January 29, 2010

Eating Dog Meat and Drinking Wine

I was teased recently by a group of visitors. "Do you eat dog meat?"

This is the season to eat dog meat traditionally in South China. And with one of the coldest spells of winter in the last 30 years in Asia many people have taken special precautions to "heat up" their bodies. A traditional method is the eating of dog meat and drinking brandy or rice wine.

Caution : Those who have abhorrence of reading about dog meat eating please stop reading here......







Dog meat eating is nothing new in Asia.

Some people I know used to regale friends and acquaintances with stories of their escapades in the eating of dog meat and other exotic meats in some friendly restaurants in Sibu. I suppose officials in bygone days usually turned a blind eye and remained sporting. Some would have even joined such dog meat eating parties all for the sake of gaining some good health .


A few of my friends even took trips overseas and overland in fact to eat dog meat in Thailand and now Vietnam. Taiwanese restaurants serve good dog meat dishes too. There are no laws there against dog meat selling.





And I remember several times a long time ago my Sibu relatives could even buy black dogs to slaughter to brew some special hot pots to help the elderly gain their strength back after a bout of illness. In fact some older sinseh even suggest a pot of dog meat stew or two when strength seems to fail . Special herbs are available to cook the dog meat. However with the Sibu Municipal Council and the SPCA getting stronger dog meat eating is rarely heard of nowadays.

We Chinese have a saying "Hanging goat head to sell dog meat" which refers to fraudulence practices. But it could be literally true too as most people would not sell dog meat publicly.

In fact once in Sibu one of my black dog disappeared and I suspected that one of my "naughty" neighbours had taken him to his pot. I never would adopt any more black dogs after that. Mine are now either white or brown or spotted in black and brown. Black dogs usually end up in someone's pot (even those with license plates).

However I have heard that Sarikei is very well known for dog meat eating. Some some VIPs (sorry!)are even given special treats of the delicious and health giving meat. According to a friend they have the "jalan".

And as a cure for asthma dog meat is really good according to one old wife who continually gave her husband the dog meat treatment for several years. Finally according to her he was really cured. Believe it or not!! Saveral members of my family have asthma but they have never tried.

It is not for me to say that dog meat eating should be banned because eating of dog meat is a folk custom. I know many would condemn outright the eating of dog meat. And again some would also say that if it is really for a medicinal purpose then it is alright to eat dog meat. We have to consider animal rights and the health concerns surrounding dog meat which could be diseased etc. And please do not eat my dog.

My neighbour has a beautiful Alsatian and I do not think I could eat him. He is so lovely and he keeps good guard along all the fences. Remember the Ten Commandments "Thou shalt not covet your neighbour's dog/wife/bonzai."

But it can be one's personal choice to eat or not to eat.



All photos are from Google Images.
My sincere apologies to all those who eat dog meat for specific purposes.

14 comments:

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10622729

This is the biggest news in an non dog eating society of New Zealand.

33 dogs massacred in 'rifle-killing frenzy'
By Alanah May Eriksen View as one page
4:00 AM Thursday Jan 28, 2010


Rowan Hargreaves says the dogs were 'my family'. The police say they have never received any complaints about the animals. Photo / Greg Bowker Expand
Rowan Hargreaves says the dogs were 'my family'. The police say they have never received any complaints about the animals. Photo / Greg Bowker
Rowan Hargreaves says the dogs were 'my family'. The police say they have never received any complaints about the animals. Photo / Greg Bowker Shrink
Rowan Hargreaves says the dogs were 'my family'. The police say they have never received any complaints about the animals. Photo / Greg Bowker

A dispute between two neighbours has led to the slaughter of 33 dogs.

Some were maimed first in the "bloody, rifle-killing frenzy" before being "finished off", the police say.

Others were shot inside their cage or hit by ricocheting bullets. Still more were shot at point-blank range.

The youngest were 3 weeks old.

The SPCA is investigating whether the animals were killed humanely, or if charges should be laid.

The dispute, on a rural road in Wellsford in Rodney District, unfolded on Monday when a fox terrier belonging to Russell Mendoza was discovered dead after apparently being mauled by another animal.

Police say he blamed one or more of the 39 dogs owned by his neighbour, Rowan Hargreaves.

hehehehe,

CY, as the few Cantonese growing up in Sibu, we were teased by the Foochows that we ate dog.

But when the Foochows started eating dogs, it became a big scale.

Yes, I did eat dogs when I was a child, but not any more. I tell this to my Kiwi friends now, as a matter of factly. Some squirm, some who have been abroad are more open minded. In Nepal for instantly, the soldiers will come and shoot thedogs for the villagers.

Daniel Yiek said...

Sarikei had (past tense) some dog eating activities in the 1970s but I have not heard of it ever since.

Ensurai said...

Dear Ann
That's a horrendous piece of news....it sounds like a real war!!
My sympathies for the dogs and also their friends.

I know I know...how we whispered about the "Kwong fu yan sek xxxx" and that was why they could do all the kung tou!! A few martial arts exponents were Cantonese I remember.....

I hope I have not upset anyone too much here....hehehehe..Daniel has written and said..."past tense".....

Ensurai said...

Dear Daniel
Thanks for writing....by the way I checked with some friends and they could give me the recipe too....lots of lemon grass and lots of certain herbs...And my cousin said that many do come to his shop to buy the herbs...meaning the activity is going on in XXXX. So this is very classified info. (Smile...)

Also an assistant chef also said that he would not hesitate to slaughter a dog any time...now that made me squirm and I raised both eye brows!!

Ah Ngao said...

i remembered clearly this old man who sells dog meat and python meat opposite Sky Book store at Padungan road years back,being chased after by a pack of barking and howling dogs.they seems to shout at the old man,"why the goddamit you slaughtered our comrades !!@3%!"
Sarawakiana,why the black one is chosen? btw Ann,its really a pity they massacred my 33 "friends" ...
is it true that,after taking dog meat in the evening,ones gets very "aggresive" or horny?

Reanaclaire said...

dog meat??? gosh.. please.. i hope i pray not! but i heard of these gory stories.. sigh..

Ensurai said...

Ah Ngao
I suppose in the olden days Kuching before SPCA dog meat eating was fairly up front. I have heard of stray dogs being killed and even some housing areas were fairly free from stray dogs without the KMC dog catchers....

Yes dogs do recognise people who have been eating dog meat. That's for sure.

As for becoming aggressive after eating a bowl of dog meat stew...I would not ascertain that....even the sup power is just gimmick...how many bulls are there in Kuching /Sibu/Miri to be killed every day?May be someone is importing bull P########

Yeah...apparently the story has to continue because we do not really know what happened...

Ensurai said...

Reanaclaire
Dog meat eating has become a rarity ...but stories are still going around.
Thanks for dropping a comment.

Anonymous said...

Coming from a mixed background I have some stories to tell about dog meat eating! And some I have to keep to myself too.

One of the reasons my Chinese grandfather used so that he could eat with gusto dog meat almost every time he could get his hands on....he said that by having dog meat in his body he could fend off black magic!! But may be he learned it from some islanders as he was a tongkang hand in the olden days. After the World war I he landed in Labuan and Jesselton(KK)...and then of course he married my grandmother...

So I do believe that a Chinese can eat anything with four legs except a table or chair!! I don't mean to be rude.

Jus

Bengbeng said...

i had it once at 7th mile Kuching. i only knew it after the event. it was heaty and as I went back dogs went near me. mayb it was my guilty conscience but i thot they could smell it on me. abt the year of the buffalo/cow thingy..i am a banana.. i dont have a good command of the language used on the video :)

Ensurai said...

Hi Justin
Your granddad has an amazing story there!
that's what they always say about the Chinese...that they can eat anything under the sun...except...

Have good weekend.

Ensurai said...

Hi Bengbeng

Never mind about the luck of the Cow...I am sure it will be good. So much rain nowadays means that the soil will be wet and we have lots of fields to plough...more easily may be...hahahaha.

Do dogs still go near you? I heard 7th mile Kuching still offer exotic meats....smile.

Have a good weekend...and don't climb too high.

Anonymous said...

i think people today will not really consider eating dog meat because they've moved on to other meats (bear paws, tiger paw, bull balls and maybe in future, fish ears, elephant hooves, hyena womb, donkey balls)
sweetie pie

Ensurai said...

Yesterday some one called up and invited me for a dog meat party....he said it's a rare party. Some underground elements around!!! He was just kidding of course.

I don't think I will eat Bear's gall bladder or small lizards. I like fish lips but I don't eat the fish eyes. Donkey balls? how many donkeys are there in Asia?

There might be a good underground trade in importation of frozen bulls' penises if you notice the large number of shops selling Sup Power!

But according to Chinese medicine only the freshest of the parts work.

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