Foochow Moon Cake Festival in Sibu

this is a picture of the Baby Rats which we always like. Though humble in origin it has stood the test of time and remain popular with the Foochows for more than a hundred years in Sibu. This is the kind of goodies grandparents of olden days would buy because for a very small sum, a packet of these little rats would go a long long way and every child would have a palmful of munchies to bite and enjoy. Good thinking!!





This is the Chin Su Koh (Jing Su Gao) made by Wong Siong Ming Biscuit Manufacturer of Miri. These square biscuits are just like the peanut cookies we normally get during Chinese new Year.


Moon Festival occurs on the full moon day or 15th day of 8th month of the Lunar Calendar.

On this day almost all the Chinese all over the world will celebrate their mid autumn festival to remember the autumn harvest and to commemorate the overthrow of the Mongol Regime in China.

To celebrate this festival most Chinese would have a dinner at home, go to the courtyard or streets to give a toast to the moon, or simply just gaze at the beautiful moon and reflect on their family,community and personal relationships.

Some clans might even celebrate in a big way by having dragon dances and letting off fire crackers.

Many politicians would also use this opportunity to garner more popularity.

Streets with Chinese businesses are already selling moon cakes of different origins, prices and styles. The moon cakes of present days come in very expensive gift boxes. Marketing styles have come a long long way from days of yesteryears. It is nostalgic to think of the older versions of mooncakes and other related goodies of Sibu days.

My tastes have not changed over the years. And I will still buy a packet or two of Chin Su Koh (Very Crispy Biscuit) and Loh Chu Yan (Baby Rats) to much with friends when they come to visit. We will have our Chinese tea to go with these goodies. The other types of commercial mooncakes are not too popular with me. Although I would still consider eating a slice or two of the very traditional filling of red bean paste or the assorted nuts.

I am glad that the manufacturers have all become health conscious and are using less lard, less sugar and less salt even.

the Chin Su Koh is the square, crispy and lardy biscuits which are actually available throughout the year in Sibu. They are interestingly crispy and delicious. The Baby Rats are nice and crunchy. In fact I feel that these two Foochow goodies should be made more popular and promoted. The Chin Su Koh can be of the same quality as the butter cookies of Denmark. And the Baby Rats are as good as any of the potato crisps of Europe.

Marketing these two traditional items depend on political will as well as sensational branding. I am sure if Michael Phelps gets to like our Chin Su Koh and Baby Rats we might make a kill there. If only Li Ning is Foochow, he could have brought these two items right across the Birds' Nest. I am just being too creative here. (Smile) I am just thinking along this line because I have been watching a lot of the Olympics. Thanks to Astro, I have the best seat to the Olympics - right in my TV room.

I would like to send Lee Chong Wei some of these lovely Chin Su Koh and Baby Rats and let him know that some people have cheered him all the way. He will always be our Olympic hero because he represented Malaysia and the journey had been rather lonely. He deserves more write-ups and cheers than any other athletes in the last four years.

For years my family never did celebrate the Moon Cake festival. We were not into lantern carrying and making a hoo ha about the occasion.

None of us ever broke down because we did not have a new dress or a new shirt. The occasion passed by and we were none the worse.

But in appreciation of our mother's hardwork and sacrifices we would offer her some nice moon cakes and cheer her up. Older folks do appreciate a visit or a small gift. So all of us assume that the festival is for our elders. And a gathering is really to make the older folks happy.

So I hope all of you readers will do something for your elders this coming mooncake festival.

And for a change all the bosses should reward their employees with gifts of mooncakes for helping them make all those fortunes. If the ordinary folks of China did not rise up against the cruel rulers, China would not have a new dynasty. And fortunes could not have been made either.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps you might like to try this recipe from Yan Can Cook.

Mid-Autumn Moon Cake Recipes

By Yan Can Cook, Inc

Makes 2 dozen
1 can (17-1/2 ounces) lotus seed paste
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2-cup non-fat dried milk powder
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar 1/2 cup solid shortening, melted and cooled
1 egg yolk , lightly beaten


1. Mix lotus seed paste and walnuts together in a bowl; set aside.

2. Sift flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs on medium speed until light and lemon colored. Add sugar; beat for 10 minutes or until mixture falls in a thick ribbon. Add melted shortening; mix lightly. With a spatula, fold in flour mixture. Turn dough out on a lightly floured board; knead for 1 minute or until smooth and satiny. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a log. Cut each log into 12 equal pieces.

3. To shape each moon cake, roll a piece of dough into a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured board to make a 4-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Place 1 tablespoon of lotus seed paste mixture in center of dough circle. Fold in sides of dough to completely enclose filling; press edges to seal. Lightly flour inside of moon cake press with 2-1/2 inch diameter cups. Place moon cake, seam side up, in mold; flatten dough to conform to shape of mold. Bang one end of mold lightly on work surface to dislodge moon cake. Place cake on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat to shape remaining cakes. Brush tops with egg yolk.

4. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Copyright Yan Can Cook, Inc. 1991.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bamboo Shoots (Betong or Mu Tong)

This is a picture from Tess's Japanese Kitchen (http://1tess.wordpress.com). How much life has changed from the time we had to collect our own bamboo shoots from the jungle to supermarket ease for the corporate female! This baby bamboo is one of the thousands of ways to cook the indomitable bamboo in Chinese cuisine.





I wish this book "Bamboo Shoot after the rain: Contemporary Stories ..."is available in the local bookstores. So often I come across or stumble on really good books in the Internet and enjoy reading whatever is available on the net.

This reminds me of my "stumbling type of reading" when I was a child in the village. I would come across scraps of Chinese newspapers used for wrapping things or for the toilet. And I would carefully read them before they were "recycled". This was the way I picked up good Chinese vocabulary. I did not learn to read English until I went to school. And I do not remember having special reading books specially bought from the shops because there were no bookshops then.

Today,I would still catch myself picking up a scrap piece of Chinese newspaper and then discover that it was good for reading. Words are such great comfort to us any time of the day. I love these kinds of accidental finds.

We must make time for ourselves to be with words.

This "stumbling" today brought me to write about one of my family's loved foods - the bamboo shoot.





These photos are recent. I went in search of bamboo shoots with friends on their land before they started to prepare their land for oil palm growing. Sadly.the bamboo groves we found will have to go soon. These bamboo shoots are fresh, tasty and extremely sweet. Top of the crop really especially when you have good friends around to prepare it from scratch. A lot of skill is needed during the preparation.

Traditional Chinese: 竹筍
Simplified Chinese: 竹笋
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin: zhú sǔn

Bamboo shoots are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of bamboo species Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, both fresh and canned versions. (Source : Wikipedia)

Pickled bamboo, used as a condiment, may also be made from the pith of the young shoots.

The bamboo shoot continues to be one of the most sustaining vegetable of the Foochow community today. About a hundred years ago when the Foochow pioneers first arrived in Sibu, the bamboo shoot was one of their main stays . There were plenty of bamboos around and bamboo shoots grew faster than any other plant. A young boy could be asked to collect some bamboo shoots from the jungle and he could bring back a basket ful enough for the family and enough for pickling in fact.

My mother and her siblings used to collect bamboo shots just before the Japanese occupation and told us lots of stories about their "jungle trekking". She told us that if they worked hard enough there would not be any shortage of food at all. Only the lazy ones could not get enough food. Apart from bringing home bamboo shoots they would also bring back meeding and paku for the family. The very hardworking Foochows even planted more bamboo so that they could harvest more bamboo shoots in the future. Hence to this day, Sg. Maaw would still have many bamboo groves if you care to examine the land closely.

Bamboo shoots can be cooked with any meat in stir fry. Tiny slices of this root enhances a good soup . They can be pickled and stored for future use. And I love having it in my spring rolls too.

You can be so creative with this "free gift" from nature. It will be a pity if they disappear from the earth.

Three Knives

Today I am going to write about "Three knives" which helped make all the difference to many of the lives of the pioneering Foochows who came to Sibu in 1903. This clear message from all our elders who came from Ming Ching district in Fujian Province in the 1900's came repeatedly to us when we were young. They reminded us that these three simple implements had "put food in many stomachs" and made lives easier. The three knives were scissors (ka toh),razor (tieh toh) and the Chinese chopper (chai toh ) . These three knives enabled our forefathers to be tailors (my maternal grandfather), barbers (my cousin) and cooks (many of my uncles) respectively. And in the same way, many other Chinese who migrated to many other parts of the world also brought these three knives with them to help them first to eke out a living and then help them prosper.

Wong Meng Lei in his book, " Pioneering Trails of the Foochow" mentioned this factor too.

My maternal grandfather was a good tailor and he managed to make ends meet when rubber prices fell. In fact, his skill in using the scissors helped him tremendously-he was able to send my grandmother to China for a holiday trip and my uncles and aunties for their further education in China.

A cousin as late as the 60's learned dress making and she found her life partner and together they have built a huge family fortune spreading to other parts of the world.

Another cousin was very good with the hair scissors and he started a barber's shop, instead of carrying on with rubber tapping,to help raise his wonderful family. Today his son has branched into agricultural machinery and is doing well, alongside his other family members.

Stories like these are heart warming. And indeed if we do look around, how lives have long changed for the better in this hot tropical land which was infested with snakes, mosquitoes and other disease-bearing worms and insects when our forefathers first stepped foot on it. With these three simple implements,besides others and the skills they brought with them from China, the pioneers initiated the economic progress of Sibu.

Today the same three knives have indeed enabled many to become very prosperous. They will continue to help any one prosper.

The Masland Church Bell

This very church bell was placed on the bell tower on top of the original Masland Church which faced the Island Road in this 50's black and white photo. The bell was in this church for more than 50 years! The original Masland Church was built of the best belian wood that Hoover himself selected.



This is Sibu's beloved Masland Church Bell measuring 26" in height with a diameter of 30" at the rim. Its thickness is 3 " . It was made by McShane and Co in 1883!! The photo is taken by Rev Kong Chiong Ling and posted by Wong Meng Lei in his blog, Rejang Basin. Meng Lei wrote " before the renovation, the bell rang true at six on every Sunday." However I remember, perhaps wrongly that in the early 60's it rang at eight for the 8 o'clock service too.

On the bell is this inscription "The voice of one is crying out in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Indeed many elders of yesteryears and believers of recent times have been preparing all for the way of the Lord.

These Three Bells of Tuscon Church remind me of the many church bells I used to admire when I was a student. My classmates and I used to look up books for pictures of church steeples and church bells,after we had a special History of English Literature lessons with Mr. KV Wiltshire. He impressed us with a true demonstration of how bell ringing was like in England.

Most young girls then had all those romantic ideas of marrying in a church with all the church bells ringing. Furthermore as we looked at those pictures we would build up our hopes of marrying well too. I suppose that was part of growing up. But by the time we planned our own wedding the traditional ringing of church bells for a wedding had gone out of fashion in Sibu.

And here I am wishing that all young ladies could have a beautiful wedding with real church bells ringing.








One of the oldest church bells in the world. The Saleby Church Bell in Sweden.


The resounding Masland church bell ringing on Sundays at six and again at 8 a.m. was a call to worship and a gentle reminder to all the Methodists in Sibu. They Foochows probably made up three-quarters of the religious Methodist citizenry of that time. For years from the time of the Hoovers who received the donation of the bell, until very recently the Masland Church bell rang true and clear.

When the church bell rang we felt the pull to go to church. Many motor launches reached Sibu just in time for church going, cheerful women would walk towards the Masland Church. Family bonds were re-established and old friendships renewed at the church. Sunday morning was always so wonderful.

"Bells toll to signal, warn, celebrate". To me when the bell tolled I felt all at once comforted that I was home in Sibu. And the week had started as Sunday was considered the first day of the week.


Perhaps many young people do not appreciate a church bell or do not even know that once Sibu had a remarkable church bell and it should be of great historical value.

According to Wikipedia, a church bell is a bell which is rung in a (especially Christian) church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service. Before mass communication they were the only way to gather a village together, so they evolved secular functions also.

European Christian church bells typically have the form of a cup-shaped cast metal resonator with a flared thickened rim, and a pivoted metal striker or clapper hanging from its center inside. It is usually mounted high in a bell tower on top of the church, so it can be heard by the surrounding community. The bell is suspended at its apex from a horizontal axle, so it can swing from side to side. A rope is tied to a pulley or lever on the axle, and hangs down to ground level. To ring the bell, the bell ringer pulls on the rope, swinging the bell. The motion causes the clapper to hit the inside rim of the bell as it swings, making the sound. Alternatively, the bell may be suspended from a stationary support, and the bell rung by pulling a rope attached to the clapper to one side.

Some church bells are very old indeed. A bell, from Saleby, Västergötland, Sweden contains an inscription from 1228 in the Runic alphabet!

In many Catholic churches, the ringing of a church bell for the Angelus prayer, in the morning, at midday and in the evening, is called the Angelus bell.

Some church bells are electronically timed to chime automatically. Clocks generally automatically strike, but in the United Kingdom, bells for services, etc., are still almost always rung by people. Some churches use recorded or digitally synthesised bells.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church there is a long and complex history of bell ringing, with particular bells being rung in particular ways to signify different parts of the divine services, Funeral tolls, etc. This custom is particularly sophisticated in the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian bells are usually fixed, and are tolled by pulling on a rope that is attached to the clapper so that it will strike the side of the bell.

Church bells became common in Europe in the early Middle Ages. They were first common in northern Europe, reflecting Celtic influence, especially that of Irish missionaries. Before the use of church bells, Greek monasteries would ring a flat metal plate to announce services. The signa and companae used to announce services before Irish influence may have been flat plates like the semantron rather than bells.

In World War Two in Great Britain, all church bells were silenced, to ring only to inform of an invasion by enemy troops. The episode "The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage" of the BBC sitcom Dad's Army included a scene where the church bells rang by mistake, leading the Home Guard to believe that an invasion was taking place.


The practice and hobby of bell-ringing is known as campanology. Change ringing is a particular facet of campanology where bells are rung in mathematical sequence. Wedding cards commonly show bells: this is founded on the tradition of ringing changes as the wedding couple leave the church.A simple instrument, the bell has been used to signal, warn, announce, celebrate and mourn for thousands of years. There are examples of primitive bells made out of wood, shell and other materials. The Chinese used bells as long ago as 800 B.C. The Old Testament recounts that the high priests of the Israelites wore bells as protection against evil spirits. In ancient Greece, bells were rung to announce that freshly caught fish had arrived at market; the early Romans used them to call the faithful to worship. Celtic tribes, famous for their bell-making, brought the instrument to northern Europe in the fourth century.

The subject of legends, bells have been empowered to induce rain or ward off storms, protect against demons and to cast and remove spells. As a hallmark of resistance, they are a patriotic symbol throughout the world.

Religions of the world have bestowed upon them special significance. the Buddhists ring bells to communicate with spirits, the Russian Orthodox Church holds that they directly address the deity; Roman Catholics believe they symbolize the voice of God and paradise. The tolling of a bell also holds nostalgic value. The clanging of the bell on a slow-moving steam locomotive is a reminder of a simpler, gentler time. The rejoicing sound of church bells on Easter morning or the melodic klingle of the Salvation Army’s bells during the Christmas season prompt us to remember, relish and celebrate. The melodic jangle of the school bell is indeed a reminder of an innocent, enthusiastic youth.

Vigo County Historical Museum.

Source: The Web site: http://indstate.edu/community/vchs.

Chung Cheng Secondary School, Sibu

Chung Cheng Secondary School, Sibu is one of the few schools in Sarawak which still has a bell tower and a bell that is still functional.

Founded by Lau Kah Tii, the second Kang Chu of the Foochows,in 1916,it became one of the biggest secondary schools built by the Foochows with rubber money.

It was first called Kwong Nang Primary School and its first headmaster was Rev Yao Siaw King, the father of Dato Yao Ping Hua. In 1934 the school started its secondary school. It was closed for a short period during the Japanese Occupation.

It's name was changed from Kwang Nang Secondary school to Chung Cheng Secondary school in 1946.

Look at some photos below taken by Philip Hii very recently. The black and white effect is striking. They remind us of the 60's when most photos were black and white!









And the answer to why Chung Cheng school has this name.

Lau Kah Tii, a very loyal and patriotic man who loved China, helped raised a large sum of money to liberate China from the Japanese and to help the British cause as well.

When Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek drove out the Japanese in 1946 Lau Kah Tii and many of the Foochows in Sibu were elated. They decided to rename their school after Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, whose other name was Chiang Chung Cheng.

The name also means very bi partisan, ethical, correct and upright. The school continued to be run by very good Foochow scholars like Lau Hieng Ying,Lau Kieng Sing etc. Teachers were paid very low salaries but they were very dedicated and upright. Students who graduated from the school became peaceloving and useful citizens who served Sarawak well. One of the best Chung Cheng School graduates is none other than Dr. Tie King Tai, the Principal of the Methodist Theological College,Sibu. The school board of directors has always had the development of the school and the welfare of the students at heart.

In 1946 the Chung cheng school hostel was completed and ready for students from all around the Rejang Basin. This enabled many girls especially to be educated up to Senior Middle Three.

In 1956 the government decided to standardize education in Sarawak and the Chung Cheng School was converted to a Government Aided School. In 1963 the school became an English medium school, with transition classes to start with.

Source : Lau Tze Cheng,"My Seven Years as a teacher in Chung Cheng School",p.262-286 from Lau Kah Tii, A Commemorative Album. Private Publication.


Please correct me if I am wrong. Your comments are very welcome.

There are several blogs manned by Chung Cheng School graduates.