The Ubiquitous Luncheon Meat

Many of us grew up with this 'spiced assorted meat' in one form or another. Some of us are familiar with the original product, SPAM... while others got the european version in the form of Tulip. That said, my favourite is still Ma Ling brand. Did you know that there are many different imitation Ma Ling tins out there? The tins/labels can look ALMOST exactly the same (save for a few minute details) and they can be even sold at the same outlet sitting on the same shelves as the originals (but with different price tags).

Anyway, this brings me to my story. I went to my normal chap fan shop (economy rice). They have the best luncheon meat in the vicinity. I always choose my chap fan stalls based on the quality of their luncheon meat. As usual, I took 2 slices of the meat and put it on my plate of rice. The proprietor saw this and came over to ask me in Cantonese, "Do you like our luncheon meat?" I said yes... and that's why I patronise their stall. He then went on to say that his friends had asked him why he used expensive luncheon meat for his stall (he said it's RM4.80 per can). He said he realized that many stalls used inferior luncheon meat (less than RM2.00 per can) and he wanted to make sure the customers were happy with his luncheon meat. He then proceeded to show me the brand he used... I had initially guessed wrongly that it is Ma Ling. In actual fact, he was using a brand called YiGe (in a green can). Yummy!!!