Canadian Sailors Film Themselves Sampling & Reacting to S’porean Kueh After Being Unable to Disembark From Ship

By
Megan
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If you’re a sailor stuck on a ship, unable to disembark with nothing on your hands but free time and a load of yummy snacks, what do you do? 

Film a mukbang video sampling local delicacies with your crew, of course.

Or should I say: delica-seas?

And that’s exactly what a group of Canadian sailors set out to do when they were unable to disembark from their ship due to the COVID-19 situation. 

Here’s what happened. 

Canadian Sailors Film Themselves Sampling & Reacting to S’porean Kueh After Being Unable to Disembark From Ship

The sailors were onboard the Her Majesty’s National Ship (HMCS) Calgary, which is a Canadian warship. 

They docked at Changi Naval Base from 4 to 6 April. 

In a short one-minute clip, sailor first class Hart Young can be seen bringing around a metal tray of kueh for his crewmates to sample. 

“Unfortunately, we’re unable to go ashore and experience the culture, so we brought the culture to us,” said Young with a wide grin, brandishing the metal tray to the camera.

Familiar favourites such as ang ku kueh, rainbow kueh lapis and ondeh ondeh made appearances in the video. 

Shocking no Singaporeans, the kueh was generally well received by those onboard the ship, with many proclaiming the desserts to be “delicious”, though they were “not sure what [was] in it.”

Indeed, the kueh brought much colour and flavour onto a stranded ship!

One crew member in particular expressed shock after biting into his mouthful of ondeh ondeh gula melaka, unable to conceal his surprise in front of the camera when it exploded into a sweet mess of sugar into his mouth.

“It just exploded,” he said. “It was tasty… once I got over the initial surprise.” 

The crew had sailed through the South China Sea just the week prior on a patrol. They stayed at Changi Naval Base for three days while on the way through the Indo-Pacific and Middle East. 

This has been the sixth Canadian naval vessel to visit Singapore since 2016. 

Maybe other ships should receive a complimentary tray of kueh when they visit Singapore from now on.

All About That Kueh

While we commonly associate kueh with Peranakan culture as we often call them “nyonya kueh”, there’s also different types of kueh such as Malay and Indian kueh. These include the beloved ondeh ondeh and putu mayam. 

Essential ingredients often used to prepare the sweet and savoury snacks include pandan, coconut, rice, tapioca and gula melaka (palm sugar). 

Kueh has its origins in Malay, Chinese, Peranakan and Eurasian cultures in Southeast Asia. However, they were shot to fame by Peranakan settlers in the Malay archipelago. 

For more information on kueh, check out this photo essay by Goya Journal. 

And if we’ve got you craving for some kueh, here’s a list of 20 kueh places to check out by ladyironchef.

Feature Image: Facebook (HMCS Calgary / NCSM Calgary)

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Megan
Email: [email protected]