IKAN PARANG, 1999
56 x 38cm
Collection of Mr. Yeap Lam Yang
Singapore

“The ikan parang is good for making fish balls and kerupuk. With the remaining skin and flesh attached to it, finely chopped with ginger and fried, our mother cooked crispy fish cakes. Then, the bones boiled and sprinkled with green onions made tasty soup. Older men still wear that kind of watch, with the thick silver band. It used to be the prerogative of the head of the family. I would take my father’s watch and, even though it slipped around my thin wrist, I felt like a grown man.”