GEORGE TOWN, June 8 – June is the month of dumplings (bak chang in Hokkien), dragon boat races and durians in Penang, the first two due to it being the fifth lunar month while the third due to it being the mid-year durian season.

The Dumpling Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year and this year, it fell on June 2.

The festival revolves around two main events, the availability of delicious glutinous rice dumplings for the picking at every wet market and hawker food stall and the dragon boat race on the first weekend of June.

The festival, also called Duanwu Festival, is held at the same time as the Dragon Boat Festival so the Penang International Dragon Boat Festival is held annually during this time at the Teluk Bahang Dam.

The festival is believed to have originated from the death of a patriotic poet, Qu Yuan, from the state of Chu during the Zhou Dynasty.

Legend has it that Qu was accused of treason and banished for opposing the king’s alliance with the state of Qin.

When Qin captured the state of Chu’s capital, Qu committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River and it is said that locals raced their boats out to the river to save him which saw the birth of the dragon boat races.

When the locals failed to find his body, they dropped balls of sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river so that the fishes would eat those instead of his body.

In modern times, these balls of sticky rice are most definitely made for human consumption and a homemade delicacy made in many Chinese homes.

Although fewer people make bak chang at home these days, it is fortunate that hawkers and some homemakers continue to sell these delicious wrapped delicacies in June.

So, the fifth lunar month means the mushrooming of roadside stalls, pop-up stalls in wet markets and hawker centres where bak chang of all varieties can be found.

The traditional bak chang is not easy to make as it involves preparing the fillings of pork, chestnuts, salted egg yolks, dried shrimps and glutinous rice first before they are all mixed together, carefully wrapped in bamboo leaves and then boiled till the rice is soft and sticky.

The wrapping of the bak chang in bamboo leaves before it is securely tied and then boiled is also another skill as it tends to fall apart if not wrapped or tied properly. The leaves give the dumplings a slightly earthy aroma.

Nowadays, for the sake of variety, the bak chang comes in many different types; such as the plain kee chang (lye water dumplings) that are yellow-coloured bite-size dumplings to be dipped in thick syrup before eating or the vegetarian-style chang that contains a mixture of beans instead of pork.

The traditional bak chang and the variety of other chang (dumplings) can be found at most wet markets in Penang during June.

Fortunately, there are a few stalls that sell the dumplings all year round so if you miss the season, you can still have your fill of bak chang whenever the fancy strikes you.

1. Cintra Food Corner, Cintra Street, George Town GPS: 5.418881,100.333951 Time: 9am-6pm

2. New World Park, Swatow Lane, George Town GPS: 5.421669,100.327256 Time: 11am-5pm

3. Roadside stall, Burmah Road GPS: 5.42357,100.321569 Time: 11am-4pm

4. Roadside stall, next to Sin Kim Sua Coffee Shop, Macalister Road GPS: 5.416542,100.323812 Time: 7pm-11pm

5. So Young Young Café, Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim GPS: 5.39251,100.307214 Time: 8am-11am