Today (26 Feb) is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year. Alas, with the current Covid-19 pandemic, things are on the quiet side. No more orange throwing competitions or cultural shows. Still, we have our pengat to console us and give us a sweet ending to the new year. This rich and sweet delicacy is a must-have for Chap Goh Meh for it symbolises all things good and that's what we need in these dark times.
I bought my pengat from a vegetarian shop but I was disappointed that it resembled bubur cha cha, another sweet dessert which often tries to pass itself off as pengat. I think my Mum would be shocked if she could see the "pengat" of today. It is far, far from the real stuff and has too much black eyed beans and tapioca jelly. In the old days, every piece of sweet potato that goes into the coconut milk has to be cut in the same shape and size. Even the bananas (pisang raja) and tee kueh are perfectly sliced before being cooked. But now anything goes!
Pengat does bring back some lovely childhood memories and as I gaze out of my window looking for the full moon and eat my pengat, I can hear the distant rumble of fire crackers and occasional muffled bangs - and I realize with some sadness that 15 new year days have gone by very quickly, if not too quickly .....
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