从'娘惹疯'看新加坡之自信

choi

朱迪斯•坎夫纳, 记者来鸿：从'娘惹疯'看新加坡之自信. BBC Chinese, Mar 15, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/si ... obbliest_cake.shtml

, whcih is translated from

Judith Kampfner, Nonya Kueh: Wolfing down Singapore's wobbliest cake.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21686262

Note:
(1) Peranakan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan
(SUBSETS are called Baba-Nyonya 峇峇 娘惹 and Straits Chinese 土生華人; section 1 Termiology)
(a)
(i) section 5.3 Food: "From the Malay influence a unique 'Nyonya' cuisine has developed using typical Malay spices.
(ii) section 5.4 Marriage: "It was not uncommon for early Chinese traders to take Malay women from Peninsular Malaya or Sumatra as wives or concubines.
(iii) The Wiki page states, "Straits Chinese were not considered Baba Nyonya unless they displayed certain Sino-Malay syncretic physical attributes."
(A) syncretic (adj; First Known Use 1840):
"characterized or brought about by syncretism : SYNCRETISTIC <a syncretic religion>"
(B) syncretism (n; New Latin syncretismus, from Greek synkrētismos federation of Cretan cities, from syn- + Krēt-, Krēs Cretan; First Known Use 1618):
"1: the combination of different forms of belief or practice
2: the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syncretism  

(b) Malacca   麻六甲(馬來西亞一州名, 市名 (capital))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacca
(section 1.1 Sultanate of Malacca: founded by Parameswara [1344–1414; last sultan (1389-1398) of Singapura which is Malay for a small Malay kingdom centered in present-day Singapore] who ruled from 1389 to 1398; He named it 'Melaka' after the tree under which he had taken shelter, the Melaka tree (Malay: Pokok Melaka))

(2) The article said, "I presented him [husband No 1] with classic satay from a hawker stall. He gave it a thumbs up. He did not, however, take to the sweetmeats of my nursery - little cakes called nonya kueh. (Nonya means woman, in a dialect that is a creole of Malay and Hokkien)."
(a) satay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satay
("Satay originated in Java, Indonesia. Satay is available almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish"/ section 1 Origin)
(b) take to: "to conceive a liking for"  (which means "like" (v) in ordinary English)
(c) sweetmeat (n): "a food rich in sugar: as
a: a candied or crystallized fruit
b: CANDY, CONFECTION"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweetmeat
(d) creole
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creole
(e) How to pronounce "nonya"?  The two syllables are no-nya

nonya. Oxford dictionaries, undated.
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Nonya

(3) The article continued, "These delicate slices of cold pudding are different combinations of glutinous rice flour, sago, coconut, beans, syrup, pandan leaves and eggs."

(4) For kuen lapis,
(a) FIRST see  kuih  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuih
(derived from Hokkien: 粿; found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore as well as the Southern China provinces of Fujian and Canton; the colourful steamed kue lapis; [pinyin] "guo" (粿) or sometimes as "gao" (糕), are usually made from ground rice flours)
(i) This wiki notes 粿 is pronounced in Hokkien--which is 閩南語 for Fujian(ese)--as "kueh or kway" (same pronunciation but different notations). I do not know why, but many times I encounter Hokkien pronunciation notations within Taiwan--not outside Taiwan--which somehow are not exactly right--usually a consonant. I will say 粿 is pronounced "gueh or guay."
(ii) Toward the bottom of the Wiki page is a photo with the legend: "Lapis legit and kue lapis."
(b) spekkoek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spekkoek
(or more popularly called lapis legit in Indonesia is a Dutch-Indonesian layered cake; "In Indonesia, the cake is very popularly known as lapis legit, which literally means (very) rich layer-cake. The cake is very rich for a 20 cm × 20 cm size cake contains up to thirty egg yolks, 500 g of butter, and 400 g sugar")
(i) Baumkuchen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumkuchen
(German for "tree cake" or "log cake")

German to English dictionary:
(A) baum (noun masculine): "tree"
(B) kuchen (noun masculine): "cake"
(ii) What Is Spekkoek? WiseGREEK, undated
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-spekkoek.htm
("The term spekkoek translates literally as pork belly — or bacon — cake, a name derived from the appearance of the dark and light layers. Its Indonesian name is lapis legit, or layer cake. The English translation is often given as thousand layer cake, or thousand layer spice cake")
(iii) The spekkoek is a Dutch noun.

Dutch to English dictionary:
(A) spek (n): "bacon"
(B) koek (n): "cake"
(c) THE official language of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia.

Bahasa Indonesia to English dictionary:
(i) lapis (n): "layer, low"
(ii) legit (adj): "sticky"


(5) sago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sago
("Sago is often produced commercially in the form of 'pearls.' * * * Sago pearls are similar in appearance to tapioca pearls and the two may be used interchangeably in some dishes")
(6) For pandan leaf, see Pandanus amaryllifolius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_amaryllifolius

(7) The author recalled, "My childhood memories are of trotting along to my neighbour Mrs Tan's kitchen and eating her newly steamed, wobbly cakes."

"Mrs Tan" translated as "谭太太." In fact, it should be 陳太太, Tan being Hokkien pronunciation for 陳. (Besides, 谭 is unusual among Fujianese, who made up most of Chinese emigrants to Singapore.)
(8) Penang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang
(section 1 Name)
(9) The author recollected, "I am sure he wondered if he had been sold a defective bill of goods - his new wife was greedy!"

James Clapp, Bill of Goods. Random House, July 21, 2000.
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000721
(10) The author observed, "It is not just that the husbands [first and second ones] are different personalities."

personality (n):
"distinction or excellence of personal and social traits; also : a person having such quality"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personality