Pastry shop dishes out 500 bowls of tang yuan for the poor
KUALA LUMPUR: Traditional Chinese pastry shop Fung Wong Biscuits marked the Winter Solstice Festival this year by giving away more than 500 bowls of tang yuan (glutinous rice balls).
The Winter Solstice Festival is one of the most important festivals for the Chinese. Traditionally, the annual festival is a time for the family to get together, prepare and eat tang yuan, which symbolises reunion.
But not everyone is able to celebrate the festival with loved ones.
“I am grateful to the organiser and happy to be here,” 81-year-old Wong Ah Ping said.
She said she started queuing at 7am and finally got her tang yuan after three hours.
“It is very kind of them to give out tang yuan. I did not make tang yuan for several years as I am living alone,” said Wong, who lives in Pudu.
The century-old brand’s fourthgeneration owner, Melvin Chan, said the company started to give out free tang yuan in 2014.
“We started to organise the event in 2014. This is a way for us to give back to society.
“We also give out rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival.
“We hope to celebrate the traditional Chinese festival with the underprivileged. Most of the people who came are the elderly.
“We also hope to remind people of the importance of Chinese festivals and ensure the tradition of eating tang yuan continues,” he said.
Visitors were seen forming a long line stretching from the shop in Jalan Hang Lekir to Jalan Sultan early in the morning.
“We start handing out tang yuan at 10am but people started to queue as early as 6am.
“This year we are also working with the Department of National Unity and Integration.
“They brought some disabled persons here to celebrate. We hope we can continue to give tang yuan every year,” Chan said.
Besides tang yuan, visitors were also given a goodie bag, with gifts from sponsors including tea, cakes and ang pow.
MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Yew Teong Look was also present to help out.
Federal Territories Department of National Unity and Integration deputy director Zul Khairi Zainal said he hoped the festival would be celebrated by all Malaysians.