A School Water Dispenser and Bare Footed Pupils

(Kwang Hua Primary School,Sibu, Ceramic Water Dispenser which was manufactured by Yik Huo Co.)

An old school water dispenser reminded me of the days when we were children unaware of treated water. Although all mothers would boil Rajang River water for drinking, often when thirsty the kids would just drink stream water or water found in the river garden. I cannot remember any one of us had diarrhea from drinking such water.

But, most primary schools offered free thin tea or free boiled water which a care taker or the wife of the Headmaster would boil. I remember two water dispensers in schools - Kwang Hua School where my cousins studied, and Kwang Ang School, where my aunts and cousins went.

Like Cambodian children, we also drank rain water stored in the recycled diesel drums.We were then so innocent.

Many of my peers went to their rural primary school bare footed because they were poor and in reality they did not have to wear shoes because the foot paths were muddy and at times they had to walk on rubber tree roots. Wearing shoes would mean that they would slip. They needed their toes to grip the rubber tree roots. And when they had to cross some small streams, on fallen tree trunks, it would be best that they were bare footed.

By the time they reached Form One to join me in a good secondary school, their feet were flat, toes widely spread out and did not fit into school shoes well. They often suffered from blisters from wearing poorly manufactured rough canvas shoes and some even had foot sores from over exposure to water and mud.

A water dispenser in a primary school like this one, from Kwang Hua Primary School, was a luxury. Even if thin warm tea was in the dispenser, it was more than welcome.

An old uncle used to tell us stories that he was so poor that his mother could not make lunch for him to bring to school and the thin tea was his lunch. He said that he was so thin that a wind would blow him off the ground. But he was a very determined and strong man.

He was a man of good upright character, a great English teacher who produced a whole generation of good students and a good Principal.

Sibu Tales : Knife Sharpener

In the 50's and 60's in Sibu there was a man who was famous for his knife sharpening skills and he was of course rather indispensable. Each time he cycled along a road like our Brooke Drive (which adjoins so many hundreds of lanes) he would be held back for his customers. Some women would bring out two or three knives for him to sharpen. Others would take out their scissors too. After only a few minutes of simple sharpening, his customers would be deiighted to pay him just a little under 2 ringgit.

Being itinerant this Apek would travel from one housing estate to another with his tools. We were even told that he would go to Sarikei and Bintangor once a year to service his customers. However we never got to know his name, not even his surname and we were not nosey to know more.

Photo of a knife grinder in China. Google.

The Foochows being very frugal would not buy a new pair of scissors or a knife even when they became blunt. Furthermore many believed that their knives and scissors became better over the years. My mother still owns her pair of scissors which she bought in the early 50's and they are still performing very well.

He never seemed to retire from his job for he continued to cycle from road to road even when he was very old, still wearing his old hat and loading his sharpening stone into his old tattered basket. His bottle of tea with some leaves in it etched a strong image in my mind. He was a man of few words and he would always let the women know that nothing should be wasted.

We never knew about his family or if he had grand children because he never talked about them. All we knew that two or three times a year he would ride along our road in Sibu and call out loudly, "Muai doh! Muai Gar Doh!" He would clean the knives and the scissors under a big rambutan tree near our house but when the big road, the Brooke Drive was upgraded in the 80's he was not seen much. May be he was too old to cycle any more. Or he had gotten sick.

I was then working as a teacher and could buy a new pair of scissors for myself, or a new knife for my mother. My mother and our neighbours no longer needed someone to sharpen their knives or scissors. We never saw him  again. Perhaps he passed away.

With the disappearance of the itinerant knife sharpener, the housewives and especially tailors of Sibu lost a good faithful friend.

Sarawakian Local Delights : Terubok

Terubok, a unique fish species which changes gender from male to female when it reaches maturity or 27cm or 600g, is a delicacy in Sarawak and fetches high prices, especially for its prized roe. This means that it is a protandous hermaphrodite.

aTerubok afficionados are worried about its decreasing population in the seas around
Sarawak. There has been reports of overfishing in Malaysian waters because the roe
is highly priced. Besides the salted terubuk is a delicacy for the local people.

The fish is a toli shad or Chinese herring (Tenualosa toli). It is found in the Indian Ocean, 
the Bay of Bengal, the Java Sea and the South China Sea. It is also found in the Cambodian Mekong. It prefers clear coastal waters.

The bigger ones, weighing more than 1.5 kgs. are often served in good Chinese restaurants, steamed or barbequed. Over the years, the terubok has maintained its high status as a party food, for wrapped in banana leaves and cooked over an open fire, the aroma of the cooked fish fills the air, creating a festive mood!

Sarawakian Local Delights : Chicken stir fried with Tapioca Leaves

A typical dish in a longhouse is stir fried chicken with tapioca leaves.

Chickens are quite readily available as a source of protein in the longhouse. So when guests turn up a chicken is quickly slaughtered to welcome them.  However the chicken, after having been killed must pass the ring of fire, to scorch the skin to get rid of the small downs. This process also makes the meat more flavourfull. It could also mean that the meat is also sanitized.

The chicken is then cut into small pieces and sauted in a big pan with lots of ginger. When the meat is cooked, a few cups of shredded tapioca leaves are added to the chicken. After simmering for more than 30 minutes, the dish is ready to be served.

Salt,sugar, pepper, chillies and may be even mushrooms can be added to this dish.

Sibu Tales : Foochow lacquered Umbrella

In the olden days in Sibu, Foochows carried a paper umbrella every where they went to protect themselves from the strong sun.

However the paper umbrella was specially made in Fujian , China and was actually made with special processes. The fine umbrellas were actually lacquered umbrellas which were very long lasting.

I remember them having a special smell when we opened them to shade ourselves from the strong sun of Sarawak.

These umbrellas had bamboo frames and had been treated against mould and works. Men's umbrellas were plain brown ones and were bigger. The ladies' umbrellas were hand painted with flowers and sometimes landscapes. They were very durable and were used for years against the sun and rain.

Aunt Pearl

This is my third aunt, Pearl Chang, educated in Yuk Ing girls' school. Before she graduated, she had to make her samfoo for her graduation and also take a studio photo. She was so pretty.

Today it is difficult to buy lacquer umbrellas in Sibu but we can still buy them in Fuzhou City, Fujian, China.

Sungei Merah Tales : Tea Time

My grandfather was a stern disciplinarian and he was a man who had very fixed times for everything he did. He was methodical, probably because he adhered to a lot of practices followed by the Methodist pastors and church members of his time. He was a close friend of the Reverend James Hoover and Mrs. Hoover.

He sent all his daughters to Yuk Ing Girls' School as he believed that girls must be well educated besides sending his sons to the Anglo Chinese Boys' School. His daughters , my aunts did particularly well in school, especially the eldest, Aunty Lily and the second, Aunty Phyllis who both became teachers in Singapore.  Aunty Maggie, because of the Japanese Occupation was lucky to escape from Sarawak during that time, became a nurse. My fifth aunt and ninth Aunt went to the USA on scholarships and did very well. However my 10th Aunt was the best because she was one of the best students in Sarawak and later became the Principal of a Hong Kong College.

My Grandfather visiting his daughters in Singapore.

All the other aunts were professionals in their own right.

Having educated all his children well, Grandfather enjoyed his old age. And one of his greatest joys was to have some cakes and tea about 4. We kids must never disturb his napping time which was followed by his tea time. Fresh cakes from the Sg. Merah bakeries would be purchased by Aunt Ah Hiong who would ride her bicycle from Kwong Ang Lane to the small bazaar.  Life did give him a lot of blessing, the young boy who was told by a fortune teller that he must cross a sea to gain a lot of wealth.

My grandmother Siew made sure that he enjoyed his tea especially with his thin tea and all his boisterious grand children far away from the kitchen.

We would all know the time was four o'clock because these two items, pong biang and long kor,  would be placed on the dining table for him.

He would then drink his tea slowly and ate the biscuit slowly, making sure that he did not drop any crumbs on the table. Grandfather was a very refine "eater". A very nostalgic image I have of him savouring his "pong biang" slowly as the evening lights fell upon the hill top.  He ate daintily and slowly and with a lot of satisfaction.









































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Tong Seng, Pek Kee, Wu Zoh, Ern zoh Tea

My great grandfather was a herbalist, able to read pulses and recommend some herbs for some home treatments. However he did not sell herbs. When I went to Wun Chieh in Minqing, I realised that the whole hilly region of my ancestors' village land was rich in herbs and valuable  food. My relatives told us that they were still foraging for herbs, drying them and selling them. It is thus our family business for more than five generations.

My grandfather used to take care of his health well and he would often tell Grandmother Siew to prepare this special tea for our young uncle and aunties to energize them to develop good brains. My grandfather liked his children and grand children to study well in school and get good results.

My grandmother Siew was very learned about herbal teas too. When she needed some health food, she would consult |Rev Yao Shiao King and our grand aunt, in Sungei Merah, who owned a herbal medicine shop.

Tong seng, pek kee, wu zon, ern zoh simmered together to make a good tea for for lungs and blood circulation and it will refurbish energy of any weak or underdernourished overworked body

Dong Seng - poor man's ginseng but very healthy.

Pek Kii ( good for nourishing the body)

Chinese black dates (often used in home dishes, or even as a snack)

Red dates are well sought after by Foochow mothers. Just by themselves, a sweet tea can be made. I love ern joh dah. When there is no other drinks to serves guests with, a few red dates and some rock sugar would make a great welcome drink. I love itl

This tea is also suggested for under stress over worked students. once a week or once in a while.

(The formula is 30:30:20 20 10 bowls of water simmer for 3 to 4 hrs. reduiced to 3/4 )

Nang Chong Stories : Grandma's favorite dishes

I grew up in Sibu town and loved visiting in my grandma in the village of Nang Chong. It was in the village that I learned to eat three important vegetables of my life.

My ngie mah loved to eat vegetables. In those days meat was only available on certain occasions. When my grandmother accompanied the smoked rubber sheets to Sibu and she collected the fees from the middleman, Hock Chiong Shop belonging to Towkay Wong Sing Keng.

When my aunts slaughtered one of their pigs for sale, we would have some pork for a few meals.

When hunters came to sell their game, we would be happy to see some nicely cooked wild boar or deer on the dining table.

herng chai 

Grandma loved three special vegetable dishes : herng chai (normally we Foochows would cook it with sun dried chieng mien)


 chow chai - hung ngang and




lang ging hern (which can also be stir fried with hoon ngang.

Sarawak : Buah Kubal

Today not many people are familiar with the more traditional and jungle fruits of Sarawak. The kubal is as old as the ancient trees of the primary forests of Sarawak and is found mainly in the Northern Sarawak. However, with heavy logging every where, it is understandable that this wild fruit is nearly extinct.

It has a nice thick skin which can be easily pressed open. In fact it is a little like the mangosteen except that its skin is brown with a white thicker layer which protects the sweet fruit inside.

Due to global warming the trees which have been left behind are also not fruiting well. Bull dozers and lack of natural water caused by land development can also bring havoc to the natural environment which is necessary for this fruit tree to flower and fruit.

Nang Chong Stories : Preserved Long Beans

In the 50's and 60's in Sibu most Foochow families would plant long beans and very often they would have more than enough.

When there was surplus, the grandmother would blanch the longbeans, salt them and sun dried them. Once fairly dried, she would add a bit of red rice yeast to give them some added taste or to prevent them from going mouldy.

The long beans would be kept in an earthernware jar or at least one day. They would be ready for stir frying or cooked as soup after one day. This preserved long beans could last for a while without refrigeration.

It is a very Foochow dish.

Sibu Tales : Pig's Tails with black beans

My grandfather was already in his 70's when I started getting to know him well. We were actually quite scared of him because he was a disciplinarian and would not be afraid to use the cane on his own children and any of the grand children.

However my grandfather had a charmed life. My father's stepmother (Grandma Siew) was a good cook who loved to cook for grandpa the best of food she could think of. So he was really blessed in his old age, a hardworking and good cook of a life partner who also gave him three more children.

One of the dishes she cooked for my grandfather was the steame pig's tail with black beans. I remember she would get my adopted aunt to cycle to the market to fetch a pig tail and she would cut the pig tail up and marinate in soy sauce. The tell tale black beans soaking in a bowl in the kitchen the day before would announce the special dish she was going to prepare for my grandfather.

This particular dish would be only for my grandfather's meal. We kids would eat first but when later grandfather sat at the table, he would call each one of us to his side and we would get a small piece from him and run away so happily to the garden or a corner of the house to enjoy the special "grandpa's meat".

It is fun remembering such little significant events of my childhood.

Sarawak : Hempedu Bumi or Chuan Sing Lian

The bitterness of the lui char soup comes from blending hempedu bumi and adding it to the soup.

The Hempedu Bumi or Andrographis paniculata  is a local herb and medicinal plant. Seeds germinate well everywhere.

Leaves for consumption should be started before flowering. The tea made by boiling the leaves can help lower high blood pressure and cholesterol. The Chinese call it chuan sing lian or King of Bitter.

Interestingly a bio pesticide spray for vegetables can be prepared by just boiling the leaves. Wild or farm animals do not like to eat/graze it. It is a good natural pest repellent.

Sarawakian Local Delights : Pumpkin and Ikan Bilis

Pumpkin is easily grown in the ulu and a big fruit can really feed a large family.

When the farmers return home, they pick a fruit or two for their meals for a few days.

Once home the pumpkin is washed and the skin cut off. The pumpkin is then chopped into cubes to be "boiled" with pounded ikan bilis,onions, garlic, chllies and some ginger . The slow simmering of the pumpkin often create a very nice caramelization because there is a lot of organic sugar in the fruit.
"Boiling" is an Iban culinary term which means preparing a correct amount of soup base for the dish. It is an oil-less method of cooking.  Many Iban dishes are cooked this way.

The photo above shows the dish ready to be served after only half an hour of slow simmering.

Sibu Tales : Baby Carrier

When we were born into the Tiong household, my mother did not wish to acquired a personal maid or amah to look after us.

So in order to multi task, she would carry all her baby using a sarong, slung across her chest. Sometimes she would tie the sarong in such a way that the baby was snuggled behind her back.

she said that it was comfortable enough for her to carry the baby for long hours like that and she did not waste time looking after the baby, or having the baby out of her sight.

Babies carried in a sarong tend to be even tempered and close to their mothers. I suppose it is because of close body contact and confidence resulting from the even breathing and heart beats of the mother. However all these could be researched further.

Sibu Tales : Canvas Beds in Lau King Howe Hospital

When the Foochows first arrived in Sibu, they were very adaptable and quickly learned to use the nipah leaves as building materials.

For house beams and posts they learned to fell nibong trees and other trees which were plentiful.

Soon the tailors learned to use canvas 

帆布

 to make foldable beds . (None of those Foochow pioneers ever thought that canvas beds would become a special part of their beloved hospital.)
 

These beds were so convenient that soon every household had a few of them. Shop keepers acquired a few for their shop assistants, who actually doubled as security guards for their shops. In fact many shop assistants slept in these beds the whole of their life.   The word canvas is derived from the 13th century Anglo-French canevaz and the Old French canevas, meaning "made of hemp".

The Lau King Howe Hospital had less than 400 beds by the 1970's and often it was so full that many patients were given canvas cots or army style camp beds to sleep on.

When I was warded for the delivery of my second child in 1979 I was given a camp bed as the maternity ward was full to the seams.

When I lay down to rest , my back actually touched the cold cement floor as I was really very overweight since I was already full term.. Actually it did not take very long for me to go into labour. Often I wondered if it was the cold cement floor that sent me to an early labour.

The doctors and nurses were kind and helpful and after the birth of my daughter, I was put in the First Class Ward, to be discharged after a night's rest. This was the procedure as the hospital was 100 per cent occupied.

Ikan Gongjeng or Phoenix Tail Fish

Ikan Gongjeng is a favourite salted fish sold in the Chinese salt fish market for many years in Sibu. My mother and I would get a bit to fry and we must not over buy because mum has high blood pressure. But when she was sad she would always want to have some salty on the table like salted eggs and salted preserved tofu.
 But her favourite would be the Ern Mui Ngii.

the Fish is exactly that. It has a long red tail.
For me especially I would love to bit off the crispy tail.

Mum would always say that the tail is too small. Nothing much. Would I in life become Nothing Much?

In Sibu mothers competed with each other to see if their children became doctors or engineers. Even my paternal grandmother was competitive. She was happy to see her own grandchildren becoming doctors. some mothers were so protective of their sons who were studying medicine at the university that they would not even talk to mothers who daughters were not in medical school, just in case such good relationships would make them in laws.

One mother even said openly that she hoped her son would marry a doctor. This was how competitive women could be.

Back to small fish. Little fish also refers to people who are not capable.

One of the best dishes to have with your nasi lemak is deep fried battered ikan Gongjeng. I would rather have ikan gongjeng . I remember a married friend told me that she was happy to share ONE KFC drumstick with her loving husband for lunch. They are still happily married today. Yes her GRACE would be, "Thank you Lord, for the food we are about to SHARE. Help us Lord to be always grateful for what we have."

Life is simple and sweet if you are happy with what little food you have in front of you and you can still say your GRACE for every meal you have. Thank you Lord for the food you put in front of me, for my sustenance and for my bodily needs.


I ended up as a teacher and later lecturer.

However after I retired I had a second lease of life, after a heart by pass I decided to pick up a camera and start to record things I did not want to forget.

My friends all helped me to become a photo journalist. It has been almost 15 years!!

Each time I come across ikan gongjeng I would think of the conversation with my mum about men and women who amount to little.

To many people I might be a Hu mui ngii. Very small fish. It is ok with me. I eat well, I sleep well and I have friends and family. I am grateful for all things given to me by God.

I am passing my life's philosophy to friends and my children.

God loves all things bright and beautiful,
He loves all things big and small.
He loves all things he has created.
He loves you especially because he crated you.

Sarawakian Local Delights : Rice Wine for Celebration

The culture of tuak making is a legacy of the Ibans from the time the people started to cultivate rice. Hence it is a very old tradition. So how did the Ibans learn about the use of yeast? And the practice of fermenting glutinous rice?

Tuak or rice wine is made from fermenting glutinous rice with the help of ragi or rice yeast. How rice wine yeast is made is a secret recipe. The makers do not divulge their secrets. Hence most people have to buy their rice wine making yeast from people they know or from the market.

It would be terrific if I knew how to make ragi for making tuak.

There are several points to raise when we talk about rice wine for celebration or special occasions.
a) The Ibans do not make rice wine unless it is for a special occasion and in the past, the Gawai for example was not celebrated until 1962. So when did the Ibans make tuak? They made tuak when the community decided to hold a celebration like a Gawai Antu, or a wedding.
b) Now that tinned and bottle alcohol are easily available, the making of tuak has become a topic for discussion Is it not of paramount importance?
c) Perhaps tuak making has been delegated to some families who hold special recipes for making the best of tuak in a longhouse. And perhaps a request to make tuak would be sent to them and tuak would be specially "ordered" as an when a very important person may give out that order. Thus some tuak makers may be invited to make and sell their tuak for a special occasion like a wedding or a political gathering. To some people, this would be the occasion for some famous tuak makers to showcase their products.
d) Some women like to make tuak to keep over a stretch of time so that they could share their precious drinks when an occasion arises.

e) tuak to many remains an important ritualistic drink for the spirits and the best must be made for the miring ceremony.

Pulau Kerto : Duck Ownership

Ducks are very intelligent. This is almost a King Solomon's story.

Way back in the 50's in Pulau Kerto, my mother reared quite a big brood of ducks and so did her competitive kind of neighbour. Ours was a bigger brood and grew fast because my mum fed them with chopped vegetables and rice husk (grandpa had a rice mill)

One day our neighbour came over to claim a brood of new ducklings, saying that they were hers.Mum was a bit flustered but my cousin (my baby sitter) was quick to the defense. She said that the two ladies should call the mother duck and whoever could call the mother duck home, the brood would belong to her. Our neighbour started to call " Dee, dee, dee...." (Foochow style, not quack, quack)..the mother duck did not make a move. Mum just said, " Dee, dee, dee, and deee.." six times only and the mother duck graceful came towards her with all the ducklings.

A Brunei Morning Meal

When I first went to Kuala Lumpur to study in the 70's our Sarawak's kolo mee and kampua mee were as alien as kasam babi to the local KL people. So I sort of learned to eat Hokkien Mee - those big black noodles with a good sauce to soothe my nerves. It then became a sort of comfort food for me. I gradually developed a fondness for it as it was a different kind of noodles all together and was definitely special. And true enough after coming back to Sarawak sometimes I crave for it. But very often I could only find pseudo and very unauthentic ones and then I finally gave up eating the stuff unless I was in Kuala Lumpur.

But then of all the places I have been to - believe me - only one place in Borneo has the real Hokkien Mee ala Kuala Lumpur. Big fat soft and black and of the right taste with lots of Chu Yu Char....in Bandar Seri Begawan in a shop tucked away in a market which sells non halal meat. It is a place I call Peaceful Valley Village at Jalan Kelaila.

And best of all one can get many different kinds of breakfasts from almost every Chinese dialect group there in the morning. On the menu you could even order a few Filipino dishes and Vietnamese noodles! Yes there is American BBQ rice too. So if you decide to buy non halal meat you could go there for breakfast on a nice Sunday morning with your family in Bandar. Something good may happen too.

My first visit to this market I got to meet up with my fellow kampong mate from Sungei Merah! As the sun rose in the east and filtered through the shutters I enjoyed the Hokkien Mee and switching back and forth in Foochow and English while other diners spoke in different accents (Filipino - Lun Bawang and Cantonese). For some wonderful moments in time you could imagine that you were back somewhere in time and enjoying your youth as the noodles slipped between your lips and you drink in the salty sweetness of the sauce.

Here his the recipe from a friend who is a KL born Chinese (but not Hokkien):

Ingredients:

500g fat yellow hokkien noodles soak in cold water for a while
2 tbsp chopped garlic
a small chinese bowl of meat (pork or chicken) - cut into thin slices
some fresh prawns, shelled and deveined
one or two squid - cut into bite size (optional)
about half a bowl of pig liver - sliced thinly
Some slices of cabbage
some slices of fish cake
2 or 3 innos of mustard green or yew chai - wash and cut into 1 inch pieces
some pork fat, cut into cubes and fried till crispy (keep the oil)
2 cups stock/water

Seasoning:

1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark thick sweet soy sauce(add more if not dark enough)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp sugar


Method:

Season the prawns and squid with a dash of salt, sugar and pepper.

Heat 2 tsp of the lard (from frying the pork fat) and stir fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the soy sauce and let it heat through and then add some sugar to caramelize the sauce. Sautee the squid and prawns quickly. Dish out and leave aside.

Add in another tsp of lard and brown meat, sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper to the meat before turning over to brown the other side. Add the cooked prawns and squid.

Add in stock/water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes before adding in the greens.

Then add in the noodles and the seasoning, mix well, cover wok with lid and simmer until noodles is tender. Add more dark soy sauce if the color is not black enough and simmer noodles till gravy is thick.

Add in the cooked prawns and squid and more lard.

Turn the heat to high again and give noodles a quick stir. Add the crispy lard cubes before dishing up the noodles.

(My friend once told me that it is good to serve Hokkien Mee with sambal belacan - and this is true Malaysian fusion cooking.



10 fresh red chillies - cut small
4 chilly padi(optional)
1 sq inch x 1/4 inch thick raw belacan or 2 tsp belacan powder.
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
lime juice from three or four fruits.

Toast some raw belacan until it is dried and fragrant.

Pound the remaining ingredients using a mortar.

Add the lime juice just before eating.

Sibu : Floods bring Nostalgia to Mr and Mrs. Lau Pang Hung

This is a photo of my uncle Lau Pang Hung and his wife. It was a good outing for the two with Wong Meng Lei (their nephew). Meng Lei's mother is my aunt's sister.

For these two who are now in their 80's going out to enjoy some flood water, and walking in the water was very nostalgic.

They enjoyed some childhood nostalgia 童年的回味：涉水 (walking in the water) 

Sibu is very flood prone. While floods may bring in a lot of misery and damages, children especially often find time to enjoy themselves playing in the water.


Source : Wong Meng Lei ---Childhood Experience, walking in the waters.88岁的刘邦训与84岁的陈晶如看到乡区小路浸水，说想念童年“洛水”(赤脚涉水其中)那种爽快、冰凉透脚的感受。因此特別留影，但不敢脱鞋…