Hainanese chicken chop

Well, it has been a fortnight since my trip to Taiping and Kuala Kurau with Saw See and Wong Hiong Wah. Mana eh chai, the day after our road trip, Taiping was declared a red zone for the coronavirus. That really put us in a bit of a bother since coming back because we really didn't know which part of Taiping was affected. The MySejahtera app on the mobile proved particularly helpful, in retrospect. I keyed in Jalan Pasar, because that was where we went for brunch. No reported cases within a kilometre, it said. I keyed in Antong coffee factory, because that was where we made an unscheduled stop before leaving Taiping. Also no reported cases. I heaved a sigh of relief. I guess my friend would have too.

But what were we doing in Taiping in the first place? Actually, my first intention was to visit Hiong Wah to borrow some of his Ban Hin Lee Bank stuff. But days earlier, I had also invited him to follow us down to Taiping and Kuala Kurau, and he readily agreed to join us. So after picking him up, we scooted down to Taiping. "There's a place there that I want to eat," I told him, "it serves the very best Hainanese chicken chop. Even better than the ones in Penang or Kuala Lumpur."

I've written briefly about the Yut Sun restaurant in the past but I don't mind repeating here that this Hainanese restaurant has survived more than 100 years old. It's probably the second or third generation running the place now. Where we ate was at their traditional location in Jalan Pasar but they have a newer branch just across the road. Air-conditioned and probably the food is a bit more expensive. 

But why go there when I can sit back enjoy some old-world charm with the overhead ceiling fans slowly turning? A group of Malay customers were enjoying their meals nearby as we walked in; so obviously the food must be halal. And during the course of our meals, I observed other Malays and Indians flitting in and out of the restaurant. 

Coming back to the Hainanese chicken chop that we ordered - we all ordered the same - nothing much has changed since my last time here in July last year: a portion of chicken breast meat bathed in a delicious gravy and served with chunky potatoes, a slice of tomato and some green peas. Isn't that what Hainanese chicken chop is all about? Yes, of course, but we all agreed that this one was the best ever. And that it has to be cooked in a small town like Taiping makes it an undiscovered gem among all the Hainanese restaurants I have known.

Old red packets

These old angpow long harks back to a time when red packets were simpler and less pretentious. And you could still stuff a RM50 note into any of them...easily 😆. I happened to unearth these red packets from a friend when I was searching for some from the old Ban Hin Lee Bank as I've embarked on a project. I'm sure many people would have come across them too. They are now collectors items. The question I asked some other friends were: which design was your favourite?

Hutchings commemorative service 2020

Amidst the second surge of the Covid-19 (or third surge if you believe the government authorities). a scaled-down commemorative service for Robert Sparke Hutchings was held at the old Protestant Cemetery in Northam Road, George Town, Penang at seven o'clock in the morning on 21st October 2020, attended by six senior prefects and the Senior Assistant of Penang Free School (Hutchings founded the school in 1816), the Red Crescent members and a school teacher of Hutchings Secondary School (named after Hutchings, obviously), several Old Frees, parishioners from the St George's Church (which Hutchings had a hand in its establishment in 1819) and other well-wishers, thus making this year's attendance surprisingly quite decent. But we kept our social distance throughout the service and after.

The six senior prefects from Penang Free School at the commemorative service

The Penang Free School prefects laying the wreaths at Hutchings' grave

Very nice of Inesh Dillon, last years School Captain, to turn up too.

The Old Frees at the commemorative service. Missing from this picture was Sean Ho.

The boys from Hutchings Secondary School.

Me with the prefects from Penang Free School.

The grave of Robert Sparke Hutchings. The smaller grave happened to be that of his grand-daughter, Marian Isabel Macleane, who died in 1852 at the tender age of seven months.

 

Threesome?

Had a terrific storm in Bukit Mertajam yesterday morning. The gusts of howling wind blew open my partially-closed window and there was rainwater all over my bedroom floor. But luckily, no damage to the bed or table. 

After the storm was over, I went to my flower pots and noticed several snails chomping away on my greens. Yucks, snails. 

Got to eliminate them or else they'll continue to infest my plants. So I placed them aside on the road while continuing to search for more of these garden pests. No more to be found except for these four. 

Found that three of them were now enjoying an orgy of sorts while the disinterested fourth snail decided to slime itself away.

 

Revisiting Sitiawan

Since the movement control order was imposed in mid-March this year, my wife and I haven't been anywhere outside of Penang. Not since the 18th of last month, anyway. As my wife had an appointment in Taiping, we took the opportunity to revisit Sitiawan too. Somehow our schedule was too tight in Taiping and we had no time for lunch there. After a quick visit to a fast food joint, we set forth for the coastal Hockchiew town in Perak, arriving there after a leisurely two-hour drive.

One of the reasons why we had Sitiawan in our minds was to seek out some local Hockchiew food. On top of our list was the red yeast wine chicken meesuah soup, the sweet and sour fish maw soup and their crispy oyster omelette. We would have ordered their homemade tauhu but we were stuffed: after all, there were only a party of two at the table.

Lunch over, we headed over to an unnamed timsum shop behind the Yee Si Restaurant but as luck would have it, it was closed or otherwise we would have loaded ourselves with their crushed peanut-filled mantou. So it was with some reluctance that we went to the nearby Chop Wah Seong to pick up their dried meesuah, bottled red yeast wine and also the famed Kampong Koh chilli sauce. 

This is the sweet and sour fish maw soup.

The Hock Chiew red yeast wine chicken meesuah soup.

And the fabulous fried oyster omelette.

The Settlement Museum is possibly one of the most interesting attractions in Sitiawan. Located right next to the Methodist Church, the museum chronicles the history of the town's people and activities, and especially the Methodist Christian movement in the area. 

I've visited this place a rather long time ago but for my wife, it was a first occasion for her. During our previous visit, the museum had been closed for upgrade. It now open, of course, but visitors now have to pay a fee to tour the premises. The museum is quite well laid out with lots of exhibits and there is a new wing at the back of the old building. I was quite fascinated with the displays of old radiograms and record players. The place is well worth a visit.

Mooncake festival

Yesterday was the 15th day of the Chinese lunar month. Traditionally on this day, we would celebrate the Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival. There are legends surrounding this festival, mostly centering on the fairy in the moon but for too many years already, the Chinese people are now more realistic. There is no life on the moon, let alone fairies. Yet we still celebrate this festival today but it is more of a cultural tradition than anything else. So there I was again at the Swee Cheok Tong (Seh Quah Kongsi) to worship at the altars of our resident deities and also the ancestral tablets. As per our practice, each of us - the trustees and committee members that attended - were given a box of mooncakes. This year, I requested the Treasurer to include a Ngor Jeen or assorted nuts mooncake in my box. This mooncake flavour has become out of favour in the past years as more imaginative and innovative fillings take over. These newer fillings are not to my liking though, as they do not taste any better than the traditional ones, Yet if the mooncake festival needs to survive, there must certainly be revamps to the mooncakes themselves.