A friend came to give me this photo showing Lau Boon Leong's soy Sauce Factory in Sg. Merah in Sibu.
It is quite clear in ths 1950's photo that there are urns of soy sauce out in the yard.
My friend knows how much I love photographs of olden days. Thank you my friend for sharing with me.
Looking at the photo, Sg Seduan is on the right, and the Sg Merah bridge is not far from the factory.
the Lau family was wealthy, of Hin Hua descent. Most of the second and third generation have migrated overseas. Besides producing soy sauce, the factory also made soap.
Sg Merah interestingly was where the Foochow pioneers first stepped on Sarawak soils on 16th March 1901. In 1922, Rev Brewster brought a batch of Hin Hua people to settle in Sarawak. They too landed on the banks of the Seduan River (Sg Merah) but they were given parcels of land to cultivate on the northern sector of Seduan area. The Igan and the Seduan rivers drain this valley which lies on the eastern side of Sibu.
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| This is an old Chinese magazine advertisement put up by the Lau Boon Leong family. The business was registered in 1937. The brands of soap made wee Lion, tiger and Bicycle Brands. The brand for their soy sauce is Golden Dragon. |
The Igan is a distributary of the Rajang whereas the Seduan river flows into the Igan.
I can still remember visiting the soap and sauce factory with my father. there was a big stone mill (suer moh) in the yard and a baby was asleep in a sarong cradle in one of the living rooms. My father had wanted to speak to Mr. Lau and I had the pleasure of having a good look at all the runs in the front yard.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing this rare gem of a photo. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane. My grandpa and his family of 12 kids grew up on that property. I recall as a toddler when being cared for by my grandmother, wondering amongst the rows of hundreds of brown glazed terracotta urns featuring crudely drawn yellow dragon motifs. Each urn would contain various vintage of fermenting soy bean and salt water mix basking under the sun covered by square cut glass lid. Water droplets would condensate on the underside of the lid and dance under the sun as they form and drop off. I would open each lid to smell the degree of pungency and taste the aromatic saltiness. It was a wonderful childhood experience.
Warm regards,
Joe Lau (Grandson of Lau Boon Leong)
Thank you Joe for your comments. Love your writing and memory.
Great post. Looking forward to reading more. Thanks for taking the time to write this.
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