Eu Jing・Soup Dumpling・Malaysia

Name： Tan Eu Jing

Faculty： 3rd year, Faculty of Education

Hometown： Malaysia

Favourite encouraging quote : Choose to transform suffering into joy. (抜苦与楽)

(meaning： I want the challenges I'll face and the joys I'll experience to exist in harmony. So, I'll regard these challenges favourably and greet them openly as I would with happiness. )

Q: How would you describe Malaysia as a country?

A: Malaysia's climate is hot like summer for 365 days!

Malaysia is in a tropical rainforest climate, so every day is like summer in Japan and we always wear T-shirts. Thanks to this hot climate, Malaysia could grow many varieties of fruits. Not only are well-known fruits in Japan such as Dragon Fruits, Mangos, Pineapples, Papayas, and Coconuts are available but also many other kinds of fruit like Rambutan and Mangosteen.

Besides, we call durian the king of fruit while Mangosteen is the queen of fruit. Durian is known for its distinct strong smell. After we ate it, we would use the shell of Durian as a container for saltwater and we would drink it. This is because we believe that it will lower the body temperature.

Besides the uniqueness of climate and fruit, Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country of Malay, Indian descent, and Chinese descent. Also, Malaysia is a multi-religion country with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. As for languages, Malaysians mainly speak 4 languages such as Malay, Chinese, Hindu, and English. Among these languages, Malay is the official language, however, as a Chinese ethic Malaysian, we often use Chinese in our daily life conversations.

Q: Where is your favourite place in Malaysia？

A: I love my house's garden!

My house has a spacious garden with an artificial waterfall and a lot of nature! Sometimes iguanas and herons (a kind of bird) would “visit” my garden and come to eat some fish from our pond! After coming to Tokyo, there's less opportunity to be close to nature. Hence, I would like to explore more beautiful nature sites in Japan when the COVID situation ends. Besides, I would love to go back to Malaysia too!

Q: Where is your most memorable visited place in Japan?

A: I have been to Onaruto Bridge in Tokushima prefecture!

Onaruto Bridge in Tokushima is a memorable place for me in Japan. I was a little bit sad because the weather was not in a perfect state when I visited there. Hence, I would like to go to the same place again when the weather is nice.

Besides, because I love nature, I would like to visit Chichijima island in Ogasawara islands in Tokyo someday. I learned about Chichijima from a morning news program. It was so impressive that there is rich nature and beautiful landscapes.

Q: Please share with us your memories of soup dumplings!

A: I often eat soup dumplings with my family in the morning. It is my best memory!

I guess eating dinner with family is an ordinary Japanese custom, but in Malaysia, eating in the morning with family is a habit too. When we eat in the morning together, we can have the resolve of “Let's do our best today too!” For my family, we usually eat in the morning with all of my family members, so this memory is so nostalgic. Besides, soup dumplings are always served with Wantan Mee.

Q: Do you have any favourite restaurant where we can eat this cuisine, soup dumplings in Japan?

A: I heard from my friends that “Masak Masak Tokyo” in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo is good!

Actually, I never went to this restaurant before, but my Malaysian senior friend recommended it to me there! Once I looked on the web page of this restaurant, there were a lot of Malaysian meals and I felt so nostalgic. I really want to go there after the COVID situation is better!

Q: Lastly, please share some words with our recipe book readers!

A: I would like to share how warm-hearted Malaysians are!

I guess Malaysians wanted to get along with the Japanese more! Through expanding an opportunity to interact between nations and get along with Japanese people more, I hope that you would find that Malaysians are very warm-hearted after you have known us!