Hakka Delicacy Food Festival

Visited the Hakka Delicacy Food Festival at Kallang Theatre just now... It was so crowded! Many traditional Hakka dishes (such as the Hakka Lui Cha, Abacus Seeds, Mee Tai Mak, "Pillow" Dumpling and etc.) were available.

Hakka Delicacy Food Festival @ Kallang Theatre

Ms Josephine Teo seen with members of Char Yong (Dabu) Association

Ms Josephine Teo signing autograph for someone

Mee Tai Mak with minced meat (a.ka. 老鼠粄)

"Pillow" Dumpling

Singapore HoPo Corporation 30th Anniversary Celebration

The Singapore HoPo Corporation celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday at Choa Chu Kang Community Centre. A Hakka food bazaar was held in the afternoon at the basketball court and Hakka specialty food, like Lui Cha (1, 2), Yong Tau Foo, China Leek Kueh, Braised Pork & Steamed Buns, Sweet Puffed Rice Crackers and etc. sold like hot cakes!

Banner

Lui Cha - Rice & Vegetables

Lui Cha - Pot & Soup

Sweet Puffed Rice Crackers

Muah Chee

Michelle selling big guavas

Big Jackfruit

Stall selling food like prawn ngoh hiang, yong tau foo & braised pork with steamed buns

The Management team with MP Ms Low Yen Ling

Huang Peiru was seen here with her family

The crowd

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More than 1300 guests, including the HoPo people from various parts of Malaysia were invited to the 9-course dinner.

More than 130 tables in the hall & at the basketball court outside the hall (see pic above & below)

Souvenirs for the guests

The talented MC sang 2 songs

MP Mr Gan Kim Yong

Representatives from Singapore & various parts of Malaysia

Mr Gan with the awardees

Marcus Chin sang songs from his upcoming album

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The 9-course dinner

Cold Platter

Stew - Small Abalones, Dried Scallops, Sea Cucumbers, Mushrooms & etc

Roasted Suckling Pig & Keropok

Broccoli & Scallops

Braised Scallops, Mushrooms & etc

Steamed Fish

Prawns

Braised Pork & Steamed Buns

Sweet Yam Paste

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333

Like the past few years, I attended the CNY (Chinese New Year) dinner (8 course-meal and Yusheng) organised by the HePo (or HoPo) Wong Clan (河婆黄氏宗亲家族) yesterday at the Guilin Restaurant (桂林海鲜酒楼).

Yeah! This year is a lucky one since I won some supermarket shopping vouchers in the lucky draw (the auspicious number is 333). Fatt ah! (i.e. means prosper in wealth). :)

Hakka Soul: Memories, Migrations, and Meals

Lui goong bing bahng
Ten moon hoi
Yit tiow wong loong
Jon chut loi

Which translates roughly as:

Thunder goes bing bang
Heaven's gates open
Out squirms
A yellow dragon

(pg. 62)

So what exactly does this Hakka poem means? I will give you the answer* at the end of this post. :)


Written by a Malaysian-born Hakka, Chin Woon Ping, the Hakka Soul: Memories, Migrations, and Meals / Chin Woon Ping (ISBN: 978-9971-69-400-5) provides an interesting account of stories and also memories of a Hakka family.


Several Hakka cruisines, such as keo nyuk (braised pork), jiu gai (chicken in wine) and nyong teo fu (stuffed tofu) are also introduced to the readers but that could be made more appealing if she had included pictures of the dishes.

nyong teo fu

Besides the Hakka recipes, Woon Ping also mentioned about a wild plant called ma see han (which literally translated to "horse shit" spinach!) or callaloo. According to my chef, not many people know that such plant can be served as greens. However, this can't be blamed since most vegetable stalls in Singapore don't sell ma see han.

ma see han

My chef usually cook soups with ma see han and other ingredients - chopped garlic, sliced shallots, ikan bilis and sliced fish cake.

ma see han soup

* The Hakka poem is a metaphor for passing stool. ;p

It Meows #75

If cats know how to talk, this maybe how they greet you if you're in a Western country...

Photo courtesy of Anya.

and if you're in an Asian country, say Singapore...

"Have you eaten yet?" is a common greeting when initiating a conversation in various Asian countries. For example, if you're in Singapore, you will hear people (esp. the older generations) asking each other "吃饱了吗?" (Mandarin), "jiak ba boey?" (Teochew), "seek bao mung?" (Hakka), etc...



So, have you eaten yet? 吃饱了吗? jiak ba boey? seek bao mung? when you're reading this blog? :D

Dong Zhi 2009

Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice Festival; 冬至) is here again (22 December 2009). This year, my chef decides to prepare Hakka-style tangyuan (Glutinous Rice Balls ; 湯圓) which is cooked in savoury soup. The main ingredients used in the preparation of this savoury tangyuan include chicken, Chinese leeks, shiitake mushrooms and ginger. In contrast to the conventional tangyuan cooked in sweet soup, my chef's Hakka-style savoury tang"yuan" uses glutinous rice "droplets" (instead of balls) which look like bee tai mak (droplet noodles)! Hee Hee. ;p

Glutinous Rice "Droplets"

Hakka-style Savoury tangyuan

Home-made Yong Tau Foo

My chef is a Hakka and she loves Yong Tau Foo. Here are some Yong Tau Foo which she has prepared.

Yong Tau Foo (Bean Curd)

Yong Tau Foo (Bittergourd)

Looks tempting right? Especially when so much meat (fish paste, minced pork and prawns) is stuffed in the bean curd and bittergourd! ;p

Traditional Hakka Lui Cha

Last time I mentioned about healthy Hakka Lei Cha* (客家擂茶; Lui Cha or Lui Teh) and also recommended the Traditional Hakka Lui Cha stall located at Boon Lay Place. Here are some photos taken during my 3rd visit to the stall. :)

Traditional Hakka Lui Cha stall @ Boon Lay Place

An "A"-Grade Food Stall

Rice & Dishes (bottom) and Lei Cha Soup (top)

*Note: This is not a vegetarian meal since dried shrimps and Chinese leeks are used.

Traditional Hakka Lui Cha (河婆客家擂茶)
Blk 221-B #01-96 Boon Lay Place, Singapore 640221
Blk 505 #01-12 Jurong West St 52, Singapore 640505