Pig in Petaling

Even before my Colombo trip, I was feeling unwell. A lingering illness deep inside my torso that couldn't quite manifest. Like an annoying piece of meat stuck between your teeth, that you can feel with the tip of your tongue, but can't quite dislodge. Couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to see the TCM practitioner at Happy Garden after mum's trip to the wet market.

After a long wait, it was finally my turn. Her diagnosis after feeling pulse and sticking a tongue depressor down my throat : heat and wind. She diagnosed me three doses herbal soup with complicated cooking instructions. And while I was taking the herbal soups, I had certain dietary restrictions. In general, eat pork (yay!), and avoid white vegetables. A truly nasty concoction with a whole lot of dregs which I had to swallow as well.

Once I was done, it was time for lunch. Mum and I ate at Wonton and Pho, just a short walk away from the TCM. Between us, we had a banh mi, and a plate of wantan noodles. Totally fit my dietary restrictions, just that I couldn't have any of the green chilis.



At home, we started decorating for Chinese New Year. Actually brought out some pig-themed stuff from the last cycle. That's a dozen years ago!



Although it was raining in the evening, mum and I weren't deterred from going to town to check out the Petaling Street Lunar New Year Festival. The activities centered around the Petaling Street Heritage House, a food and culture hub. The ground floor is a cafe that serves famous dishes from a few of the main Chinese dialect groups, e.g. Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Cantonese, and Fuzhou. Above it is an exhibition space of sorts. What we saw was all sorts of Chinese opera paraphernalia, and vintage household items. Two opera performers were actually sitting there putting their faces on.



Although it was raining, a Teochew metal rod opera performance was on-going by the side of the road. Under umbrellas and raincoats, people crowded around the small stage to watch the magical puppetry. Hidden behind the stage were a couple pairs of skilled hands controlling the puppets with metal rods in a style similar to wayang kulit. In addition to controlling the movements, the puppet masters were singers and voice actors. Supporting them was a small troupe of musicians.



Spotted in the crowd was Chong Ket Aun, one of the main champions of cultural preservation in Jalan Petaling. He was all dressed up as Ju Bajie, and went around with an oil-paper umbrella. To the organizers, it was very important to put emphasis on the pig as a cultural symbol and not a taboo subject. Further down the road near the Guandi Temple was the main stage where the other performances would take place at 8:00 PM. Several stalls were set up along the road, but the damp weather put a damper on their business. That gave us some time to have dinner at our famous mixed pork soup stall at Jalan Tun H. S. Lee.



Back at the Guandi Temple, the performances had begun. A multicultural affair with Chinese dance, Malay dance, Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asal dance, East Malaysian Orang Asli dance, and lion dance. Then there was Cantonese opera, a Male soprano performance, and finally wrapped up with Teochew opera.











Note : Do make sure you catch my follow-up post where I reveal all the cuties that I spotted at Petaling Street. Stay tuned!