Just the other day, I was in Ipoh with my nephew and his friend. It was already half past eight and dinner should have long been over but then, we had just arrived in Ipoh after a gruelling trip from Kuala Lumpur to Sungai Besar, Teluk Intan, Sitiawan and now, here- Ipoh- the capital of Perak. My nephew's friend had wanted to take us to Pasir Pinji to savour the famous Nga Choy Kai, i.e. chicken with bean sprouts, a dish synonymn with the city but unfortunately when we arrived at the eating shop, it was closed! And why of course, it was Duanwu jie or the Dragon Boat Festival. Many Chinese eating shops are closed on this day since people will be eating zongzi (or zong) (粽子) at home. Duanwu jie, by the way is a festival which commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. The festival is celebrated each year without fail on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar and this year, it fell on 6 June. When we arrived home in Taiping on the night of 6 June, there was a big plate of zongzi. Happy Duanwu jie!
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