tawar and Sitiawan  where they first set foot in then Malaya.
Authentic Foochow taste: Red wine chicken mee sua 
Wholesome:  This dish with a mix of vegetables, meat and seafood is popular as a one-pot meal.
In Ayer Tawar, about 65 km from Ipoh,  Restoran Sin Han Seong serves good Foochow food since the 1930s.
Old and strong: Sin Han Seong Restaurant has many loyal customers 
The restaurant owner Ling Hing Kuai is his family’s third generation.
At 70, he went about his work in zest,  and that speaks volumes of the restaurant.
Located along Ayer Tawar’s main road, the ambience in the restaurant is reminiscent of the good old days.
(Note: When we google, the name of the restaurant is Sun Hon Siong. It is the same place).
Many Foochows including those who have settled down outside Ayer Tawar, will patronise the restaurant when they visit their hometown, and among them is Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh.
A Foochow, Dr Ting, a former Housing and Local Government Minister and current Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) council chairman was from Merbau New Village in Manjung.
Other new villages in Manjung which are predominantly Foochow are Ayer Tawar, Jering, Rajah Hitam, Changkat Kruing, Simpang Dua, Simpang Tiga, Simpang Lima, Kampung Koh and  Kampung Cina.
And the Ayer Tawar town centre along the main road is the meeting point for villagers to run their daily errands.
Meeting point: The main road in Ayer Tawar
The Siew Hua Biscuit Factory in Ayer Tawar which is over 70 years old continues to be famous for its traditional Foochow biscuits like the “gong pian”.
Hall of fame :  Ayer Tawar Heritage House chairman Ling Sze Hing says the  plaque has  the names of all donors who contributed to the setting up of the  Manjung Kutien Association. The plaque is displayed in the Ayer Tawar Heritage House in Ayer Tawar.
The landmark in Ayer Tawar is the Manjung Kutien Association majestic building along the main road.
The association was set up in 1956 in an attap house,  and its present building was opened in 1994.
Ling says the association’s more than 2,000 strong membership are all Kutien, one of the 10 sub dialects of Foochows.
Janice Ting Hsia Sung says the association holds major festive celebrations like Chinese New Year and  Parents Day.
At 42, and a mother of five, she says the association’s activities are tailored for all age groups; and its focus are on good values like filial piety, cooperation, harmony, kindness and education.
She and her husband, also a Foochow,  decided to settle down in Ayer Tawar- their hometown-  after a short work stint in Kuala Lumpur.
Both of them are active in the Manjung Kutien Association.
Janice’s  father Ting Kong Liong, 76, who is a former president of the association continues to be active
Youngest among four siblings, Janice recalls following her father to the association’s events when she was a kid.

Journey to the Promised Land

From Grit to Great :  The story of the Foochows .
By Foong Pek Yee
THEY finally arrived at their destination on Sept 9 after surviving the perilous journey.
There were 303 on board, while another 60 arrived a week later.
And that was in September 1903 –  the beginning of the Foochows in Sitiawan, Perak.
Together we progress:  Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh (left) who was then the  Housing and Local Government Minister opened the Manjung Kutien Association Building in 1994.  He is a Kutien and his hometown is Merbau New Village in Manjung.
According to the book “The Foochows of Sitiawan: a historical perspective” this pioneer group were from China’s Foochow rice growing community.
The author Shih Toong Siong said the then Colonial Administration in Malaya wanted to ” transplant” this community in Sitiawan.
The mission was to turn Sitiawan into a rice growing region, and to meet the rising demand for the staple food as more immigrants arrived in Malaya to work in the tin mines.
The Methodist Episcopal Mission (MEM) which was tasked to undertake this “transplant”, had assigned Rev Ling Ching Mi and  Rev. Dr H.L.E Luering to the job.
Of the 484 Foochows who boarded the ship and set sail for Malaya on  Aug 3, 1903, only 363 made it to the promised land.
Four days into the journey saw five deaths which were attributed to cholera and exhaustion.
They arrived in Singapore for quarantine on the St John’s Island on Aug 22, where many either died or went missing in transit.
The final headcount was 363 when they were ready to set sail for  Sitiawan.
But their ordeal was far from over upon arrival – they did not get what as promised to them , and from then they only had their resilience to survive in the tropical wilderness.
True to the Chinese saying ” we get up from where we fell” – the Foochows have proven their mettle the day they step foot on Malayan soil.
United and strong:  The Manjung Kutien Association was set up in 1956, and Ling (right) and the association’s committee member Ting Hsia Sung showing a photo of the historical day.
The place: Ayer Tawar Heritage House in Ayer Tawar, Manjung is a showcase of the Foochows’ way of life in Manjung from the early 20th century and beyond.
Proud descendants: Foochows  at the opening of the Ayer Tawar Heritage House in 2016
Today, the Ayer Tawar Heritage House in Ayer Tawar, about 65 km from Ipoh, will give a glimpse of the life of the Foochows in Ayer Tawar and Sitiawan from the day they landed in Sitiawan.
Ayer Tawar is about 12km from Sitiawan, and the Chinese in both towns are predominantly Foochows.
One of the landmarks in Ayer Tawar is the Manjung Kutien Association Building along the main road of Ayer Tawar
Kutien is one of the 10 sub dialects of Foochows (sub dialects  are  based on their respective district in China) , and the Ayer Tawar Heritage House is under the Manjung Kutien Association.
The heritage house chairman Ling Sze Hing says the artefacts, mostly donated by the locals, are dated back to more than a century ago.
He says the heritage house opened doors in 2016,  and entrance is free and by appointment (019-5582543)
Ling, 56, says he and his committee are coming up with a research centre on Foochows in the heritage house – to make it the place to go to for people who are interested to find out more on Foochows, especially the Kutien.
A Kutien himself, Ling’s passion and pride on anything Kutien a and Foochow  is palpable.
Hardwork:  Mr Ling showing how to operate a traditional grinder
Bare necessities:  Irons using charcoals (top row) and pots used during the old days.

Farmers caught in the crossfire

A tough life clouded by uncertainties.
By Foong Pek Yee
foongpekyee@gmail.com
April 13, 2022.
UKRAINE may be an 11-hour-flight away but the war there is giving farmers in Malaysia sleepless nights.
With Russia and Ukraine being major exporters of fertilisers worldwide,  the price of the commodity has skyrocket since the war erupted in late February.
“A 50 kilogram bag of fertiliser cost RM210 now, compared to RM135 in January this year,” says a vegetable and fruit farmer in Bidor, Perak.
He says the war has dealt  another blow on the farmers who have yet to recover from the covid 19 pandemic.
 The road ahead: A farm in Bidor  Stesyen New Village in Bidor, Perak 
The villagers settled down in the new village during the Emergency (1948-1960).
“We have already scaled down production in the last two years.
“The pandemic which saw a shortage of workers, rise in the cost of farming and uncertainty in demand for vegetables and fruits and loss of income have taken a toll on the farming community,” the farmer who is in his 30s says.
He reckons that farmers will have to scale down their production further if the current situation does not improve.
Perseverance: A farmer harvesting sweet potatoes in his farm in Bidor Stesyen New Village.
According to CNBC.com on April 6, the war in Ukraine could tighten food supplies.
It noted that farmers are seeing prices for fertilisers skyrocket, and that some of them may opt to rotate their crops or use less nutrients, which could reduce crop yields.
A vegetable farmer in Bidor who is in his 20s says he has also reduced his production by half since two years ago.
He cited high cost of farming  and uncertainty in demand for green produce as major reasons to do so.
“I can no longer afford to go for full production based on current circumstances,” he adds.
For a living: A farmer having his lunch at a coffeeshop in Bidor Stesyen New Village.  The place is quiet due to the pandemic.
Green produce:  Bidor Stesyen New Village produces a variety of vegetables like lady’s fingers, sweet potatoes, sengkuang (turnip), radish;  and fruits include guava and jambu.
Old world charm: Bidor town is a touristic spot ,selling fruits from surrounding new villages like Bidor Stesyen, Kuala Bikam and Coldstream which are famous for fruits like guava, jambu and mangoes.
He says the rising cost of living, rising cost of doing business and unemployment will affect consumption patterns.
“People have to cut consumption.
“This will have adverse effects on farmers.
“Our income has already fallen by half compared to pre pandemic days,” he says, adding that cash flow problems is looming.

Rainbow and roast pork makes the day

Natural wonder : The Rainbow Waterfall in Sungai Lembing is popular in the wake of increasing interest in  eco tourism worldwide
By Foong Pek Yee
6 March, 2022
THE tourists get more than roast pork for lunch.
For most of us, that is the first time we see the roasting done in a traditional way –  using firewood inside a huge concrete stove.
Happy together:  At the roast pork lunch in Sungai Lembing New Village after the  Rainbow Waterfall tour.
And the freshly roasted pork (siew yoke in Cantonese) is real good – taste and texture – compared to the ones we have in eateries.
This “siew yoke” lunch is cultural tourism and very popular  in Sungai Lembing New Village.
During the lunch, I met a family of three generations from Johor and Singapore –  grandmother, her children and  grandson.
They say they decided to holiday in Sungei Lembing in Pahang, a popular destination among Singaporeans.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 tourists visited Sungai Lembing over weekends prior to the pandemic.
And the young boy who lives in  Singapore also gets to take a closer look at life in a new village.
Cultural tourism/food tours that promote the traditions of a community is increasingly popular among foreigners and locals alike.
All excited: Tourists getting ready to trek up  the Rainbow Waterfall.
Today, many  Malaysian Chinese and Singaporeans have  their roots in new villages in Malaya dated back to the 1940s
They are the descendants of half a million Chinese in then Malaya whom the colonial government uprooted and re-settled in 452 barbed wire settlements named new villages during the Emergency (1948-1960)
The exercise had saved the Chinese from an impending deportation by the colonial government who deemed the community as communist supporters.
There are still about two million Chinese living  in the new villages to date.
In Sungei Lembing New Village, its popular Rainbow Waterfall tour also tells a story  of  life in a new village.
The youngsters from the  new village and nearby roamed around and discovered the rainbow long ago.
According to a tour guide, the rainbow cast on the waterfall is the effect of sun rays shining through the cascading water.
They called it Rainbow Waterfall-  their favourite hangout.
It was only many years later that the villagers’ search for a living saw them coming up with Rainbow Waterfall tours.
They started off using lorries to ferry tourists to the base, about 12 kilometer from their village.
The half-day tour starts at 5.30am.
The trek up  Rainbow Waterfall involves about two kilometers of jungle trekking and rock climbing after crossing a small stream.
And tourists cheering the moment they spotted the rainbow is not without reason though.
For instance, the rainbow may not appear on a cloudy day.
Note: The tour in Sungai Lembing was before the pandemic.

Korean peanut banchan

Banchan or Korean side dish is a must have for Korean meals.
Some Koreans say having several types of banchan at each meal is good for health, and that everybody also gets to have their favourite banchan.
Banchan is certainly appetizing besides adding  a variety of nutrients to enhance the main dish.
This peanut banchan for instance can be added to porridge.
It also makes a healthy  snack on its own.
Ingredients
Half cup of peanuts
Half cup of water
Quarter teaspoon salt.
Quarter teaspoon pepper.
Half teaspoon soy sauce (to taste)
Method
1. Put all the ingredients in a pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Simmer for about 35 minutes and ready to serve.
Note:  Put the remainder in the fridge, preferably finished it within three days – By Foong Pek Yee

Ending her career on a high note

The story of  Soon Ah Buei-
By Foong  Pek Yee-
SHE is a dishwasher in a restaurant.
But Soon Ah Buei never complain of fatigue, says her son  Pu Siang Yen.
“One day mother fell sick. I was her replacement, and I realised it is such a back-breaking job,” Siang Yen  recalls  his mother’s struggle after his father passed  away 22 years ago.
He has an elder brother Pu Siang Chan, 43.
Siang Yen, 40,  says his mother pampers her family with her jia xiang cai (authentic home cooking) despite after a hard day’s work in the restaurant.
“We all know she is a good cook.
Good times: Tourists enjoying themselves at Yee Tai 2  Restaurant.
“And mother finally became a chef and lao ban niang (lady boss) about seven years ago,” says Siang Yen.
Historical site: HillVille Inn and Yee Tai 2 Restaurant are housed in the Sungai Lembing Hainan Association in Sungai Lembing, an ex mining town.
The two brothers set up a guesthouse with a restaurant on the ground floor and their mother is the chef.
Located in Sungai Lembing in Pahang, HillVille Inn and Yee Tai 2 Restaurant are run by the Pu family members.
Sungai Lembing is famous for eco-tourism, and has between 2,000 and 3,000 tourists over weekends before the pandemic.
Simply cool: The Rainbow Waterfall, about 12km from Sungai Lembing New Village, on a Sunday morning.
Welcome : Friends (from left) Foo Kok How, Siang Yen, Mac Tang Siew Fong and Alan Cheong posing  with the century-old tree in Sungai Lembing town.
All is well until 2020.
The Pu brothers lost their mother to cancer shortly after the start of the pandemic.
She was 64.
Siang Yen says they have come to terms that their mother had gone to a better place, forever.
“We found solace in the fact that our mother is finally a lao ban niang (lady boss).
“She is so happy when guests like her food and they posed pictures with her,”  recalls Siang Yen.
He says even Westeners took a liking to Soon’s cooking.
According to Siang Yen, his mother who was healthy, suddenly started to lose weight which is not a good sign.
Soon was diagnosed with late stage cancer, underwent surgery, but succumbed to the disease in a matter of months.
Siang Yen says his mother had managed to train one of his aunts to do the cooking.
Note: All the photos were taken before the pandemic.

Say it with flowers

 

Spring is here: Wan Zi Qian Hong conveys good health, happiness and longevity

By Foong Pek Yee

30 Jan, 2022

SHENTI JIAN KANG, WAN SHI RU YI (good health, all the best in Chinese),  a trader greets customers doing their last minute Chinese New Year (CNY)  shopping.

His sales pitch – good tidings  with flowers – draws customers to his flower stall in the SPPK market in Ipoh on Sunday morning (30 Jan).
The flower –  Wan Zi Qian Hong (tens of thousands of purple and thousands of red ) – an idiom on a garden in full bloom is among his most saleable items.
He says the flower conveys  good health,  happiness and longevity.
A pot of Wan Zi Qian Hong is priced at RM12 and RM35 for a pot of lime tree or  Kum Kut.  
Add value:  Good service brings business
According to him,  it takes six months to grow the Wan Zi  Qian Hong.
The timing is such that they will bloom during  CNY.
I bought his last three pots of Wan Zi  Qian Hong while another shopper snapped up the last two pots of Kum Kut   ( a symbol of prosperity
On a more serious note,  he says farmers and traders are treading cautiously this round.
Besides the pandemic, he says the increase in the price of  fertilisers and  pesticides and labour shortage have also  dampen the market.
A trader who sells cut flowers says there are not many varieties this round.
According to her, economic uncertainty,  financial constraints and  labour shortage saw many farmers cutting down on their production.
Her advice is to buy flowers early as stock is limited.
Among her saleable items is the yellow hulu (gourd) fruit – a symbol of good health, productivity and wealth.
Striking colour: The Hu Lu  fruits of different size  represent several generations together.

Chinese New Year mood in the air

Red lanterns:  A symbol of everything good.
By Foong Pek Yee
23 Jan, 2022
THERE is an air of festivity in Ipoh over the weekend.
With Chinese New Year (CNY) on Feb 1,  the Ipoh old town is a hive of activity.
CNY or  Lunar New Year or Spring Festival is celebrated worldwide.
The  Koreans  celebrate Lunar New Year  or ” Seollal”
The boss of a shop in Ipoh old town which is famous for dried seafood appears  in good mood.
On his most saleable items, he reels out a list – from abalone, mushrooms, scallops, oysters, sea cucumber to pistachio (hoi sum guo  or  happy fruit in Cantonese).
With his eyes glued to the workers unloading goods from a lorry, he went on to elaborate  why business is good in the year of the Tiger.
Upbeat: A shop in Ipoh old town that specialises in dried foodstuff especially seafood, is all set for brisk business.
“People will spend their CNY holidays enjoying good food at home or in restaurants.
“Unlike previous years when there were  people who went for overseas holidays, they cannot do so this round even if  they have the money .”
Along the five-foot way, a man was engrossed writing Chinese characters with good tidings with a Chinese brush on pieces of red paper.
Best wishes: Chinese saying on anything good and written on red papers is an evergreen deco.
Steep in tradition: A bookshop in Kampar old town selling CNY greeting cards  – a rare commodity in this digital era.
Good tidings: A shop in Tambun with its first batch of pomeloes.
But there may be a shortage of pomeloes this CNY – a much sought after fruit because its Cantonese name “look yau” rhymes with abundance rolling in.
According to a fruit shop owner in Tambun,  Ipoh,  the recent raining season which coincided with the trees flowering stage had affected the yields.
Tambun, about 7 km from Ipoh city centre, is famous for producing good pomeloes.
In Kampar wet market, a flower stall owner expects a shortage of flowers from Cameron Highlands as farmers are not producing at full capacity.
“Farmers are treading carefully after losing so much last CNY due to the movement control order,”  says the stall owner who has been in the business for almost four decades.
On consumer spending, he says people are extra prudent nowadays because of the high cost of living and economic uncertainties.
Perseverance:  This man who runs a flower stall for almost four decades tending to his CNY plants.
He says he will soldier on, and last weekend saw him busy meeting orders for bouquets from graduates at the convocation ceremony in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) nearby.

Korean seaweed soup

Korean culture: The soup bowl must be placed on our right hand side.
Ingredients:
2 gm seaweed (wakame)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
6  pieces  dried  Shitake mushroom
2 cups water.
Seasoning:
Half teaspoon salt,  one teaspoon sesame oil, one teaspoon  roasted sesame seeds and two teaspoons  soy sauce.
Method:
1. Soak seaweed in water for 30 minutes, rinse and cut into bite size.
2. Wash mushrooms.
3. In a pot, put seaweed, mushrooms, garlic and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer for one hour.
5. Add seasoning and ready to serve.
Adventure:   Add a pinch of pepper and chilli powder (gojugaru) for a stronger taste.
Seaweed soup is highly nutritious. Korean mothers take it during confinement.
And Koreans have seaweed soup for their birthday- By Foong Pek Yee. 2 Jan, 2022

Gold fish brings good luck to the villagers

By Foong Pek Yee
14 Dec, 2021
ORNAMENTAL FISH is a symbol of all things good;- from abundance, prosperity , good luck  to success.
In  Gopeng – an ex mining town-  it has given it  a new lease of life.

The world tin market crash in the mid 1980s saw many mine workers turned to  gold fish rearing – turning ex mining ponds into fish farms.

Gopeng, about 18 km from Ipoh city centre,  gradually rose to become one of the top exporters of gold fish .
The rest is history.
Watching their graceful movements  is simply therapeutic, says Roy Lee of how ornamental fish can be a de-stressor.
On top of things: Roy is hands on in the business.
Keeping ornamental fish is a way to de-stress, says Roy who
rears ornamental fish in  Gopeng.
He also imports and exports the fish to countries like  India, Vietnam, Thailand and  Philippines.
Chalking up 20 years in the industry, a
 typical working day for him starts at 8.00 am and he only calls it a day 12 hours later.
 Remarkable:  Villagers turned ex mining ponds into fish farms in Gopeng.
Perseverance: Ornamental fish rearing is labour intensive.
At 51, Wong Choon Ming has chalked up 30 plus years as a fish farmer, and is still counting.
He says he started off with gold fish and has switched to Arowana some time ago.
Choon Ming says Arowana, also known as dragon fish (long yu in Chinese ), is a symbol of good luck and prosperity, and majority of the Arowana from Gopeng  go to the China market,
Fish farmer Chin Kean Wei, 56, says it is a tough business and he is glad that farmers in Gopeng are close and help each other to stay competitive in the market.
Kean Wei says he also counts himself lucky as his wife Aw Chen Chen, 48,  helps him in the fish farm .
Caring  touch : Chen Chen learned  to look after ornamental fish when she and Kean Wei started dating.
Kean Wei says the demand for ornamental fish peaks  during winter and ahead of the Lunar New Year.
It may be end of year and holiday season but work comes first, says Kean Wei.
A typical working day for Kean Wei is between 7am and 9.00pm.
 Law Tong Hai says his  passion for ornamental fish brings joy in the business.
This is  important as the line between work and personal time is blur in the life of a fish farmer.
“We must be hands on though we have workers to do the job,” says Tong Hai.
Apart from experience, he says continuing research  to upgrade fish rearing methods is also important.
Using  pandan plants to filter the excretion from the fish is  a result of research, he says, drawing my attention to the fresh aroma of the plant during my visit to his farm.
 While large scale fish rearing using concrete ponds is inevitable, Tong Hai believes there are  ways to create an environment that is as close to nature as possible for the fish.