My friend, Richard, gave me some and then, Annie-Q brought me some more all the way from KL and when my cousins and nephew came to town form Kuching, most of the shops were closed for the Gawai Dayak Harvest Festival so they could not go round to get me all the things that I love and in the end, they got me these…
…nyonya zhangs and this is just a bundle of a whole lot in a huge bag.
They’re wrapped in pandan (screwpine) leaves…
…and the meat is not minced…
– just the way nyonya zhangs should be. I’ve eaten a few and they tasted great – just the way nyonya zhangs should be too. Maybe if I give Richard’s a 10, these would get a 9…as Richard’s has more filling but that is usually the case – people tend to be more generous when they make their own at home. And to think that I was thinking that I would not be having any zhang to eat this year, now I have had so many to feast on and I’m saving some in the freezer to eat when the festival finally comes around.
Another cousin gave me these shortbread biscuits and Tan Kim Hock’s dodol…
…and I think these are the traditional peanut caramel candy…
…with a generous coating of sesame seeds. My! My! They certainly have shrunk! Now they’re smaller than the size of a postage stamp.
She also gave me these bee pang…
– I’m not too crazy about this but my missus loves it a lot. In the past, everytime when I went to Kuching, I had to get some for her. I think, literally translated, the name means fragrant rice (and not bee) and as the name implies, the delicacy is basically made up of rice – rice bubbles, to be exact and fried shallots…but these days, they’ve more stuff in it.
Now, wait a minute! There are some more! I also got these phong peah from her…
…and these lao po bing…
…like the so-called oriental wife’s biscuits that I bought here once before. Lao po in Chinese means wife and I guess bing means biscuit or something to that effect.
And if you think that’s it, I’m afraid you’re grossly mistaken for my friend, ex-blogger Clare, came home for the holidays too and she brought me these…
She said they were made by somebody in Kuching who actually originated from Malacca.
Inside the box, there were these puffs…
…with turkey ham and mayonnaise inside…
They were nice though I would wish that they had been more generous with their turkey ham and perhaps it would be nicer to use cream cheese or sour cream instead. The puff pastry was really good though – I loved that a lot.
There were also these…
…that has char siew chicken filling – something like what one would find in those Seremban char siew pao…
These tasted good though I wouldn’t say that they got me jumping up and down with delight. I think I would rather have shortcrust or puff pastry instead of the bread-like one that they have for these.
Gosh!!! Things keep coming like it is never ever going to stop but I’m not complaining though. As they say in Malay, rezeki jangan ditolak…so thanks so very much, everybody. It is indeed so very kind and sweet of all of you to go through all that trouble – I certainly appreciate it very much.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
im flying to sibu next year! i shall start thinking what to get for you eh haha
You are? Welcome, welcome…but please don’t bring me anything! Just a blank cheque, duly signed, of course…will do. LOL!!! 😀
OK that’s a great idea no need to pay for extra luggage surcharge got a few EON Bank cheques can give one to you or even two (God’s willing) when visit Sibu ok kah bro?
EON? No more lah! Bought over by Hong Leong lah… You’re trying to cheat this old man kah? I’m smarted than you think. Hehehehehehe!!!!
You are really a blessed one, Arthur… so many nice friends you have all over the world. 🙂
I am indeed…and I am sure you are too, all the perks of blogging. 😉
Was sharing the puff with the chipmunk the week before and the half that I bit into only has mayo. Was complaining about the size of the ham piece as well and the tiny bit of cheese also. We didn’t really fancy the chicken bun which the Malaccan lady kept saying very nice though. Well, we had better ones I guess.
Ya, some of the things over that side that they say are nice never tickle my fancy – maybe our tastebuds are not the same. I ate the puff pastry with the mayo or cheese or whatever was inside first – like I said, the pastry was quite good – all around the ham…and had that in my last bite. Save the best for last! LOL!!! 😉
wow pandan leaf? cool! i never try that before!
and i admire the amount of good friends you have!
They don’t use pandan leaf there? It’s common here – for nyonya zhang, that is. But I hear, with pandan leaf, the zhang may not last very long unless they are kept in the fridge. The bamboo leaves, they claim, have a certain quality and the zhang will not go bad so soon. You’re young and still new in this thing – stick around, keep up what you’re doing…and soon enough, you’ll have lots of friends too…like me. 😉
wah, so good everyone seems to be sending things over to Arthur!! i think he doesn’t need to buy anything for the Dumpling Festival anymore, those stocks are sure enough.. unless he finished eating them in these few days~~ haha!!
I’m saving half a dozen in the freezer…so I will have some to eat when the festival finally comes around – June 23rd. 😉
…zhangs, and I still haven’t found what I’m looking for! Haha, soon you’ll need to get a second fridge and pantry!
No worries! If you drop by the night market here and you see somebody who looks like me sitting by the side selling things, that is most probably…me!!! LOL!!! 😀
I think u could start doing rating for the top 5 best ba zhang…
Yup I always believe that rezeki jangan ditolak..
So makan n makan n makan…
next time I come I will bring some blank cheque….
U WAIT FOR ME OK….. Make sure arrange red carpet for welcome me kakaka…
Sure! Sure!!! If you’re bringing a blank cheque, it will not just be a red carpet – I will throw in some lion dancers and a kompang band too. Muahahahahahaha!!!!! 😀
Wow, so many nice things to savour. Truly blessed.Love the puff with turkey ham and also the nyonya bak zhang. Yum!!…Yum!!!…..
They’re all from Kuching. You can get the zhang from Irene at Yeow Kee Kopitiam (Premier 101). As for the puffs, be forewarned that the turkey ham instead is so very little…so you don;t get to enjoy the taste most of the time.
Nice and neat way of wrapping the zhangs, like the strings that wrapped them looked like shoe lace. Heard the other type, those plastic raffia strings are bad for health as they are boiled together with the zhangs for hours. Aiya some will say never mind one, you so kiasi one, once a year only mah cannot die one…haha. Bananaz wanna live longer to be able to eat more zhangs mah.
Yup…that’s what they say about those nylon strings so it would be better to use these threads. The grass strings break easily so that would add to the difficulty of wrapping the zhangs. Maybe boiling isn’t as bad as deep frying to make the cucur crispier?
I have not seen any Nyonya Chang wrapped solely with daun pandan either. Must be quite small and tricky to shape and ikat.Loves all the tik-tik tak-tak:)
They’re all wrapped in pandan leaves in Kuching. My friend, Richard will wrap with bamboo leaves…and sometimes he puts a piece of pandan inside. Harder to use pandan as the leaf is harder…plus the zhang may not last as long.
The Zhang wrapped very nicely. Not like mine messy Zhang
I still like the usual Zhang
This one’s professionally done mah! How to compare… Ya, my missus also as she grew up eating those. We grew up eating the nyonya type and hence, the [reference for those instead.
All are delicious…..
Yes, indeed they are… 😉
ah why didnt i meet you when you were in KL.. by the way, I prefer nyonya dumpling in blue clitoris shades, very aromatic 🙂
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That’s what these are like – minus the blue stains. Those would just be natural colouring using the flower, anyway – does not change the taste. I dunno…were you dropping by my blog already that time when I went over to KL? If I’m not mistaken, you only started dropping by quite recently.
The title is so appropriate. You never stop torturing your readers with all the yummy food you eat. How funny is it? The more you torture them, the more they love you. Hehe
Some people are suckers for punishment. Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
Made me hungry 🙂
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Hi, Rich! How are you? Haven’t seen you around for a long time. Hope you’re doing well at your end. Ya…I know – you’re not the only one complaining. LOL!!! 😀
wow….more and more souvenirs pouring in!!
Yes, people are always so nice and kind to me…and I am indeed thankful for that. 🙂
wow..that nyonya zhang so nicely wrap and look so neat!
tsk tsk tsk..this year you overdose on the zhang. hahhahah
i love that peanut caramel candy. *wink wink* My mum told me can get from Sibu too. 🙂
Puffs look good, make me hungry now!
Too bad so little turkey ham inside – that would have made me crave for more but at it is, no, thank you. I’ll keep an eye open for that candy – will see if I can get it here. Ya…so many zhang…but stopping now – the rest, I’m saving for the actual day.
wow I’ve never seen a turkey ham puff before. What would be nice is some pork bacon in those puffs… hehehe…
I guess it’s some bakery…and they try to be halal mah. 😉
Wah… you’re so lucky with all the goodies. Wish I’m your neighbor then I can exchange some of my nyonya kuih or maybe ice cream with you. LOL
I certainly would love that too… 😉
i prefer the plain bee phangs…my sister normally buys them for my mum if she’s in kuching.
Some things are best left alone…the way they used to be. Changes need always be for the better.