Teochew Festival 2014

Went to the Teochew Festival with my course mates to learn more about their culture.

Each of us were given a $25 ticket. After deducting the entry fee we were left with $20 each. After we'd entered, we split into groups and immediately went to the food area.

 There were quite a number of stalls. The items that the stalls were selling were a quite expensive.

Orh Luak [a.k.a. oyester omelette]($15)-  well cooked omelette with small juicy oyster. It comes with an acidic, peppery sauce.

Braised Duck ($10)- slightly over salty duck that was a little dry. Braising is one of the cooking method mostly used by Teochew people.

Prawn roll ($10)- beancurd skin with prawn filling. The roll was not overcook and it comes with honey on the side(?)

Fishball Soup ($6)- handmade fishball with a tasty soup which had pork lard and spring onions.

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Fishcake ($4)- oily tasty fishcake.

Orh Nee [a.k.a. yam paste]($5)- sweet, milky yam paste with ginkgo nut. Traditionally, the orh nee had pork lard and pumpkin inside.

Ah Balling [a.k.a. tang yuan | glutinous rice ball]($5)- chewy skin with peanut filling and sweet sliced ginko nuts. A dessert that is usually served during auspicious occasion.

Bak Kut Teh [a.k.a. pork rib soup]($10)- serve with rice, vegetables and beans. Meat was a little tough. 

Fried Kway Teow($?)- Tasted like stir fried hor fun. Forgot the price. 

Bird's Nest ($5)- rock sugar syrup with bits of bird nest. Six bottle for $25. Three kinds available- ginseng, rock sugar or less sugar.

Peanut candy- not sweet peanut candy. The also did a demonstration on how they made them.

Lantern- blue is for funeral while red is for happy occasion like this festival. 

Making a lantern by hand is a tedious process and the master is able to make two a day.

Teapot- the older the teapot, the better. None of the teapot is identical. Lift the cover and knock it lightly against the pot. People tend to buy it according to sound it makes whether higher or lower pitch.

Cooking Demo- At 3pm there was a cooking demo by Chef Eric Low. He demonstrated three dishes.

Wood Carving- it looks like it's made of gold but it's actually made of wood and then sprayed with gold. This is because it looks more glamorous. 

Jewelry shop- In the past for betrothal gifts Teochew would give necklace, earring, bangle and ring. For the wealthier families, they would also include 4 jades.

Chop- They will stamp you arm with a chop so that you can re-enter again.

It was a nice day and we had the privilege of having Chef Eric sharing with us about the Teochew Culture. Also we saw Pierre Png at the festival too!