October 29, 2015

Sibu Tales : Jiang Lok or Chendol

Many people would nowadays want to make their own chendol (jian lok) at home.

The pronunciation of the original word which is Malay is Chendol but the Hokkien says it in a very corrupted form, Jian lok. The Mandarin/Chinese words are interesting : transliteration of Chendol has become Sauce Happy. There are several other versions.

The green chendol (must be green because the colouring comes from pandan leaves juices.

The best chendol is served with gula apong.


Chendol Recipe :-
20 pandan leaves, roughly chopped (aka screwpine leaves), blend to make juice with a bit of water.
1 glass rice flour
1 small teaspoon kapur
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
(some green colouring)
3 glasses water.


Image result for cendol homemade
Method
1. Set aside a basin of cold water
2. Add all the ingredients into a non stick pot and stir over slow fire.
3. Cook until the dough is sticky and shiny on surface.
4. When still hot push the dough through the chendol "maker" or sieve into the prepared basin of water.
5. The little strings of chendol can be stored in a bottle with the water for one or two days.

How to serve Chendol
1. Prepare bowls for individual servings.
2. Prepare boiled sago pearls, cut grass jelly in each individual bowls.
3. Prepare some ice shavings, or ice cubes and place in the bowls.
3. Add brown sugar syrup or maple syrup, some evaporated milk to make a full bowl of tropical dessert.

Enjoy!!

October 28, 2015

Nang Chong Stories : Chien Mien Gang


No photo description available.


The flavours of yesteryears. How they bring one down memory lane.

My maternal grandmother would boil about 6 bundles of these chien mien gang (dried noodles) in the morning for breakfast. There were at least twelve boisterious children in the house, some from the town and others from Third Uncle and Youngest Aunty during the holidays. The visiting cousins would never want the holiday to end mainly because of the food and the space.

She would then use some of the left over braised pork (with preserved soy beans) as a nice sauce to toss the boiled noodles with. How we children loved the Sanba breakfast...And that was not the only kind of breakfast we had. Grandma and Third Aunty would come up with many different kinds of Foochow breakfast.
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The third photo is a 21st century spin off of my grandmother's noodles from Nang Chong..

And then (in those 20th century days)  we could not wait for lunch!! What was for lunch? Something good definitely.

October 25, 2015

Sibu Tales : Fillings for Baos and Zongzi

During my childhood, my maternal grandmother and an aunt made the best baos and changs (zongzi) for the whole extended family. Grandma would use the zongzi as her annual gifts to her daughters and sons-in-law and grandchildren.


This aunt would get up early to collect the pork from the village butcher well ahead of the other villagers. And the whole morning the mother and daughter-in-law would be busy wrapping up the changs. By noon, the changs boiling in the large tin would be ready. Children would eat first. The process of boiling the changs would be right into the night as many batches had to be made.

Early the next morning my maternal grandmother would bring the changs to Sibu by motor launch, to distribute them to her three daughters and their families. It would take her at least two hours by the slow boat. This was our May festivity and we looked forward to it.

Later as Sibu developed, and as grandma aged, she would come to Sibu to make the Changs for us, while Aunt would make for her growing children in Nang Chong. Grandma could not make so many by then and my sister had already learned to make changs. My mother and I were not very good with the wrapping of changs and we gave up making them..Image may contain: food

Also by then things were more expensive and grandma also made less. The grandchildren were growing up and moving away, so she did not have to give so many to each of her daughters.

One of the greatest lessons I learned from grandmother and especially aunt was the love we should put into the fillings : the best of lean meat and the best of mushrooms.

As for changs,we must always put in a whole chestnut together with the meat slice amd mushroom.

With this kind of cultural background and family culinary home education, today we actually find it hard to accept the commercial baos which contain all sorts of poorer quality meat and tissues in the fillings. It would be very hard to find baos with a good slice of meat as filling nowadays.

Love is putting the best meat in the fillings for baos and changs.


(However, the biggest red beans must be found to make the best of Foochow Whole Red Bean Chang, which is very iconic and special for us, who had enjoyed our maternal grandmother's changs...now that's another story.)

October 24, 2015

Sibu Tales : Good Siblings

Tales from Wooden Houses (1) Good Siblings

In Sibu there are often stories of mothers who have favourites amongst their children.

When we were young we used to visit an elderly woman who sold kuih and fruits from her wooden house. She was not really an unpleasant woman but she was what we called LI Hai (superwoman)

We also never knew who her husband was but she had 7 children. It was reported that he died an early death. She never remarried.



All her children worked like ants in the house, especially the oldest son, who actually looked more or less like the slave of the family.

The children grew up and got married and moved away, but the eldest son and his wife continued to live in the house, but at the back, an extension of the kitchen.

We continued to walk past their house and continued to buy snacks for one reason or another. The wife of the eldest son continued the small business from home and she included selling of chickens and ducks, which brought in more income for the old lady.

However, at times, we could even see the old lady hitting the head of her eldest son.

As time went by people always talked about this old lady having "big eye and small eye", or having "big small heart".

We would never know why she disliked her son so much.

Her eldest daughter in law actually was her carer for more than 8 years when the old lady was bed ridden. This wonderful woman never complained and she continued her business of selling chickens and ducks.

After the old lady died, she left her property only to her other five sons, but nothing to her eldest son. She also sold her house and her eldest son had to move to another part of Sibu quite far away to rear chickens and ducks.

So we wondered if the eldest son was an adopted son. No one would know the real reason why she hated this son so much, not even the daughter-in-law. He was not poorly educated because he could do clerical work for a towkay.

But the beautiful part of the story was, all the siblings put together their shares and carved out a new share for their big KOR KOR and SOH, for they considered him their surrogate father. They even bought the couple a car, for their old age.The eldest brother and sister-in-law lived up to a very old age,garnering a lot of respect from their neighbours.

This is one story of good siblings. It is really a very good example of filial piety.

(Story told by the neigbhours of the eldest daughter in law)

October 23, 2015

Sibu Tales : Juo Buo (Calico)




Blacu or calico or Jua Buo( Foochow) is a rough cotton material which the Foochows use for funerals.

The blacu material is cut into 2 yards for waist bands for funeral helpers. Those who carry the coffin also tie a piece of the cloth around their waist. However today not many pall bearers tie this cloth around their waist as a mark of mourning. All immediate family members would tie a piece of blacu on their waist. The ladies would cover their head with another piece of this cloth.

In the past, the wearing of blacu was more elaborate. For example in the 1960's the children would wear mourning clothes made from blacu for 100 days, at least. It was very heart breaking to see mourners wearing these badly made mourning clothes. A group of close women relatives would gather around to do all the sewing.

In fact some families even engage a special tailor to make all the mourning clothes for three days before the funeral.

There would be a lot of wailing and moaning when the funeral clothes were put on.

As part of the funeral rites and rituals, relatives would be given one piece of blacu cloth to take home, after they had given a token of money, called White Gold.

Families who were well related i.e. with big families and therefore having more funerals to attend, would collect a lot of these blacu materials.



A white piece of calico is used to dress a door way when the family is in mourning. After the funeral, when the family returns, a red cloth will replace the white, a long standing Foochow custom.


As a result, the frugal mother would make blacu pajama trousers for the children to wear.

After my father's funeral, my aunt made several pairs for us and we actually wore them for many many years as the material is very lasting.

Any left over material would be made into bags, pillow cases, and even the backing for quilts.

This is because the material is very washable or long lasting or in Foochow it is very tahan.

October 21, 2015

Sibu : Cold Storage Businesses

The first cold storage in Sibu was Kim Guan Siang, which sold good frozen food to mainly the British Colonial, the Roman Catholic Priests and some missionary families. It was established in 1925 and my father was one of Mr. Cheng's favourite customers. Kim Guan Siang was one of the first businesses to start along Cross Road which was a newer road than Channel Road or Market Road.

There was one particular item that many Foochows liked to buy in the 1960's from Kim Guan Siang. That was the frozen pig's stomach. It was interesting how the Foochows loved to eat pig's stomachs.

Also in those days, slow cooking and braising was fashionable and many families enjoyed eating braised stomach and hard boiled eggs. The Foochows also love to eat pig's stomach soup with lots of black pepper.

Later our family friends,including Ah Huat, started Hua Huat Cold Storage at Jalan Khoo Peng Loong. The cold storage businesses prospered and more started to come into the Sibu scene, especially the  Central Cold Storage belonging to the Tiong family. They had a very extensive prawn business and also ice manufacturing business.Image result for Sarawak Central Cold Storage Sibu

Mum would always send us out to,on our bicycles to buy what she would like to cook from the different cold storages.

Frozen food was so much cheaper for those who were budget conscious.


October 20, 2015

Sibu Tales : Going to the Movies

The Lido Cinema in the olden days provided ventilation with air vents on the sides of the walls. When the films were shown many boys were able to climb through these air vents, thus watching movies free of chrage.Image result for the Kingdom and the Beauty Shaw Brothers

When the lights went off and the film started, the ticketing personnel were not bothered any more who entered the cinema without tickets.Image may contain: bicycle, motorcycle, sky, house, tree and outdoor

Many boys were also able to sneak into the cinema by holding onto the sleaves of older women especially. The door man would think that they were the children or grand children. Adults were allowed to bring in two sometimes even three children with only one ticket.

Another way of watching movies in olden days Sibu was to buy a cheap ticket and when the lights went out, a boy would climb up to the more expensive section and enjoy the movie.

Cinemas in the olden days were really stuffy without air conditioning. Clothes smelled of cigarettes so mothers would know where their kids went and of course they would get the rattan.

But all the suffering was supposed bearable to these naughty kids.

Those were the days. Youngeters would do anything to catch a movie.




October 19, 2015

Sibu Tales : Seller of Ginseng

The bian dang was a great lever used when the Foochows first came to Sibu in 1900's; Led by Wong Nai Siong and Lik Chiong, the Foochow pioneers were very honest people who worked hard and were very religious and disciplined.

Most Foochow men were glad they could cut many shoulder poles from the bamboos found along the river banks of the Rajang in the early days.

A shoulder pole or bian would help the men and the women carry more load as they walked from place to place. It was considered an earlier "vehicle" than the wheel barrow.Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling


Here is a photo of Hii Kai Yuen carrying the bian dan in Fujian.

Our teachers in school  would tell us about the early days in Sibu . The late Mr. Lau Tieng Sing, Mr. Lu Yew Nieng, Mr. Eu How Chong and even Mr. Deng Wang Chiew, during more relaxed times like Sit-ins would regale us with stories of the pioneering days of the Foochows in Sibu.

One such story was about men and women who sold goods from village to village.

And this particular one was related to the man who sold ginseng and other herbs. He would obtain his supplies from Poh Nguong and then he would walk from house to house. Ginseng was not really affordable in those days, but Pak Ding (8 Treasures), Chow Yi Jar (Smelly Root) and Perilla (Jie ru) were more affordable. Besides, it was cheaper to get from this kind of peddler than for a housewife to take a boat to go to Sibu. It would have really be a waste of a good day's labour!!

Why did he sell ginseng and herbs and walked from village to village? Probably he had no other skills like tailoring, or carpentry. And he claimed to earn just a few cents from each packet he sold. Cheap but good

And he would call out in his loud Foochow voice, " Seng", "Yong Seng", "Pau Seng", "Seng Di" AND SOMEtimes he would sing a few Foochow folk songs under the cool shady leaves of the rubber garden roads.

That was even before the coming of the bicycle to Sibu.

And then one day, he just did not come again to one village.

And the reason was because he accused one relative of stealing his ginseng. This ginseng seller would go from house to house and when night fell, he would get accommodation from a relative, where he would stay for the night, and of course get a free meal.

But one day he found he had some precious ginseng missing and he started to accuse his relative of stealing.

In those days, theft and telling lies were the worst sins any Foochow would commit. And it was very rare actually to find a thief amongst the early Foochows. Liars were often reprimanded by none other than Rev James Hoover himself!! In fact those who told lies once too often were even asked to leave Sibu and be sent back to China. That was a very serious punishment.

The social mores then were very strict Methodist culture.

Perhaps his accusation was wrongly directed and he was advised not to come any more. Or perhaps he got a new job or move some where else.

No body liked to be wrongly accused of stealing.

October 18, 2015

Sinang Niong : Food for those in need

My mother never allowed anyone to call her Towkay Niung (wife of towkay),she was always Sing Nang Niong because my father was once a teacher. She liked that title. And her tenants called her that.
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My mum managed my late father's legacy well and slowly saved enough money to develop piece of land with neigbhours. This was how she had her first shop lot in Brooke Drive. My late grandfather had willed on small piece of land with wooden houses to my late father. My father died two years after my grandfather, when my youngest brother was only 11 months old. The property was caveated.

These small houses were for rent and we saw many families who moved in and out, while many stayed for more than 20 years and prospered. Even when the land was developed, several families continued to live in the shop houses, and continued to be my mother's tenants. My mother received only about 200 dollars in total rental, not a big sum.

My mum allowed them to pay rent at the end of the month. This was called Nguok Mui ju in Foochow. Some even owed three months' rental.

My mum got along well with the tenants. When ever they came over to pay rents, they could also stay for a meal.

One old lady whom we called Short Ah Moo was always at our housem keeping mum company so to speak. I suppose her moanings and her conversation helped my widowed mother pass time. Mum was like a kind of counsellor, pursuading the old aunty to live and carry on living. And sure enough after more than 30 years, one of her sons prosered.

Mum would always give her a bowl of chicken soup with mee sua and she, of course, probably looked forward to it. At times, mum would give her some chicken meat without the noodles. Sometimes she would be angry and hit our dining table while cursing others. My brother I remember one day stopped her doing it.

Ah Moo would always visit us at about 11 in the morning when my mother finished cooking, and was resting and waiting for us to come home. When later she moved away, we sort of missed her.

Today one of her daughters in law remain our family friends and continue to do well.


October 16, 2015

Sibu Tales : Over night bread



My father was a man of good taste, quiet disposition, taciturn and a great reader who kept to himself most of the time. He actually did not like to socialise with people. At one time, an uncle came to his work place and said, "Why are you so happy sitting on a rock like that?"

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Hainanese Man of Marudi - Good Bread.
My father answered,"There is a lot of peace sitting on a rock, over looking my workers in the quarry. It is better than sitting on a chair, which may be removed from under you by crafty men!!"

My father was all for peace and harmony, reflection and kindess to others. His pet hate, if he had any, for people who were usurpers. He had studied too much Chinese history.

One of his joys was food. And he once told a friend that one of his favourite meals was breakfast. He would buy eggs from his good friend Mr.Cheng Kuok Kong,who lived along Queensway. His bread was always from Tiong Huo Hin, his cousin. He would buy bread in the evenings , on his way back from Kiong Ann Brickyard, and later Takang Quarry in Sg. Aup.

We did not have a toaster in those days, so he used his own home made rack, made from three small pieces of iron rods which he placed over charcoals. He could either use the Foochow stove or the small portable charcoal stove.

I remember how he and my mother would together make the toasts at the back of the kitchen in the morning, chatting softly and perhaps whispering a few jokes to each other. My father was conservative and he made sure that we kids did not listen to some tales not "fit for our ears".

His breakfast eggs were always done in the Foochow way, i.e. eggs placed in an enamal cup and boiling water poured into the cup. The eggs would stand in the hot water for about 6 minutes and the perfect half boiled eggs would result.

He would get up as early as 5 a.m. in the morning. And he would always make  the first cups of coffee for  himself. He would bring up a cup of coffee for my mother upstairs .

My mother was allowed to be in the bed room for a longer period of time so as not to rouse the younger children and only later my mother would come downs stairs to pour the cooled  boiled water into the sunkist bottles for the day. She would later boil another kettle to fill the two Chinese hotwater flasks. The Foochow stove would have the live coals until time for my mother to cook lunch. It was her way of ensuring that the fire did not have to be started all over again.


The morning would be half gone by the time my mother sat down for her newly toasted bread, with kaya and butter. And we would all be in school. Dad would have gone to work in Sg. Aup too.

WE would never throw away bread from Sg. Merah for some of the overnight bread would still be so edible the following day. Sometimes my father would even buy the left over bread from his Hainanese friend in town. They would also make such nce extra toasts for the family.

Mornings were good times for her and the younger children at home.


(I took up a short bread making course in Miri. See photo)
Image may contain: 25 people, including Yi Chang, people smiling



October 15, 2015

Red wine lees (紅 糟) Yongtai

Red wine lees (紅糟)No photo description available.

The temperatures have been dropping  and in most places in Fujian autumn has set in...

It is time for warming soups..and here I have a photo of mutton soup cooked with Foochow red wine lees and some good Foochow rice wine (grabbed from Google)

Mutton is a specialty dish in Yongtai where the mountains and the rains bring good pasture for  the mountain goats.

Pingnan is another place where lots of goats are reared in Fujian. As people become more affluent the demand for good meat has increased. Good hotels and restaurants all over Fujian are advertising good Foochow red lees mutton soup in Autumn.

Autumn is a good season for a bit of warm soup our elders used to say.


October 12, 2015

Chinese Poetess: Li Qingzhao

Image result for Li Qingzhao

Her life during the Song Dynasty was carefree and surrounded by books. She was happy to marry a man she loved. She and her husband enjoyed travelling and collecting books. Her poems during this period of  her life were exceptionally romantic.

After her husband passed away, her poems became sad and full of despondence.

Many of her poems refer to very small details of Chinese women's lives. She had a very keen eye for details.


To the Tune of Rinsing Silk Stream

 Saddened by the dying spring, I am too weary
    to rearrange my hair.

 Plum flowers, newly fallen, drift about the courtyard
    in the evening wind.

 The moon looks pale and light clouds float
    to and fro.


 Incense lies idle in the jade duck-shaped burner.

 The cherry-red bed-curtain is drawn close,
    concealing its tassels.

 Can tung-hsi horn still ward off the cold?*

 Qingzhao (Chinese李清照) 1084 – ca 1155/1156, alternatively 1081 – c. 1141, pseudonym Householder of Yi'an (易安居士), was a Chinese writer and poet in the Song dynasty. She is considered as one of the greatest poets in Chinese history.

Nang Chong Tales : Yongtai

Copied and paste for your reading pleasure :


http://www.klimesh.com/redraiders/html/Bailout_over_China.html

A Memorable Mission
T/Sgt. Joseph L. Fasulo
33rd. Bomb Squadron’s Mission #: 146a4 on 25 May 1945 in B-24L-2 #44-49612 was a harassing recon strike on Tienho Airdrome, Canton, China. Aboard were: Capt. Harley Stone, pilot; Lt. Vance Skarstedt, co-pilot; Lt. Albert Kulczyk, bombardier; Lt. Richard Watters, navigator; Lt. Edward Hubschman, radar navigator; T/Sgt. James Roberts, engineer-gunner’ T/Sgt. Joseph Fasulo, radio operator-gunner; T/Sgt.. Arthur Schuller, radio operator-gunner; S/Sgt. Jack Bennet, gunner; Sgt. Hugh Mclaughlin, asst. engineer-gunner; Cpl. Robert Defreitas, gunner.
      This mission was to be a time-staggered four-plane night bombing (harassment) raid on the Tienho airdrome at Canton, China. Since Art Schuller and I were both radio operators, we decided he would be on radio duty enroute to target and I would take over on the way back. The radio voice code name of our ship was Dumbo II.
      After midnight take-off, I found a spot in the rear of the plane and went to sleep. I had my earphones on my head so that I could be awakened when the call to stations was made by Capt. Stone. I was awakened, not by the call to stations, but by conversations going on that alerted me to the fact that we were in trouble. I heard Capt. Stone calling, "Hello Jumper, hello Jumper, this is Dumbo II, this is Dumbo II, give me a call please, over." Jumper was the radio voice code name of our emergency airfield in unoccupied China. Capt. Stone kept repeating this over and over. Jack Bennet came over and informed me that we were low on fuel and could not make it back to Clark field. It was about 5 o'clock in the morning and we were trying to find the airstrip.
      After a while, a voice using the code name "Dido" responded and asked us if he could be of assistance. We informed him of our situation and he tried to raise Jumper, “Hello Jumper, this is Dido, give Dumbo II a call." We took turns trying to raise Jumper with no affect until 8 o'clock when suddenly Jumper returned our call. When Capt. Stone asked him where he'd been all night, Jumper informed us that he does not come on the air until 8 am.
      There was a heavy cloud cover and our radio compass was indicating that we were over the airstrip. We later found out that we were about 150 miles to the east. Jumper informed us that they were sending up flares but we did not see any. Capt. Stone started to take the plane down under the clouds and informed Jumper that he was at six thousand feet but still could not see any flares. Jumper screamed over the radio "Get up! Get up! Everything’s 8 and 10 around here!" Capt. Stone immediately put the B-24 into an almost vertical climb. I think my heart missed several beats. Fortunately, we got above the clouds without mishap. However, that climb really used most of what fuel we had left and the order came to get ready to bail out.
      I strapped on my chest chute and took my place at the camera hatch facing the rear of the plane. Sgt. Roberts took his place on the other side of the hatch facing me. Jack Bennet was on the intercom waiting for the go-ahead. When it came I looked to Roberts to go out first as per procedure, but he shook his head. Muttering under my breath, (I wanted to see how he made out), I put my head between my knees and rolled out of the hatch.
      The first sensation was of the high winds blowing around me and I knew I was tumbling. Suddenly I opened up and I felt myself free falling with my back to the ground. I pulled the ripcord and, after what seemed like an eternity, the chute opened and jerked me up and down. I turned to look for the plane and other chutes and, much to my dismay, I saw it disappear into the clouds without another chute in sight!
      The first thought that ran through my mind was that they had discovered a mistake on the fuel reading and could fly longer. I suddenly felt very alone. I had just got back from being married to my wife in Australia and I wondered if I would ever see her again. The words of a song ran through my mind. It was called "let’s take the long way home." The line that stood out was "through china would be not too far." Looking down I realized I better pay attention to what was going on. Below me, winding its way through the heavily forested hills, was a fast flowing river! I knew that if I fell into it, I would probably drown and so I started to pull on the shroud lines to steer away from the river. I was successful, but now I was heading into the side of a hill and into the trees.
      I covered my eyes and hoped for the best. Luck was with me because I went through the tree without my feet hitting any limbs and, just before I hit the ground, my chute caught. It held for a few seconds and then let go. I was about two feet off the ground. Since I was on a steep slope, I fell backwards and slid several feet down the hill. Getting to my feet, I pulled the chute out of the tree. The next thing I did was to get out of the harness and zip open the back. To my dismay the emergency survival kit was not there. After damming the thief to burn in hell, I tried to wrap the chute into a roll so that I could carry it but to no avail. It was too voluminous and I had no space to lay it out. Therefore I jammed it between several low growing bushes hoping it could not be seen from the ground or the air.
      It was obvious from what happened on the plane that I was not anywhere near "Jumper." The river was below me so I climbed up the hill. As I went over the top, I could see rice fields in the valley below. At the bottom, I came upon a road and decided to follow it taking what I thought was the direction our plane was going when last I saw it. I came upon a lean-to at the side of the road and in the field about 100 feet away was a farmer bent over working. It was a damp, cloudy day so I went into the lean-to and I thought I would wait until he saw me. After awhile he raised his head and looked in my direction. I know he saw me and I raised my hand in friendship but he went back to working and started slowly moving further away. I immediately thought that I must be in an occupied part of China and he was afraid to get involved. I decided to leave the lean-to and continue along the road. After walking the winding road about a mile, there appeared around a bend about fifty feet away, two men. They wore hats and capes made out of twigs. I raised my hand but, upon seeing me, they became very agitated and started shouting at me. As I started toward them, they turned and disappeared around the bend. I ran after with my gun drawn (to this day I don't know why I drew my 45) but I as rounded the bend they were nowhere in sight. They must have gotten off the road and were hiding.
      Turning and going back around the bend, I decided to get off the road and started up the hill. It was steep and by the time I got to the top I was pretty tired. I sat on a large rock and contemplated the predicament I was in. I had no water or food and was in a strange country with a language barrier. Ten minutes later as I was about to continue, I heard some noises coming from down the hill. Looking down, I saw two Chinese farmers climbing the hill. They saw me and beckoned me to come down. Having no viable alternative, I went down the hill to meet them and followed them down the road.
     

During missions that took them over China, 22nd BG crew members carried a "blood chit." Printed on silk cloth, blood chits carried an image of the Chinese flag and Chinese text. The text identified the bearer as a friend who had come to China to help and promised a reward for safe return of the bearer to his people. Pictured is the blood chit carried by T/Sgt. Fasulo during the ill-fated flight
      After walking for 20 minutes, we came upon a farming compound and about 15 men, women and children surrounded me, all eager to touch me. I was offered food and water which I eagerly accepted. Although none of us could converse with each other, it was clear they wanted me to stay with them. As evening rolled around two well-dressed young men came in and handed me a note which read as follows, “Please come to us, we have doctor and priests." Our hosts put the two men and I in a room that had three raised mats. As I lay down on the mat I took out my 45, cocked it and laid it down beside me. The next thing I knew it was morning and the young men were awakening me. After washing up and having a bowl of rice to eat, we left with farewells, cheers and many handshakes.
      We traveled most of the day until we came upon a very large compound that appeared to contain a church and a school. Again I was greeted with applause and people ran to touch me. A young lady ,whose name sounded like "Ahling" greeted me in halting English. At last I could converse with someone. She took me to a doctor who cleansed and bandaged the bruise I had gotten on my left arm when I went down through the tree. "Ahling" informed me that tomorrow I was to go to the village of Yungtai.
      The next day, after breakfast, I was taken to the large courtyard where about 50 to 75 people of all ages were gathered. After an introduction by "Ahling", she asked me if I would speak to the people. I responded by saying that Japan is losing the war and soon all China and her heroic people would be free from her tyranny. I also expressed my gratitude to the wonderful people of China, especially those here, for the hospitality they have shown me. I was escorted to a sedan chair where I was seated and carried out of the courtyard to the sound of cheers and exploding fireworks! I shall never forget this scene and the feeling I exper­ienced for the rest of my life. As soon as we got out of sight, I got out of the chair and walked. The two Chinese men, however, did not go back but followed my guide and me. By early evening we entered the village of Yungtai and, to my surprise, in a crowd about a block ahead of me, I saw the rest of the crew! I said goodbye to my friends and hurried to join them. It was like old home week. We were taken to our quarters to freshen up and then were escorted to a large banquet room where we were told we were to be honored with a 25-course dinner. Besides the eleven of us, there were 7 Chinese also seated around the table. Mr. Chen-Kang Huang, the magistrate of Yungtai rose and made a speech, which translated, said that when he heard that American allies were falling from the sky, he sent out messengers to inform the local populace to come to our aid. He praised the American captain and his brave men. Then he took a cup to his lips, drank, and turned the cup over.
      We all rose and did the same. I am not a drinking man and I thought my throat was burning! No sooner did we sit down the servant behind each chair filled it up again. Captain Stone stood up and spoke of his admiration for the Chinese people. He then drank and turned over his cup. I knew I was in for it! I spent the next ten minutes convincing my waiter to fill my glass with water. Luckily I succeeded for, by the time the 17th course came around, all at the table except Roberts and me were drunk. Capt. Stone rose and said, "I've had enough of this stuff, I'm going to bed." The party broke up leaving Roberts and me wondering what the last 8 courses would have been like.
      The next morning, after breakfast, Jack Bennet told me that Roberts tried and changed his mind several times before he moved to the other side of the camera hatch. He then hesitated some more and finally jumped out, just as Jack was moving to push him out. That accounted for my not seeing any chutes.
      The magistrate had photographs taken with us. These were quickly developed and copies given to all of us. Good-byes were said. We were taken to a dock on the Ch'l river, placed in several sampans, told to stay out of sight and sent down the river to Foochow on the coast. We stayed in Foochow a couple of days until an American officer (whose name I have forgotten) joined us and said he was our guide the rest of the way.
   
      Boarding a cabin cruiser, we sailed up the Min-chiang River for two days until we arrived at the town of Nan-ping, where we disembarked. The hotel where we stayed had a basketball court and, for exercise, the enlisted men played the officers. No rules were followed and no holds were barred! That evening we were challenged to a game the next day by the local all star team but that rough stuff would not be tolerated. Suffice to say that on a basketball court viewed by about one hundred people, they whipped the pants off of us.
      The next day we boarded a truck that took us to the "Jumper" airbase at Changting. There I inquired about "Dido" and was told it was a fighter base 100 miles to the north­west. A transport plane took us to Chikiang where we stayed overnight. The next day another plane took us to Kunming. We stayed nine days in Kunming and then were flown to Luliang where we picked up a C-54 for the 8 ½-hour flight to manila. We were gone a total of 25 days.

      I would like to end this adventure story with a "small world" sidelight. When I was discharged from the air corps, I returned home to Brooklyn, N.Y. and enrolled in college. On my first day of school, other students and I were in a physics lab waiting for the instructor to arrive. The talk got around to souvenirs. I remarked that I had picked up some beautiful lacquer ware in Foochow, China. One of the students (John Frampton) asked me when I was in Foochow. When I told him he said the Japanese had pulled out just two weeks before and asked why was I in Foochow. I told him my crew had bailed out over China and we were just passing through it on our way out. He said, "Were you on a B-24 from the Philippines." "Yes," I said. "Were you Dumbo II, " he exclaimed. "Yes," I replied. "Well, I was Dido"!

Sibu Tales : Minced Pork, Jak Niik

tok tok tok tok

The sounds of chopping meat on a wooden chopping board were such good music in our ears. We would have minced pork (Chak Niik) for lunch.

Those days before the mincer was available, or before minced pork could be store bought , Mum had to mince pork using the cleaver...Some how whenever we heard her making the tok tok tok noise on the chopping board we would have our smiles on.
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Minced pork is just so versatile in Foochow kitchen.

It can be used to make a good dish of steamed minced pork with egg, it can be part of a soup, or it can be stir fried with the long white cabbage. Your imagination can bring the minced pork to any level you like!!

It is a life saviour for me in my kitchen. It is so dependable if I have some portions of it, cooked and frozen, or freshly frozen....

I like mine cooked this way, with lots of salted soy beans...I can just eat a bit of rice, and pick on every salted soy beans. I don't mash the beans.....The medium sized pieces of garlic also help me to enjoy my meal..hence, not minced too.

October 11, 2015

Sibu Tales : Dining Table turned Upside Down



In our younger days we were often told tales about step mothers and step sons. We were told secrets we had to keep.

But some of the tales had to be told so that we learn many lessons from them.

Although step mothers were common in Sibu amongst the Foochows, and most step mothers were of excellent character, some were the worst in the world.

One story that was passed around at dinner table was the story of a step son who could not stand the food placed on the table by the stepmother any more.

This is our family's quality control story and about the heart of a mother. It is more about kindness and affection

The young man was home visiting the family and especially to see the father, who had recently acquired a new wife. This wife was born in China but had been sold into one family by her father, who found her "difficult" to raise. She was 8 years old when she landed in Sibu and she went to live with the towkay's family. She was indeed a difficult girl, head strong, sharp in tongue and unwilling to do work. She was already trying to catch the eye of another man servant and was trying to bully the other maidservants.

Her adopted parents tried their best to get rid of her too.

However many years later, this young lady left her own family in order to marry a towkay who was widowed. She was eyeing his money.

By the time the young son by the first wife came home from another town where he was working, the new mother who had already two children of her own and was enjoying her life as the new trendy wife of the owner of a shop.

She would cook wonderful dishes for her new husband and her own two children with her first husband.

On the day of the step son's visit, she served petola soup and rice. He had expected chicken soup to welcome him , as would have been the correct or appropriate courtesy, but none was on the table, even though the family was rich enough.

When the step son came to the table, he ate the petola slices and they were as hard as wood. The vegetable was too old to be eaten.

He was so angry, he turned the table upside down and created havoc. He was a righteous man and he thought injustice had really been done.

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The father came into the kitchen and saw the disastrous scene with the step mother having a hue and cry dramatic scene. She had her story, of how unfilial the step son was.

"You did eat the best of petola slices, didn't you? Towkay?"

The old man, only wanting to please the new wife, said,"Of course, you serve the best and freshest of all foods."

The step son upon seeing the scenario, left without saying anything. He never spoke to his step mother again and made his own way in life.

His next visit to the family was when the father passed away many years later. And even then he was very reluctant to come home.

However, his father did leave him a small share of his property, although the step mother and step brother and sisters, his half brother and half sisters , had the bulk of the property.

Someone was smart enough to carry out the unequal division of property through her wiles and personal relationships.


October 9, 2015

Sibu Tales : "Make the Porridge more watery"

It was common for the Foochows of Sibu to practise frugal life style.

Porridge was a way to keep the household budge really low.

Most Foochow families lived on porridge for breakfast and dinner. Only lunch was a full meal. Perhaps that was how many men and women were very slim then.

Eating out was really a luxury and any way the conservative women in those days were also never seen in coffee shops. Then, the coffee shops were the haunts of White Faced Women or Street Women looking for some money in return for sex, i.e. sex workers. We were so conservative then , we even used a euphemism, Bah Ming Boh (White Faced Woman).

Now back to watery porridge.
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The Foochow porridge we had when we were children indeed was watery . Hostel porridge was watery. Condiments were a small plate of fried peanuts, some preserved Hu Cheo or toufu, some salted eggs and perhaps an omelette. Salted vegetables were usually served and all in, the cost of a Foochow watery porridge breakfast was probably only $1.00 for the whole family. Evening meal would be a repeat of our breakfast. And usually to save the wood, we would just add extra water to the morning's porridge and make the porridge MORE watery. If we had saved some food from the afternoon, it was considered again, something good for the family.

A good Foochow woman was able to budget well. She could even calculate well enough to prepare 9 meals for her family. That's the saying referring to an intelligent Foochow housewife. Thus my mother was really careful with her money and we had food on our table. The proverbial dollar was stretched to the limits.

The very frail and old people would just "drink" the thick gruel or soup of the porridge. This is called "Ang" in Foochow.

Recently I visited Fuzhou and discovered that some vegetable soups were actually thickened by this Ang. Hence the term Ang Tong (soup made from thick rice water).

Yes it is still with us...when we need to stretch our budget, we must make our porridge more watery.

October 8, 2015

Sibu Tales : The Harmonica



We all need opportunities to perform and go on stage!!

Confidence building.

Cheers every one.

October 5, 2015

Nang Chong Stories : Geng Niang (Seat of District Office)

My paternal great grandfather and grandfather , maternal grandfather came to Ming Chiang Geng (town of Ming Chiang) to meet Wong Nai Siong, after hearing about Wong Nai Siong's mission to bring Foochow pioneers to Sibu. They must have done some official documentation here before leaving for Nanyang. The pioneers had to go by boat to Mawei where they boarded their ship to Singapore.

My paternal grandfather and his brother came from Wun Chieh, a very hilly region of Minqing.
Here is a photo I took when I paid a visit not long ago. Today the road is excellent and there are many viaducts and bridges to go up to the high mountains. My ancestors were all buried in high mountain sides.

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My maternal grandparents came from Ban Dong, or 6 Du, nearer to Wong Nai Siong's home.

They would not have imagined that their poor county seat would be this prosperous in 120 years' time.

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Our ancestors would not believe that their Geng Niang would be so westernized like this.
They left in 1901, and more than 118 have passed. My grandfather was 18 years old at that time.

I used to hear my grandmother mentioning Geng Niang this and Geng Niang that...I wish I could hear them tell their stories again and again.

October 4, 2015

Sibu Tales : Buttered Rice and Butter Fried Rice


Image result for buttered rice
Butter was a novelty in the early days of Sibu.

In my family at Kung Ping Road, we always enjoyed lots of butter and bread since my father loved bread for his breakfast.

The Gold Churn tin of butter would last some time. Once  the butter was almost finished we would either make fried rice, or just mix our hot rice in the tin and that was for one person.

the fried rice was a nice evening meal, accompanied by a kang kong soup or cangkok manis food.

Love the aroma of butter and hot rice.

October 3, 2015

Foochow Food in Miri Series : Hoong Ngang Long


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For a long time, Foochows who migrated to Miri found it hard to enjoy Foochow delicacies in the eateries.

But ever since more Foochows have moved to Miri in the 1990's, and Foochows have started their own coffee shops, Foochow delicacies can be ordered more easily.

This specialty is made up of chicken soup with chicken meat slices, a whole egg or two omelette, some vegetables, some prawms....to which a good bunch of soft coarse rice vermicelli is added. The rice vermicelli if from Char Kou, will not disintegrate in the soup.

It will retain its Q-ness. That's the beauty of the authentic early rice (grown in spring) vermicelli.

October 2, 2015

Nang Chong Stories : Wood Planer



In my mother's days in Ah Nang Chong, she knew two great carpenters, Hii Tien Chii (my uncle Hii Weng Hui's father) and Jing Muk Sah. Both were builders who were fairly well known, trustworthy, did quality work and there was never talk of how expensive they were !!

Image result for chinese wood planer
Photo from Google
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My grandfather's house in Ah Nang Chong was built by Hii Tien Chii and Jing Muk Sah with their team of workers. While Hii Tien Chii had his own house farther in land as he had his own rubber garden, Jing Muk Sah stayed in one of the 4 coolie houses built by my grandfather for his coolies who tapped his 200 acres of rubber garden.
My grandfather first cleared more than 400 acres of land with his older brother, Lau Kah Tii and other relatives before clearing his own 200 acres.  Because grand uncle Lau Kah Tii was the headman then, my grandfather and later, some of the other relatives were easily given land titles to the land they cleared. Much of the land clearing was done by my grandfather and his closest cousins and later by "coolies" who were brought out from Fuzhou through the Rajah's permission for legal landing in Kuching and then in Sibu.

Rev Hoover and my Grand Unlce Lau Kah Tii actually helped many Foochows to land in Sarawak legally. They later prospered.

Jing Muk Sah was one of them.

Hii Tien Chii and Jing Muk Sah were responsible for building many of the nice wooden houses in Nang Chong area. Every plank of wood was cut by hand, and every piece was planed smooth using this simple tool.

I miss my grandfather's house.

October 1, 2015

Sibu Tales: Kang Kong 马来风光

We have a lovely vegetable known as Kang Kong, or Woon Chai in Foochow, or Kung Sing Chai in Mandarin.

It is water spinach in English.Image may contain: food

For as long as I know, my family started having this vegetable on the table from our days in Pulau Kerto, where we lived by the edge of the river. Mum grew the kangkong on the mud plots, while some of the spinach could be gathered wild from the creek too. Both were such edible vegetables. We could have it as soup, stir fried and in our noodles. Mum's cooking was plain and healthy.

In those long ago days, we children could forage for this wild organic kangkong in the creeks and we would just be so happy to go home with a huge bundle under our arms,both in Pulau Kerto and in Sibu.

For several years we also reared rabbits in our Brooke Drive home and we shared our foraged vegetables with them.

Aother good memory of kangkong was how cheap it was to buy them in the Sibu wet market from our friendly vegetable sellers, especially our Mr.Sia who was nicknamed Lakiang (he gladly answered the name too). He and his mother sold vegetables for decades and were friends with my mum. Each time we bought vegetables from them, we would always get a few stalks free after the weighing.

Can you imagine buying 20 cents worth of kangkong per kati and then get about four or five stalks more? It was buying one kati and get 1/4 free....such was the good Foochow neigbhourliness of those days.

We often had kangkong soup for lunch and for dinner. It was a cheap and healthy dish for all of us.And we never got tired of the vegetable.

 Later I learned from my food expert friend, that a green vegetable dish served after a big banquet is a must in Fujian, to act as a detox or "ching" dish. Kang kong is full of fibre and is really good for us.

 Even though many people also said that eating too much kangkong would cause weakening of legs and bones, none of us so far have orthopedic problems. Mum is still strong in her legs and still has an excellent mind. Praise God.


Today this vegetable is a restuarant dish, known as Malay Splendour orSambal kangkong (马来风光). It is almost our national dish!! And my paternal grandfather, if he were alive today, would really have a chuckle!!


Soh Mien on First Day of Lunar New Year

 Today 10.2.2024 is the first day of the New Lunar Year of the Dragon. Yes I have cooked the chicken and made the soh mien. Happy New Year!!...