The Th’ng Tok Panjang in Ancestral Worship
By Dr. Ong Jin Teong
March 2025 FEATURE
WHEN T’NG TOK is mentioned in Penang, it is in reference to the sumptuous feasts[1] prepared to celebrate occasions like weddings, significant birthdays and funerals. The food is served on a long but narrow table, hence the name t’ng tok (Penang) or tok panjang (Singapore and Melaka). For the uninitiated, the Hokkien dialects spoken in the North and South of Peninsular Malaysia are slightly different from each other, as can be seen in the different pronunciations/spellings used for many of...
Dr. Ong Jin Teong
is the author of two award-winning books —Nonya Heritage Kitchen: Origins, Utensils, Recipes and Penang Heritage Food: Yesterday’s Recipes for Today’s Cook. Following his retirement as a Nanyang Technological University’s College of Engineering professor, he lectures, conducts classes, writes books and articles on Nyonya cooking and food heritage, and runs the occasional supper club.
