LEMPENG, LEN PEN or leng peng? However you may identify it, this traditional Penang Chinese New Year delicacy is now virtually extinct. “Lem Peng” was described as a “light as air” biscuit by Yeap Joo Kim in her book Penang Palate. In an interview, Lim Bian Yam described “leng peng” as a type of crispy but fluffy cookie that “melts” upon contact with the tongue. To avoid confusion, I shall spell it as lem peng, different from the Malay lempeng. I have not seen or tasted lem peng before, but I am told it looks like part of a small nutmeg and tastes like a more refined Japanese rice biscuit.
My quest to find out how to make lem peng started more than 10 years ago after my wife and her cousin, Kee Loon Kim, managed to put together a good hand-written note for preparing lem peng. Loon Kim has only seen it made in the Kee ancestral home in Sungai Bakap in her younger days.
