Tag: Cantonese

Beyond Char Siew Siew Yoke – Cantonese Words & Phrases You Can Impress Your Grandma With

If you read the previous article on Hokkien 101, you’d know that I grew up speaking Hokkien.

What I didn’t add, however, is that my parents and grandparents spoke both Hokkien and Cantonese fluently, though I only managed to pick up 1 dialect.

I’ve always wanted to pick up Cantonese though but I can never seem to properly grasp the dialect’s tones and pronunciation.

But today, I’m going to try my best to convey the basic Cantonese words and phrases that I’ve managed to learn from my helpful colleagues and family.

The flow will be the same as the Hokkien 101 article, so it’ll be easier for comparison. Now, let’s dive in!

1. Oy and Mm-Oy

Oy, means “want” and Mm-Oy means “don’t want”.

The lack of consonants in Oy bothers me a little bit.

So in future, if the waitress in Yum Cha pushes you the dim sum cart for Phoenix Claws, just say “Mm-Oy“.

2. Oy-Mm-Oy

It took me a while to not completely butcher this term into “Oy-Moy”.

Oy-Mm-Oy is the Cantonese equivalent of “Ai Mai”.

Example: “We’re planning a trip to Hong Kong in November and we have one more slot in our AirBNB. Oy-Mm-Oy?”

3. Chut Hoi

Chut Hoi, sometimes also known as Chut Gai, means “going out” or “heading out”.

Chut Hooi directly translates into “leaving home” and Chut Gai translates into “Going onto the street”. Either way, both mean that you’re not home.

Example: “Where are you going? Everyday Chut Gai, then leave me at home with your father. I don’t know raise children for what.”

4. Saek Fong

Saek Fong, like Jiak Hong, also literally translates into “eating air”.

It means “to travel” or “holidaying”.

Example: “Eh your trip to Macau next month is for work or you going Saek Fong?”

5. Fan Ohk

Fan Ohk (read: fun oak), means “to go home”.

Example: “I’m going to fan ohk. You guys go ahead and karaoke without me.”

6. Lok Yu

Lok Yu is the equivalent of “Lor Hor”.

So if you hear anyone saying that it “Lok Yu“, better grab your umbrella.

7. Saek And Saek Fan

Saek means to eat, though Saek Fan is more commonly used.

Saek Fan translates to “eat rice”.

Example: “Guys, let’s go Saek Fan leh. 1.30pm already. I’m hungry.”

8. Fan Gao

Fan Gao means “sleep” or “sleeping”.

Example: “I’m gonna go home to Fan Gao. I’m super tired.”

9. Lei Hou Ma

This isn’t Lei Hou’s mother.

This is the Cantonese version of “Ho Seh Bo?” or “How are you?”

Example: “Hello auntie, Lei Hou Ma?”

10. Tak and Mm-Tak

Tak (read: tuck), means can. While Mm-Tak means cannot.

Example:

A: “Ma, can I go out with my friends?”

B: “Mm-Tak! You never finish your homework, you don’t go out.”

OR

A: “Can I borrow your pen?”

B: “Tak. Would you like the blue or black one?”

11. Tak-Mm-Tak

Tak-Mm-Tak, the combination of the previous 2 words, basically translates into “can or not?”

Example: “Eh I borrow your laptop, Tak-Mm-Tak? I need to check something.”

12. Fai Di

Fai Di means to “hurry up”.

Example: “Fai Di lah! We’re going to be late at this rate.”

13. Dor Tseh

Dor Tseh is the ever-useful “thank you”.

Always remember your “please” and “thank you”.

So there you have it, Cantonese words and phrases that aren’t names of Dim Sum dishes. Cantonese is a polite and refined dialect, unlike the seeming brash tones of Hokkien.

Once again, dialects are important because they’re part of the Chinese heritage. Don’t let it die out.

Also read A Throwback To The 90s – What S’porean Kids Used To Play With Before The Smartphone Era

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From Teochew To Hakka, How Our Grandparents’ Heritage Shaped S’pore’s Chinese Cuisine

I’m not a foodie. I’m averse to too many types of food, primarily seafood, to be a foodie.

But I enjoy learning about food and different cuisines. I love learning about what goes into a dish, and how it is cooked and prepared.

I’ve spent way too many weekend afternoons watching cooking programs, from Rachael Ray to Jamie Oliver and Curtis Stone.

However, as a Chinese kid, one thing greatly annoys me about western chefs and cooks. Their version of “Asian” cuisine is always wrong. Just because a dish has fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli, or sesame seeds, does NOT make it an “Asian” or “Asian-inspired” dish.

It’s a sin that’s committed by almost all western celebrity chefs. So today, with my own knowledge, I’ll educate you guys on the different types of Chinese cuisine, specifically from the different dialect groups.

Cantonese Cuisine

Growing up, I always associated Cantonese cuisine with Dim Sum, mainly because it’s so popular in Hong Kong.

However, Cantonese cuisine is so much more than Dim Sum.

Cantonese cuisine also has very bold and strong flavours and it can be seen in the types of sauces that the dishes are usually paired and served with. Examples include Black bean sauce, Oyster sauce, Sweet and Sour sauce, and even our favourite Shrimp (Prawn) paste.

There’s also a lot of preserved and dried ingredients used to improve or layer flavours in a dish. Ingredients such as Century egg, Salted egg, Preserved radish (better known as Cai Po that we eat with Chwee Kueh), and Salted fish.

Hakka Cuisine

My encounters with Hakka cuisine are mostly thanks to my maternal grandfather. He’s proudly Hakka and we used to visit his hometown back in the Hakka province in China.

While Cantonese cuisine relies a lot on the condiments for flavour, Hakka cuisine has flavourful ingredients. The main ingredients is usually already preserved or braised, which already imparts a lot of flavour into the ingredient itself.

The garnish and condiments are usually to complement the main ingredient. One example of this is Braised Pork Belly with Preserved mustard greens.

One of my personal favourites is Hakka Yong Tau Foo. Unlike the one we commonly find in Singapore, the ingredients in Hakka Yong Tau Foo are stuffed with minced pork or a meat paste and served with a yellow bean stew.

A variant I’ve tried is a dry stir-fried version of minced pork-stuffed beancurd in a peppery, starchy sauce and garnished very generously with spring onions.

Other Hakka dishes you might be familiar with include Thunder Tea Rice (Lei Cha Fan), Salt-Baked Chicken, and the famous Abacus Beads.

Hokkien Bak Kut Teh is the dark, herbal version that’s usually found in Malaysia. I personally prefer the Teochew version.

Another famous Teochew dish is Teochew porridge. In contrast with the thicker Cantonese congee, Teochew porridge has a thinner consistency with loose grains. The porridge is usually served with salted vegetables, boiled salted egg, fried peanuts and salted fish.

Singapore’s cuisine has its roots primarily in Hokkien and Teochew cuisine, with a few influences from Cantonese cuisine. Chinese cuisine is as diverse as the provinces in China, each with its own influences, ingredients, cooking style, and flavour.

So before you go throwing sesame seeds into a dish and calling it Asian food, you might want to have PROPER Chinese cuisine first.

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(Header Image Source: Burppler Denise Ong, Saltalk, Asian Inspirations)