Where are the Hailam Cooks?

 

So, how did this question come about? At one of our monthly gatherings, a group of old timers (me included) were reminiscing about our life in Malaysia, fondly recalling our hometowns, friends and naturally, the discussion drifted to our favourite topic which is food! Suddenly one of the old timers looked at me and said, “Hey, where have all the Hailam cooks gone too?” Since I am the only Hailam in that group, naturally that question was directed at me. As we know, there are many Hailam great cooks, well known for their excellent Hainanese chicken chop, Hailam mee (noodles), Hailam chicken rice, Hailam steak, etc and on top of that, they make the best “Kopi-O” and I am talking about the aromatic black coffee with “oomph” and not the one with the condensed milk or any added milk. After giving some thought to that question, I finally replied “You are right, we don’t see many Hailam cooks nowadays”. The only one that I could think of that is making headway today is Adam Liaw who won the Season 2 MasterChef Australia. I believe his grandfather was Hailam. Come to think of it, Adam Liaw who lives nearby to me has got a bit of that Hailam feature, ie: the shape of his face and a prominent forehead! Other than that, he is about as Australian as you can get. So, in today’s post, I am going to pay tribute to all the Hailam cooks (including the restaurant captains and waiters) out there!

I will start by reminiscing about my hometown of Klang. As some of you know, my grandfather started a coffee shop called “Nam Chuan” at Tengku Diauddin (Jalan Tengku Diauddin) somewhere in the late 1920s. I have written a few articles on this previously, so I am not going to dwell on it here. As Nam Chuan was one of the very early Hailam coffee shops in Klang, many of the Hailams who worked in Nam Chuan later on went to open their own coffee shops and restaurants and achieved great successes in their own right. As some of you may know, most Hailams in the early days were either operating coffee shops or working as cooks or waiters for the “Ang Moh” (the colloquial term for Europeans in Malaya). One of the people who worked at Nam Chuan who did very well for himself was Ah Nam or fondly known as Bo Nam (the term “Bo” is an endearing term in Hailam when referring to someone who is close). Bo Nam together with another Hailam opened and operated a restaurant called Yang Jung in Port Klang. Restaurant Yang Jung was famous for its “Hailam Char Siew” (Hailam roast pork), “Hailam Ee Pew” (stewed fish stomach wrapped around some meat and cooked in a thick broth) and Hailam Mee (noodles) amongst others. Bo Nam started out as a helper in Nam Chuan and later on became an apprentice cook. Yang Jung certainly served delicious food and Bo Nam did very well for himself. His business partner who was also a Hailam wasn’t a cook but I remember him as one of the restaurant Captain (maitre’d) in another famous Hailam restaurant in Port Klang called Seaview. After Seaview shut its doors, he and Bo Nam started Yang Jung. Even though, Yang Jung was doing well but for some reason, it did shut its doors later on which was quite sad. Unfortunately, we have lost touch with Bo Nam and do not know what had become of him. However, I do remember in the last few years of Yang Jung operating, Bo Nam’s son took over from him as the cook.

Sticking with Port Klang, there were other wonderful Hailam restaurants and coffee shops such as Port View restaurant, Port Klang rest house, Deluxe, Mariner’s Club and who can ever forget the “Golden Hill” or popularly known as “Kim Sua” belonging to the Ngiam family. As a matter of fact, my brother and I went to the same school with the Ngiam brothers (children / grandchildren of the owners of Golden Hill). My late auntie whom we called Ah Mai lived a few doors away from the Ngiams. Golden Hill which was strategically located along the Klang-Port Klang boulevard (or known as “Persiaran” in Malay) had got a famous huge facade advertising a particular brand of battery (if I am not mistaken). The coffee shop was located at the corner of a row of shops where the first KFC restaurant in Port Klang is located (by the way, the KFC is still there!) Port View restaurant was another well-known seafood restaurant in Klang Valley. It was operated by two Hailam business partners whom we referred to as Uncle Lim and Mr Chew. Uncle Lim who was already in his 80s back in 1980 was a rather healthy man. He could walked quickly and unaided. He could climbed stairs without any help and had more energy than people half his age. One could never believed he was in his 80s with the way he moved and the abundant energy he had. It was rather rare back than for people to reach 80 and on top of that, healthy and energetic. We always joked with Uncle Lim that his secret to his long life is that he never eats his own food in the restaurant! The ever sporting Uncle Lim would nod his head and smiled, saying that his meal is always made up of plain rice porridge (congee) with salted fish and salted duck egg. Uncle Lim was a rather entertaining fellow who unfortunately passed away not due to an illness but due to a complication from an eye cataract surgery. In those days, there was no laser surgery and the norm was that you would be put under general anaesthetics (GA) for the cataract surgery. Unfortunately for Uncle Lim, he did not wake up from the GA. As for his partner, Mr. Chew, he was a much younger man and I remember him as a rather polite person. Besides its food, one of the added advantage that Port View had over its competitors was its location - water front. You could see people boarding and alighting from the boats at the jetty and you can also see the big cargo ships and cargo cranes at the Port, thus the name “Port View”. I could still remember the loyal staff of Port View, namely a Hailam fellow by the name of Lawrence. Lawrence started as a waiter and then went on to become the restaurant Captain (maitre’d). When Port View shut its doors, Lawrence went on to work for Uncle Lim’s son by the name of George Lim in a Western restaurant known as D’Tavern. Port View was famous for its seafood but the dishes that stood out for me were its “cold chicken”, deep fried crab claw, Hailam fried mee (noodles), Hailam fried rice and steam pomfret. The “cold chicken” was made up of poached sliced chicken resting in an agar-agar casing with slaw and thousand island salad dressing generously poured over and served cold. The “crab claw” was a dish that everyone craves for as the crab claw (the real crab meat not the artificial kind) deeply fried with a little bit of batter and served with its famous Port View Hailam Chilli Sauce. You can taste the authentic crab meat as it was not overpowered by the batter like what you would have today. Then we have the steam pomfret which was cooked just right but the best thing about this dish was the way it was served. One of the waiters would come with a fork and knife and expertly sliced the steam pomfret running a knife in the middle and removing the entire bone. After that, the waiter would use a spoon to splash the sauce / gravy over the meat. I could never get tired watching this spectacular scene. The Hailam fried mee and fried rice were usually served last as a filler for those who are still not full at that stage. An added bonus was the desert of ice longan juice with cubes of red jelly, almond and longan to end a wonderful meal. That was Port View restaurant for you.

Then we have the other Hailam seafood restaurants in Port Klang such as Sea View restaurant and Muara View. They served similar food like Port View but at a lower price. However, during Port View’s hey day, you can’t beat Port View when it came to seafood. However, the standard did drop after Uncle Lim’s passing. Sea View restaurant had an added advantage over Port View as it was located in a huge bungalow house with ample parking in its grounds.

Apart from the restaurants, we have the Hailam coffee shops such as Deluxe and Golden Hill. Deluxe was attached to a budget hotel located in a corner shop lot. It was famous for its chicken rice. It also served Hailam chicken chop but it wasn’t something I would order as it had too much tomato paste which gave an overpowering sourish taste. However, it did serve the Hailam butter and kaya (coconut jam) bread. At that time, they still had the thick fluffy bread which was served either steamed or toasted. The steamed Hailam bread was delicious as it was thick and fluffy while the toasted was perfectly charred using the traditional charcoal heating method. Then you have the Golden Hill which belonged to the Ngiam family. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to taste the food over there but from what I heard, they served some really good “Hailam kopi O”.  If I recall correctly, there was another Hailam coffee shop located under the bridge on the way to what is now known as Pulau Indah. I was brought there by a “Suki” (a fellow Hainanese) but I wasn’t very impress with its food. They offered the usual fare associated with Hailam such as chicken chop, Hailam Mee, etc but it wasn’t something memorable. To me, it was just passable. I believe the coffee shop is still operating. I have not been to Port Klang for almost a decade now but I do recall I used to go to a Hailam coffee shop which was located in a pre-War shop lot near the traffic lights diagonally from the Embassy Hotel (not sure if the hotel is still there). The coffee shop was operated by two sisters who were already quite elderly when I visited there the last time in 2010. It used to be my “go-to” place whenever I visited Port Klang. They served delicious home cooked food. I used to order their bitter-gourd shop, sambal sliced chicken, black bean sliced fish and either Hailam noodle or Hailam fried rice, sometimes both! The food was delicious and the price was very reasonable. I am not sure if the shop is still there. The sisters would have been quite old if they are still around.

The other places that I mentioned were the food outlets in the Mariner’s Club and the old Port Klang rest house which were independently operated by Hailams who used to work for the “Ang Moh”, therefore, they knew how to cater to the hotel guests which were mainly Europeans at that time. Apart from that, there was another place that I used to frequent. It wasn’t a restaurant or a coffee shop but rather a stall. They operated only at night near to the Deluxe coffee shop. It was operated by another Hailam family selling glutinous rice balls similar to “Tong Yuen”. I know I am going to get a lot brickbats for saying this but I am going to say it anyway. “Tong Yuen” is actually copied or derived from a Hailam delicacy called “Wa Kia Hor” (gluttonous rice ball served in a hot ginger broth. The word “Hor” in Hailam means soup) and “Wa Kia Ark” (glutinous rice ball served dry with a lot of peanuts crumbs and fine sugar splattered all over it). They were delicious. The stall only operates in the evening and it was not unusual to find a long line waiting for this delicacy.

As this post is going beyond my usual length, I am going to stop here and write further about Hailam cooks and food under Part 2 of this post. Meanwhile if you know of other places in Port Klang, do share in the comments.

WAR STORIES: The street smart kid in WWII Malaya

 

Here is another story about World War II in Malaya as told to me by a retired Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) senior officer. One day, the retired senior officer and I were sitting at our favourite watering hole and exchanging stories when all of a sudden, he said to me, “Do you know how I got into BRNC (Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth)?” I replied, “I have no idea. You must have got some “strong cables” (the colloquial term for important political or bureaucratic connections)?” The retired RMN senior officer responded, “I have neither. I came from a very poor family. My siblings are all illiterate except for me. I owed my education and career to my eldest brother” With that, he began his story:

“Even though my oldest brother was illiterate and not educated in the scholarly sense but he was street smart. When he was in his early teens, he was already supporting the family by working odd jobs and selling all sort of things that he could find or get his hands on. When the War came to Malaya, many people suffered financially and economically. Being street smart, he was determined to support his family. He braved himself by walking into the Japanese garrison asking for work. The Japanese army officers were taken by surprise to see a young boy who dared to walk into the garrison and seeking a job. Perhaps because they were impressed with his boldness and bravery, they hired him. My brother worked as an “office boy” running errands, sweeping the floor and making drinks for the Japanese officers. Because he was a hard worker, the Japanese sometimes would give him some extra rations like cigarettes, sugar, salt and rice. My brother would then take those rations and sell them in the black market. He made some handsome returns for those rations. As time goes by the Japanese became comfortable with him and sometimes would discussed sensitive matters among themselves in my brother’s presence. My brother began to notice lately, the Japanese were always talking nervously among themselves but were polite towards him. He also noticed that the Japanese were quick in selling off their rations and personal belongings. My brother thought this was rather odd. As my brother was illiterate, he wasn’t able to read the cables and tons of papers lying on the tables of the Japanese officers. However, being street smart and trusting his own instinct, he knew something was up and his instinct tells him that the War will end soon and the Japanese will not be the ones celebrating. Taking cue from the Japanese soldiers who were selling their rations and supplies, my brother did just the opposite. He went to the local traders and bought their rations, especially tin food, sugar, salt and rice with his Japanese Government issued “banana money”. He wanted to unload all of his “banana money” as he knew that the “banana money” will be worthless once the Japanese surrenders. Not long after spending all of his “banana money”, the Japanese did surrender. All of the traders who dealt with my brother and thought they made a “killing” from the sale, had tons of worthless “banana money” with them. After the Japanese surrendered, my brother being a shrewd person, decided to sell back the rations to the traders and earned himself a huge return. After the war, he went into trading and did very well. That was how he sponsored my studies at Victoria Institution and subsequently earned myself a place at BRNC”.

WAR STORIES: The Hailam and the sack of rice

 

Being half Hainanese (or colloquially referred to as Hailam), naturally, I am interested in anything to do with this clan in the Chinese community.  Recently, my father asked me, “Do you know once upon a time, a lot of Hailam men were marrying Hakka women in Port Klang. Do you know why?” I thought that was a loaded question as my father himself did not marry to a Hailam lady but rather to a Foo Chow lady from Sibu who is my mother! My father then gave me an example, “Look at See Ping (a friend of the family), his father was Hailam and his mother was Hakka and they used to live in Bagan Hailam in Port Klang”. See Ping was an old family friend who used to work in an insurance company and then later became the face of a rather popular chilli sauce widely sold in the Klang Valley known as “Uncle Tan’s Chilli”. All this while, I thought See Ping was a 100% Hainanese as he spoke the language fluently but imagine my surprise when I heard of this new piece of information. Back to my father’s initial question, I replied I didn’t and so my father began his story which dated back to the Second World War in Malaya. Before the War, there were many Hainanese men living in a place called Bagan Hailam (Hailam Village) in Port Klang. Many of those living there were either fishermen or seafarers. Therefore, their income was slightly better than most immigrants from China. On the other hand, the Hakkas at that time were quite poor, therefore to seek a better life, many of the women married to  Hailam men. I asked my father, “Didn’t these Hainanese men have wives and families back home?” My father replied, “Yes they did but it was common at that time to have a wife in a foreign country while still being married in China”. My father continued that many of them started having a “second family” in Malaya (as it was known then) while their “first family” was in China. See Ping was a product from one of those Hailam-Hakka relationships. Therefore, it is not surprising to find many of the descendants scattered all over Malaysia today that can speak both Hailam and Hakka fluently though the numbers are beginning to dwindle due to the increase in marriages beyond among the 2 clans.

Anyway, back to the story of Bagan Hailam - one day, during the Japanese occupation in Malaya, a trader from Bagan Hailam came to my grandfather’s house carrying a sack of rice. My grandfather was rather surprise to receive this precious gift. My grandfather thanked the trader profusely but the Hailam trader stopped him and said, “Don’t thank me. This is from your relative in Thailand”. My grandfather looked puzzled. We are in the midst of War and how on earth did a scarce commodity like a sack of rice landed in his doorstep, more so, when it came all the way from Thailand and on top of that, it was from a relative! The Hailam explained that as a trader and fisherman he was permitted by the Japanese to carry out his trade. He was allowed to move along the coast of Malaya all the way up to Thailand as Thailand being supposedly a neutral country during WWII was friendly towards the Japanese. When the traders were in southern Thailand, they came across a Thai merchant who was of Hainanese descent. The traders were glad to meet another Hailam in Thailand. The Thai merchant asked the traders which part of Malaya are they from. When they replied, “Klang”, the Thai merchant got excited and said, “I have a long lost relative who lives in Klang”. When the traders asked him “Where in Klang?”. He could not say as he lost touch with my grandfather. All he knew was that the relative lives in Klang. When they asked him for his name, he replied, “Tan Jin Ko”. The two traders looked as each other and nodded their heads. They told the Thai merchant, “We know this Tan Jin Ko. He is the President of the Klang Keng Chiu Hoi Kuan (Klang Hainanese Association)”. The Thai merchant was delighted to hear that. The Thai merchant asked a favour from the traders. He said to the traders, “I know there is a shortage of food supply in Malaya due to the War, can you do me a favour and deliver this sack of rice to Tan Jin Ko?” The Thai merchant knew this was a risky thing to ask as he only got to know the traders in such a short period of time and he wasn’t sure if they could be fully trusted. However, being bonded by mutual clan of being a fellow Hailam, he decided to risk it. The traders agreed and that was how the sack of rice landed on my grandfather’s doorstep. If you would like to read more about the story of my grandfather and WWII, you can visit here http://mediationskills.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-japanese-lady-who-saved-my.html

My experience with COVID-19

 

On 5th January 2022, I was added to the official statistic for the number of COVID-19 cases in New South Wales (NSW). How did that happened? Well, here is my story:

Since the middle of December 2021, the number of COVID cases in NSW have been increasing day after day. This was just a few days after the NSW government had eased COVID restrictions such as lifting of face masks wearing and abolishment of QR code scanning in non high risk places. In spite of the easing of these restrictions during that time, I noticed that many people were still wearing face masks regardless whether they were in indoors or outdoors. This could be due to either people were still worried about catching COVID or they just didn’t believe that the COVID situation was improving. On 22nd December 2021, I went in for my scheduled oral surgery to treat my infected jaw bone and bone grafting. The procedure took about 2 hours. For obvious reasons, I would need to unmask in that duration while undergoing the surgery and treatment. The recovery from post-surgery was quite uncomfortable. I had a big swell on the left side of my face. I was on antibiotics and painkillers (I rarely take painkiller unless it becomes unbearable and this was one of those rare moments). On 28th December 2021, I had my appointment to take my booster vaccine shot. My earlier intention was to do it some time in January 2022. However, since the government have reduced the waiting time for boosters as well as urging us to take the booster shots as soon as possible, I felt that I should comply and get it over with. I also got the assurance from my dental surgeon who advised that it was safe to take the booster shot a few days after my oral surgery.

On that fateful day, I went to the Sydney Olympic Park Vaccination hub. As it was just a few days after Christmas, I did not expect to see many people at the Vaccination hub. Boy, was I wrong! There was a long line and it was crowded at the Vaccination hub. However, kudos to the health staff, the process was very easy, well organised and efficient. When it came to my turn for the booster shot, the nurse went through a list of questions with me and then proceeded with the shot. I was asked to wait in the “observation area” for 15 minutes until one of the health staff releases me. There were quite a number of people waiting together with me. Looking around, I was thinking to myself, “Wow, if someone here is COVID POSITIVE, this would be a “super spreader” venue”. Anyway, when my 15 minutes was up, I was officially released and allowed to leave the “observation area”. Unlike my other two vaccine shots, I did not go home but instead went to have lunch with my 87 year old friend, Uncle Eddie Chin. We had a nice lunch and as usual, great chat. When I came home, I felt lethargic but I put that all down as “side-effect” from the booster shot. In the evening, I had the “chills” and felt my face was quite hot. Fortunately, it was just for a short while. The next morning, except for the soreness in my arm due to the jab and a bit of a scratchy throat, I was fine. By afternoon, the soreness was gone but I felt tired. Again, I just put that down to the “side-effect” from the booster shot. On 30th December 2021, my throat was still scratchy. Even though it was scratchy but it didn’t really affect me as it was hardly noticeable unless I really focus on it. I could also swallow without any difficulty as my throat wasn’t sore at all. That evening, my family and I were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. I didn’t eat very much but I was thirsty. When I came home, I was very tired. I went to bed early.

That night I had a mild fever and my throat was a bit dry which made it even more scratchy. On New Year’s eve, while everyone was out celebrating, I just didn’t have the mood to celebrate. I was still very tired. Again, I put that all down as “side-effect” from the booster shot. That night, I began to cough, had fever and my nose was runny. I took Panadol and the fever went away. However, the cough and the runny nose became worst. The next day which was New Year’s day, I was still very tired. I was feeling down and restless. I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep but couldn’t. As I was lying down and looking up the ceiling, all sort of things were coming into my mind. I said to myself, “this can’t be the side effect from the booster. I didn't have any side effect from my first two shots and also, it has been about 4 days now”. I asked my wife whether it is possible to buy a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kit since the test kits were sold out almost everywhere. By a streak of good luck and my wife’s sheer determination, she managed to get some RAT kits. I took the test and it immediately showed the 2 blue lines that confirmed that I am COVID POSITIVE. I didn’t even need to use the ultra violet light that came with the kit as the 2 lines were so clear and unambiguous.

I immediately called the NSW Health to self-report that I am COVID POSITIVE but the NSW Health person said that I need to do a PCR test in one of the test centres. This was before the NSW Government changed their rulings on self reporting using RAT kit. I informed the NSW Health person that most of the test centres have shut their doors due to the overwhelming number of people requiring such tests that put enormous pressure on the health system plus it was New Year’s day. The person still advised me to try somehow and meanwhile, to self-isolate except when going out for the PCR test. I immediately poured through the entire cyberspace to look for a test centre that would be opened. I didn’t mind traveling as I would be in a car. I finally found 2 places that indicated they would be opened on 2nd January 2022. On 2nd January 2022, my wife and I decided to get ourselves tested. My wife’s RAT result was inconclusive and decided to go with me  to take the PCR test. Meanwhile, my kids did their second Rapid Antigen Test and found themselves to be negative. We drove to the first test centre that I googled. As suspected, we were informed that they have stopped operating due to heavy stress on the health system. I told my wife, there is another test centre from my internet search that could still be operating but not to hold our breath. When we reached the drive-in test centre, I was happy to see a long line of cars queuing up! That means the drive-in test centre is operating! We decided to join the long queue. All in all, it wasn’t that bad as we were quite comfortable sitting in the car and it took us about 90 minutes to complete the PCR test. We were told to go home and to wait for the PCR test results.

I felt much more energetic but the cough was still there. However, I could feel the cough wasn’t as bad as before because I could now construct a full sentence without coughing. The rest of the day was uneventful. When night came, I noticed that my children who were isolated from us were coughing and I could see from afar that they were rubbing their eyes. I immediately suspected that they must have caught COVID. Since our RAT kits were quite scarce due to the overwhelming demand, my wife advised that the kids should do the Rapid Antigen test on Day 5 as they have just taken them this morning. I told my wife that I recognised the symptoms from my experience and to take the test again. My children took the Rapid Antigen test that night and both of them received POSITIVE results. When our PCR results came back, they confirmed that both my wife and I are COVID POSITIVE. So, we have now an entire household / family that was COVID POSITIVE.

When you have an entire household that is COVID POSITIVE, the first thing is to get yourselves organised. The advantage is that you do not need to isolate with each other anymore since everyone is COVID POSITIVE. Apart from that, we also removed our face mask. It is strange but somehow it felt good to be a family as a whole again. We could move about in the house without any restriction. It certainly felt good to be free again, although, it was a confined freedom! Our concern is now focus on how to replenish our food supply. Luckily, my cousin and my sister-in-law were able to assist but we didn’t want to bother them too much. We also used UberEats to order food delivery. However, many of the participating UberEats restaurants suspended their delivery service during that period. It was due to lack of workers and disruption in supply chain due to COVID and holiday period. During this period, essential goods were becoming scarce due to supply issues as many people either got COVID or were isolating due to being a close contact. When we managed to order from the restaurant, the serving had become noticeably smaller and the prices have also increased significantly. These are interesting times, we are living in.

On Day 3 after I have been tested COVID POSITIVE, all of the sudden, my sense of smell became  wacky. The 4711 cologne that I have been using for years had suddenly smelt strange to me. Even certain food which I am accustomed to and familiar with suddenly smelt alien to me. This took about 2 days before I regain my sense of smell again. By Day 6, I felt much better, almost to my normal self. I took the Rapid Antigen Test and was delighted when I found out that I was COVID NEGATIVE. The next day, I received a letter of release from NSW Health that allows me to leave isolation and to join the community once again.

Even though, I am now COVID NEGATIVE but it took me a while to regain my stamina and strength. I wasn’t the only one but many friends who got COVID experienced the same thing. Climbing uphill or walking for a long period of time became a huge task. I was able to walk 10km a day without any problems but after having COVID, walking even 5km became an arduous task. I decided to take things easy and not to push it. Listen to your body. If you are tired, REST, and if you are able, WALK. I did that for about a month. I am happy to report that recently, I completed a 12.7km without even realising it. I hope that I am back to normal but like many doctors say, it is still too early to tell what is the long term effect of COVID. My advice is not to sweat over it but to take each day as it comes.