Wrap…

The expression It’s a wrap means something’s finished or completed, over and done and has nothing to do with wrapping anything, presents…or for that matter, zhang/chang (dumplings) but yes, the festival aka The Dragon Boat Festival (端午節) or the Double Fifth Festival as it falls on the the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar though most will just refer to it as the Zhang Festival or the ciak zhang (eat dumplings) festival, fell on Thursday last week, the 25th of June, this year.

Come this time every year, everyone will be busy wrapping their own zhangs and going round asking whether everyone else is doing the same and they will declare that theirs is second to none. I do not know how to do it, wrap those dumplings and my missus insists she does not do it very well and will not bother – her late mum was the one doing it before and of course, the daughter would insist the mum’s zhangs were the best.   That is why we are left with no choice – we just have to go out and buy.

I was at the food and fruit shop near my house a couple of days before the festival and the place was flooded with zhangs. I did buy theirs to try before but no, they did not sweep me off my feet. I also bought some from the shop at the end of that same block and even though theirs were nicer, I did not feel they were so good that I would be going back there to grab some more.

The lady boss kept persuading me to buy these (RM3.50 each)…

She said that the lady would only make it once a year for sale and hers would not be available on normal days.

Yes, it was very nice with a lot of meat, bits of shitake mushroom and peanuts inside…

…but my missus does not like zhangs with peanuts so she didn’t like it much.

In the meantime, I also stopped by the mini market among the Delta Mall area of shops and the lady said that the ones she was selling (RM4.00 each)…

…were very good, not as good as the ones she used to sell before but that lady was unwell and not able to make any this year.

True to her word, it…

…was very nice. I thought it was a little bit pricey but there was a lot of meat inside (unlike the RM2.50-3.00 ones that I bought elsewhere before) plus some shitake mushroom as well and if you were lucky, you would get a slice of pork fat too…

Personally, I did feel that the overall taste was nicer than that of the aforementioned one. Yum yummm!!! LOL!!!

My missus prefers these Chinese Hokkien (some people say they’re Hakka’s) like the ones she ate growing up but not me. I grew up enjoying the nyonya version that my mum used to make without fail every year.  Unfortunately, we cannot buy those nyonya ones here in Sibu, only in Kuching but every year, without fail, my good friend/ex-colleague, Richard would make his own and he would never fail to give me some…

…to enjoy, thank you so so much, Richard! You’re the best!

Really, it is so very thoughtful and sweet of him to remember me year in, year out. His are always perfect outside…

…and inside…

…and the taste…

…is simply out of this world.

Previously, I would always give a few to my mum – she loved these nyonya zhangs too but since she had passed on, I gave them to my sister and she loved them. In her own words, “Richard’s nyonya zhang is truly very very good!” and that was from someone who has had enjoyed the Kuching ones…and even the ones from Katong in Singapore!

Well, now that we’ve eaten all the zhangs we desired and it’s over and done till next year, we can say quite appropriately, “It’s a wrap!”

SWEE HUNG (2.316161, 111.840441) is located along Jalan Ruby, in the block of shops on the right – next to a hair salon at the extreme end…and on the other end, to the left is the Kim Won Chinese Medical Store and Mini-supermarket. Kim Tak Co. and Ak Kau Cafe are located in the other block on the left while  PUAS HATI MINI MARKET (2.311748, 111.845507) is located at No. 12 at the corner of Lorong Taman Seduan 8 to the right of the block where Soon Hock & Chopsticks are located.