If you’re wondering why I’ve chosen this song as the title of this post, it is actually in reference to a person’s condition when he has been eating too much meat and not enough roughage or fibre. LOL!!! This is very often the case around Chinese New Year time when the tables will be laden with pork, chicken, duck, beef and all that, while vegetable dishes are more often than not, a rarity.
When I was young, one thing that I would look forward to was the bak kua or barbecue meat. It was not available locally then and my father would order it from Singapore (together with the menglembu groundnuts – I remember the brand; there was a picture of an old farmer carrying a stick on his shoulder and bunches of groundnuts hanging from the stick). The meat would come wrapped in layers of white paper with the label (a piece of red paper with gold lettering) stuck on top.
Today, there are the local ones, as well as those vacuum-packed ones brought over from West Malaysia e.g. Woe Lai Yeh or the Kiew Brothers brand…
Now they even have the chicken or beef varieties, not just pork , in all kinds of flavours including black pepper, and as you can see in the photo, they not only come in squares these days. These are round…like gold coins in the hope that one will enjoy good fortune and lots of money in the year ahead.
Sitting around entertaining guests and munching on the bak kua or while waiting for visitors to turn up is definitely detrimental to one’s bowel movement, especially after having already eaten all that meat during the regular meals. Thus, after two or three days into the festival, I would usually yearn for some simpler, less rich food like porridge…
…which I had yesterday with salted fish…
I did not get the chance to go to the market to get the long kiam hu but these were good enough for me. I also love salted eggs and century eggs with my porridge but there weren’t any in the house, so I had to do without those and instead, I had this steamed pork with cincaluk that I had featured before in an earlier post…
Chris of i-anakapai.blogspot.com tried cooking after seeing it in my blog and her whole family sang its praises and licked the bowl clean! LOL!!! I also fried some thinly-sliced french beans with egg and with Marmite (or sometimes I would have Bovril) added to my porridge, I must say that I had the most delightful lunch indeed. Yum! Yum!
Anybody else having porridge? LOL!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I love Bak Kua!! :))
I used to when I was a kid but not anymore as it has become so common and we can get it any time of year. My brother in Auckland would buy a whole lot everytime he came back (Bee Cheng Hiang along Orchard Road in Singapore) and finish it all in one sitting! Once, he even smuggled some back!!! So kesian! LOL!!
I should’ve brought some bak gua to eat in office. and I hope there’s porridge with Borvil right in front of me now T__T
Today’s Friday…so I pounded some sambal belacan for ulam (with blanched ladies’ fingers) and had that with rice plus fried black pomfret (ikan bawal hitam). A welcome change from all the meat dishes during CNY!
Sometimes after eating too much food during CNY or any other festivals, I yearn for something simple like Maggi Instant Noodles! It’s not healthy, but that’s the only thing I feel like eating!
I notice the shops selling bak kua not doing very well this year. Maybe economy down and people buying less?
Possibly…and they’re more expensive too, I think. Not really crazy over it anymore, unlike during my younger days. Here, the coffee shops that are open during CNY will enjoy a roaring business – all packed – even though they sell the kampua noodles at RM10 a plate!
i will be bringing back one pack of bak gua and bak hu 😀
ooo yum!
Ooi!!! Can bring into hostel kah??? Hahahahahaha!!!! My daughter so good – “just follow law” one!!!
I blame Bak Kua for my my tongue’s endless pain (ate too much) T_T
Does it have that effect? I know taking too much especially the beef ones may cause fever. Too heaty! Well, hope you’ll be ok soonest!…..Btw, how come you never drop by my house? So near yet so far? Victor also!
Bak-kua was such a novelty then isn’t it,STP! I remembered the nite before the 1st day of CNY,my mum asked me to cut them into squares n put into jars,n the delightful part is getting to eat the burnt edges while cutting them!(Now burnt ones are thrown out,not healthy!) My favourite chores were cutting Bak kua,arranging the biscuits/cakes n lollies into assorted trays,stacking the ‘ngo-kiang’ drinks inthe fridge,so I can keep an eye that the sarsi,cherry n the cream soda don’t get served to guests till last bcos that is my favourite drinks.LOL! They still have ‘ngo-kiang’or not?The worst part is washing the glasses,esp when one bro got lots of students visiting him. I tried to get out of the house before the students came,they always visited in flocks n so there will be lots of glasses to wash!LOL!
The burnt edges are the nicest! So fragrant! LOL!!…I think the Ngo/Chuo Kian drinks are still available in cans as well as bottles but I don’t think they enjoy as much business as in the 50s or 60s. The colouring so bad that after drinking the cherry, we all looked like vampires!! LOL!!
marmite….my all time favourite. yummy 🙂
No wonder we’re almost the same shape and size! We seem to like the same things! Hahahahahahaha!!!!
OMG! They all my favourite food!!!!!
You like porridge? LOL!!! Old people will scold…saying where got anyone eat “moi/chok” during Chinese New Year!
I have been eating bak kua and shredded chicken meat these few days…looks like my waist has increased tremendously. Haha =) Anyway Happy Chinese New Year Situapui! 🙂
Ooi! Don’t curse me SI-tuapui! It’s “sui” as in “good looking”. Your waist expanding? Never mind! Can become SUI – tuapui like me! Hahahahahaha!
Amazing…same line of thought. I was cutting bak kua n thinking how we used to look forward to go to your house for them. Next morning Lindy mentioned it. No wonder we all same size..same gene same thinking
So kesian we people last time hor! So deprived!…Or come to think of it, so kesian the kids these days. They have everything. Nothing to look forward to…and they don’t get to enjoy the pleasure of anticipating and finally enjoying like we people back then!
haha.. mum cooked porridge, salted egg, cangkuk manis and french beans 🙂 for dinner just now. A bow of steaming hot porridge is heaven on a rainy day..
Gong Xi Fa Cai! hog Pau Na Lai:)
Almost like what I had!…Now which Belle would this be? You’ve been here before? I guess so since you were not awaiting moderation. Anyway, a Happy Chinese New Year to you too!
Sorry typo 😛
**bowl of porridge..
**Hong Pau
Whew! For a moment, I thought you wanted one whole pig (hog)! LOL!!! Well, if you’re under 21 and not working, come over to my house and you’ll get an ang pao! Hahahahaha!!!
I bought some the other day for cny. But not kiew brotheres la, I bought Loong Kee since it’s just next door .. ha ha ha
honey chicken
Ya, the one at Jalan Imbi. I heard it’s good too…so next time you come back, you know what to do lah! Hint! Hint! Hahahahahaha!!!!
please give bak kua to ajil! lol.
So bad! Hormat sikit! I put away all those things until he had left! So nice of me…not like you! Bully the poor guy all the time! Hahahahahaha!!!
yummy!!!!
Have you stocked up on food yet? Later, nothing to eat….. Flood! LOL!!!
steamed pork with cincaluk…how do you get the cincaluk? I never like cencaluk, even I am malaccan.
I get the fresh home-made cincaluk from my connections in Bintulu. Nicer and cleaner! The bottled ones from Melaka/West Malaysia are extremely salty and not so “fragrant”. Not as nice! You can try with chicken! Should be nice too when cooked this way….
No porridge yet. I only eat Bee Cheng Hiang bak gua. Other brand I don’t touch. Don’t know why, the taste different from BCH, I don’t like.
Speaking of which, this time I didn’t touch any bak gua when I went back to Sibu. Hhaahahahaha!
I will buy Bee Cheng Hiang if I am around Mid Valley…or in Singapore (Orchard Road). But I feel the KL one has a bit too much msg… Not so much into those things anymore now that they’re easily available!
Hi Sir!!
Have always loved bovril ever since i’m a kid!! its so cheap here! n bak gua..waa..really miss that dried meat!! yum yum!
Gong Xi Fa Cai there!!
Cheers!
Cheap where? I thought you’re in KL or Penang? Over RM20 for the big bottle and you say cheap? Hmmm….coming home to Sibu anytime soon? Hahahahahahaha!!!!
i am having the same condition bro. add me on facebook k? e-mail is.. er.. christopher.tock [@] gmail.com
LOL!!! Eat more fruits and vegetables! Sure will add you! I’m using my real name on facebook right now…ever since my suituapui account got hacked and I could no longer access it. Will introduce myself when I add you…
wah bak kua, salted fish with porridge and pork with cencaluk…. damn teacher u really know how to enjoy life hor… btw, is that marmite another version of vegemite and bovril ?
Aiyor…eat porridge, poor man’s food mah! Marmite and Bovril from the UK. Vegemite is the Australian version (I think)…and I didn’t like it, the one time I bought from Ta Kiong to try. Bovril these days no beef (Mad Cow), so tastes something like Marmite also.