BY FOONG PEK YEE

Chen (fourth from left) and other villagers with New Village development officer Chen Woei Jye (second from right) at the village‘s landmark

THE little Hakka delicacy called cai ban is more than a food. There are countless heartwarming stories behind this dumpling.

Chen Kin Sin, 62, said one of his elderly relatives bought properties for her children by making cai ban.

“It is all about very hard work, perseverance and frugality,” he told StarMetro on how cai ban, a very popular traditional dumpling, had played an important role in the lives of ordinary folk in the good old days.

His mother, he added, was a cai ban maker.

Workers busy preparing ‘cai ban‘. The predominantly Hakka community in Kulai is famous for this delicacy.

While many Hakkas raised their children by making and selling cai ban, there is an increasing number of parents who do not want their children to follow in their footsteps.

The dumpling, with filling of various flavours, is basically a combination of different vegetables in a wrap.

“It is a very healthy and wholesome food for people of all ages,” said Chen who is Kampung Baru Kulai chief.

The older generation literally grew up eating the delicacy made by their mothers and grandmothers or bought from the many stalls selling the dumpling which was widely available then.

But this is not the case today.

Chen said there was concern that tradition-nal food like cai ban and its significance would fade over time.

In an effort to prevent that from happen-ing, he and his village committee are in the process of turning Kampung Baru Kulai into a one-stop centre for Hakka culture in Malaysia.

He said another of the clan’s popular specialty worth promoting was lei cha.

These two houses in Kampung Baru Kulai will be turned into a cafe and shop selling local produce.

It is a wholesome one-dish meal with a variety of vegetables, roasted peanuts, preserved vegetables and rice in green broth.

“It is a very healthy meal that was very popular among the working class in the old days,” he recalled, citing an example of how a lei cha hawker who set up his stall under a huge tree in the past was now operating in a big shop next to the tree in Kulaijaya, Johor.

The shop was very packed when Chen took StarMetro there at lunchtime.

“Unlike the old days, you cannot find a lei cha shop, especially a good one, so easily nowadays.

“The process of making lei cha is very tedious and not many want to do this business.

“It is also because we, the Hakka people are very discerning when it comes to our traditional food and only eateries with good and authentic recipes will do well,” he said.

Visibly proud of his Hakka roots and very knowledgeable in the history of the clan, he is upbeat that his committee can turn their village into a platform for preserving and promoting Hakka history and culture.

The committee is very dedicated and comprises the second and third generations of Hakkas from the village.

Chen also revealed their plans for renting the village houses from owners who no longer lived there.

“We can adapt the houses for homestays.

A house has been converted into a cafe. More and more residents, particularly the younger ones, are starting new businesses in the village

“Together with the owners we can come up with a win-win scheme,” he enthused.

While it is an ageing village with many young people working and settling down elsewhere, the village chief said Kampung Baru Kulai must be preserved to reflect its status as home for at least four generations now.

For a start, he said two of the village houses would be used to promote all things Hakka, one as an eatery and another to sell Hakka snacks and souvenirs.

He said other programmes would include mock traditional wedding ceremony of the three major races for a start.

Lei Cha, comprising vegetables and rice served with a vegetarian soup, is synonymous with Kulai.

“Tourists who come to stay in the home stay in our village can take a closer look at our way of life as well as learn more about our culture in the Malaysian context,” he added.

Elaborating on his plan, Chen said he and his committee were in the process of getting the right people to participate in their project.

Brothers Chai Bok Ru, 50, and Chai Shao Dong, 51, are specialists in Hakka snacks and traditional wedding biscuits as well as wedding decorations respectively in Indraputra, Kulai.

The two of them are upbeat on how culture can be an important tourist attraction and help to preserve one’s culture.

He said that he had customers from overseas too and it was not easy to shop for traditional wedding biscuits and wedding accessories under one roof.

For Bok Ru, he is proud to promote his traditional snacks with a history of more than 50 years. He said his parents started the business in 1962 in Kulai.

Bok Ru has a video to introduce the delicacies to tourists travelling in buses.

Kampung Baru Kulai is transforming into a one-stop village for all things Hakka, a clan -- especially the womenfolk -- known for their hardwork, perseverance and frugality when they arrived in Malaya to start a new life.