In her new book 'Waterfront Heirlooms: Reflections of The Kampong China Peranakan', Rosita Abdullah Lau explores the legacy of Chinese Peranakan culture as related to her by the community of her childhood village
"At 19, I left my beloved hometown of Kampong China in Kuala Terengganu to get married." So goes the very first sentence in the introductory chapter of Waterfront Heirlooms, the culmination of a woman's ambition to preserve not only her past in written words but also the legacy of a village near Terengganu River.
The woman is Rosita Abdullah Lau, 73, who wrote nostalgically about the women in the village playing the see sek card game in their embroidered kebaya and her mother cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Rosita spent 8 years working with a creative team to realise the book. To complement her book, she's also producing a documentary on her childhood village entitled The Last 800 Meters.
In addition to personal musings, the book also unfolds the history of pioneer Chinese settlers in Terengganu's Kampong China, contains recipes passed down through generations such as kusui (palm sugar cake with grated coconut) and illuminating details about the Chinese Peranakan sarong kebaya.
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