Pig's Head by the Tua Pek KongTemple

In the early 60's pigs' heads were the cheapest cuts of pork in Sibu. A whole head could be had for 3 or 4 dollars.

Hawkers would buy them and braise them. The upper face would be cut into small pieces and braised. This dish is called Tii Tou Puoh (pig head skin) as it is without the head bones. The sauce was excellent and made eating of plain rice awesome.

Very gelatinous and very soft, it is easy and extremely economy food for the wharf labourers, which they would pay only 50 sen. 

There was one apek who sold this nice dish from a mobile stall, outside the Tua Pek Kong temple. It was easy access for the wharf labourers, coming out of the godown or having completed their work at Hock Chiong.

I often wondered how the  temple management could tolerate his presence especially when all the worshippers going in and coming out were vegetarians!!

However he had good business, besides the wharf labourers, he did brisk business as people who returned to their villages must pick up a dollar's worth of his nice tii tou puoh and hurry down the steps to catch their motor launch. His pig head must have been the first take away business by the river side.

I was told that he was able to raise a good family and educated his children very well.

Another friend quipped,"How wonderful. It was the pig head which gave his children scholarships."

This is the kind of success stories from Sibu that we all like to know and admire.