Dining Room

Tok Panjang literally means long table — Tok is a Hokkein Word for table, Panjang a malay word for long. With eight children in the Chan family, it was indeed necessary to have such a long table! Older family members would have eaten with their hands like the Malays, while some would have adopted the more English style of eating with utensils. The Peranakans did not use chopsticks as this was seen a “chinaman” way of eating. Dinner in this household was held promptly at 7pm sharp, everyone was expected to be at the table. The main dishes were a spread of the typical Peranakan fare such as duck soup (itik tim), nut of pangium edule (buah keluak), pork soybean-paste stew (babi pong teh), accompanied with a chilli paste (sambal belacan), and shrimp paste (cincalok) was a must.