Wang Ta Lu’s M‘sian Girlfriend Joey Chua Shares Pic Of Petai Beans, Sparks Discussion Among Those Unfamiliar With It

Taiwanese actor Wang Ta Lu, 31, and his Malaysian singer girlfriend Joey Chua, 28, went public with their relationship last December during their appearance on Chinese reality show, My Happy Life.

During CNY this year, the couple was photographed visiting Joey’s hometown of Johor Bahru, and touring the streets of Malacca.

 “[I’ve been] eating and shopping non-stop on the second day of Chinese New Year. This year, I'm having so much fun and [eating] so much good food,” wrote Ta Lu, as he shared pictures of his trip in Malaysia.

The actor looked super chuffed to be spending time at Genting Highlands, and also posted pics of him enjoying nasi lemak and guilinggao.

Prior to CNY, Joey uploaded a vlog on Weibo on Jan 14, documenting her first trip home in four years. She teamed up with her siblings to prepare a surprise for her parents, who did not know she was visiting. 

During the touching reunion, Joey also motioned to Ta Lu, introducing him as her boyfriend.

Yesterday (Jan 25), Joey took to her IG page to share pictures of her family and the meals that they were feasting on during the festive season.

“Chinese New Year Eve, Day one, and Day two,” she captioned.

In one of the pics, Joey could be seen holding stalks of unshelled petai beans, which unexpectedly sparked a discussion amongst her followers.

“It’s petai, turns out Joey likes to eat them too” and “delicious sambal petai” were just some of the comments left by her fans.

There were also a handful of fans who are unfamiliar with the beans, which are native to Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Joey’s comment section quickly turned into a platform for cultural exchange, with netizens asking if petai was “Thai food” or “a sort of Indonesian dish”.

See, who says you can't learn anything from social media?