Business rolls in for ‘tang yuan’ stall
Penangites flock to shop for festival needs
GEORGE TOWN: A good bowl of tang yuan starts with the presentation.
The Chinese dessert made from colourful glutinous rice balls is served to mark the arrival of the Winter Solstice Festival or Chinese Dongzhi.
At a popular family-run stall near Komtar, several family members were spotted busily rolling the white, yellow, orange, green and pink balls before boiling them in pots of syrup.
Business for this long-time tang yuan stall on Magazine Road opposite First Avenue Mall was brisk on the eve of Winter Solstice Festival yesterday.
They were so busy that the wife of the third-generation stall owner, Anna Yeoh, 63, turned down an interview request, saying she had too many customers.
Senior sales assistant Vicky Wong, 31, who works at the nearby mall, said she is a regular customer even on normal days.
“It is the best tang yuan I have eaten in Penang. The ginger syrup is awesome.
“How can we miss the delicious tang yuan on this important day?
“I bought a few packs of tang yuan for my colleagues and friends for the festival as I have to work and I have no time to make my own,” said Wong.
Engineer Michelle Sim, 35, rushed to get 10 packs from the stall before starting work.
“As I have to work tonight, I cannot make
tang yuan at home. But we need it for prayers to our ancestors. So it is more convenient to get it ready-made,” she said.
At the Persatuan Kebajikan Komuniti Taman Lip Sin centre in Bayan Lepas, there was immense joy and laughter as its members gathered to make the dessert.
Among them was Liew Ling Heang, 22, who was happy to learn how to roll the tang yuan.
“This is my first time learning to make tang yuan. I really enjoyed myself today,” he said.
His friend, Chau Zhao Yuan, 18, said the
tang yuan tasted delicious.
The welfare centre, set up by Penang Gerakan Youth, offers the physically and mentally impaired and underprivileged groups the chance to learn a range of living skills.
Penang Gerakan acting Youth chief Jason Loo said the celebration was jointly organised by the association, Penang Gerakan Youth’s Young Masters Movement and event organising company Aspirano.