On the work table are two large mixing bowls, one with plain white rice and one with rice dyed blue with bunga telang (blue pea pea flowers). The dumpling makers first fold the pre-soaked bamboo leaves into a cone before spooning in some blue and white rice.
Next they add the stuffing, a balanced blend of sweet and salty – minced pork, candied winter melon, mushrooms and spices – before covering it with more spoonfuls of the blue and white rice.
Folding the leaf to cover the top, forming a roughly tetrahedral shape, they finally tie up the packet with some bamboo string. The uncooked dumplings are tied in bundles, so removing them after cooking will be a breeze.
The best way to enjoy Nyonya chang is to grab a table, sit down and await your order of freshly cooked dumplings. For me, there is no other Nyonya kuih quite as beautiful: the white-and-blue exterior opening up to reveal a treasure trove of aromatic and slightly peppery minced pork belly and pork fat, candied winter melon and shiitake mushrooms.
This, for me, is the taste of my hometown. And what is your hometown if not your home also, however far you may have travelled and settled. Our past is our memory is the flavour we never forget.