Between two buns: Kompia and ‘zheng dong bing’ explained

The fresh baked ‘kompia’ – hard texture topped with sesame seeds. It is smaller in size compared to ‘Zheng Dong Ping’. – Photo by Peter Boon

SIBU (March 5): An entry in the state government’s almanac for 2022 has sparked a tiff over what actually is kompia, the Foochow bun synonymous with Sibu.

Purists insist that the image of the bun in the almanac entry under ‘Kompia’ is actually that of ‘zheng dong bing’.

As such, they disagree with the entry’s caption that there are two types of kompia – the harder variety and the softer bun.

A close up shot of ‘Zheng Dong Ping’, which tastes a bit sweet and slightly bigger than ‘kompia’. – Photo by Peter Boon

To clear the air over the buns, The Borneo Post spoke to Ting Leong Hua, 55, who operates Xing Kee (63) Confectionery, at Jalan Channel here.

Ting, who took over the trade from his father after 1990, explained that there are differences between the two popular mouth-watering delicacies.

He said the kompia and the zheng dong bing, not only did not taste the same but were prepared differently.

“‘Zheng dong bing is soft in texture and a bit sweet. It is also slightly bigger in size compared to ‘kompia’.

“However, kompia has a harder texture and tastes a bit salty. It is smaller in size and topped with sesame seeds,” the soft-spoken Ting explained.

Ting and his wife, Lee Kui Feh, 53, were busy making ‘kompia’ throughout the interview.

Elaborating, Ting said he still employed the traditional method of using charcoal to bake kompia.

Ting checks on the ‘kompia’ being baked in a charcoal-heated oven. – Photo by Peter Boon

“Zheng dong bing on the other hand, can be baked using an electric oven,” he said.

He said making kompia was more laborious compared to zheng dong bing.

“I need to place the (kompia) dough inside the charcoal-heated oven for baking. The baking process takes about 10 minutes. After that, the freshly baked ‘kompia’ can be taken out,” he said.

He said kompia is the more popular of the two buns, as the beeline of customers ordering the fresh baked kompia at his bakery would confirm.

A close up view of charcoal-heated oven. – Photo by Peter Boon

Asked what he thought of the almanac entry, Ting said: “Maybe, just change it (the image).”

The almanac this year is the first to do away with the chronology of events in Sarawak which dates back to the arrival of Sir James Brooke in 1839.

The pages once filled by the chronology now feature popular local confections, such as the ‘tebaloi’, ‘bongkol’ and the palm sugar ice-cream.

However, the public can still access the chronology by using a QR code provided in the almanac.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/34faMh7
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