Learn Foochow Case Study 1 - " me lo di " = " buy bread"

When I was about 5-6 years old, I recall one night my mum and my sister going out to some event.
And they kept saying something like "Mari me lo di" or "Mary me lo di"
I was really confused, cos it either meant "Come buy bread" or "Mary buy bread"
(Mari= "come" in Malay)
What's the big deal about buying bread?
And who is Mary?

I didn't actually work it out until many years later..
Like .. many many years later..
Like the sun rising from the east,

It dawned on me...
It was some kinda piano event called "Merry Melodies"... at least, I think it is..
True story!
That's all folks!

Guiness Book of Records Kampua! - Delta Cafe

The last trip I had back to Sibu, I went to Delta Cafe for kampua. If you don't know what kampua is.. ask me, maybe I will write an article on it. Anyway.. back to Delta Cafe...
Some say this is the best kampua in Sibu. This subject is always controversial, there are a few nominated candidates. Malaysians can be quite serious when discussing about which food is the best. ( Siburians are deadly serious about their kampua, no joke!). There is something special about this cafe though, the chef is a Guiness Book of Records holder!
But not for his food!
For being a Best Man!!

Wowsies, Mr Ting sure is a popular guy. Not just for his cooking skills but also for his best man skills.

I'm been a best man a few times but this man really takes the cake. 1445 wedding in 33 years, that about 44 weddings/year! Almost one a week! Nuts!

If you are wondering why he is the "best" man for so many weddings, I will explain a little. 

Being a best man in a chinese wedding is slightly different from a western wedding. The best man, is not always the grooms best mate, although nowadays it commonly is. The best man is responsible for a lot of the wedding proceedings. A bit like a marriage celebrant . He holds a very important role in conducting the "Tea Ceremony" and doing official speeches. Not speeches about the most embarrassing moments of the groom's childhood but the boring formal type, like " Mr HotShot the 3rd son of Mr and Mrs Bigshot, graduate from University of the Rich, professional Doctor/Lawyer is marrying beautiful and elegant Princess Fiona from the magical land of Far far away... that kind  "

Ok, back to the kampua

So I went with my family and we made our orders. I took a few pics of the man himself. ( the Best Man)

You will notice he wears a proper chef's hat and so does his assistant. This is real rarity in Sibu (and Malaysia) 

This shows his professionalism.

Our food gets served. I decided to go for a standard Kampua.  And a bowl of "bien nuk" soup. In other dialects I suppose this is "wonton soup".

How do u grade a kampua? This is really hard.. as you can see , not much goes into the noodles apart from bbq, pork and onions. The true flavours itself I suppose is the chef's secret, but typical ones contain lard.

Firstly, the wonton soup. The bien nuk is good and standard size. With a decent amount of meat. But what struck me the most was I could taste some chinese cooking wine in it. This is quite impressive given that wine in soup is usually reserved for special occasions like birthdays, CNY and such. But definitely I could taste it , confirmed by my family.

Now for the kampua itself. It did not disappoint. Definitely I would rate it among the best in Sibu, if not the best. How do I describe a kampus? It's tasty, very tasty,,.. the japanese might say Umami. The BBQ pork is quite standard compared with other kampua dishes in  Sibu. 

The kampua tasted even better with the chili sauce, yum yum..

Anyway, conclusion, Mr Ting is awesome, for 2 reasons. He has been the most popular best man in the world, and his kampua cooking skills are superb. He even wears a chef hat! Win!

Local boy who's been overseas for too long gets owned by mosquito

Beware graphic content !
Discretion is advised!



Meanwhile... in other news..

Sibu: Local boy who's been overseas for too long gets owned by mosquito

Got you! - Aedes Aegyti

Learn Foochow -101

I would like to give you all a lesson in Foochow, which is a dialect spoken in my home town Sibu.
To start with  , I will give some easy words you can learn



1. Milo - Don't want anymore

e.g  - " Gu ai mo?  " ( Do you want anymore ?)
         " Milo "           ( Dun want anymore)

2. Malaysia  - Cannot eat

e.g      "  Eh lei sia KFC meh ?" ( Can I eat KFC?)
          " Malaysia "                     ( Cannot eat)

3. Tomorrow -  No more left

e.g    - Eh  KFC gu mo ?  ( anymore KFC? )
           " Tomorrow "         ( no more)

4. Again      - It's salty

e.g      " KFC eh gen meh?    ( Is KFC salty?)
          " Again"                      ( it's salty)

5. Celaka  - Very hot

e.g    " KFC hot and spicy eh ho xia meh ? ( is hot and spicy good?)
          " Celaka "                                          (very hot)
            ( Celaka is a  swear word in Malay )

6.  Siapa you  -    Eat banana

    e.g  " Nu xia xie no? "   ( what are you eating? )
           " Siapa you  "         ( eating banana )
  
            ( "Siapa you" also means "who are you"  in colloquial Malay language)


Continue to Foochow 102