I have typed and retyped yet I cannot make myself write about anything else but my romance with food. What can I do? It is not my intention to be a bad friend and entice you with graphic details of the the junk I stuff my face with, oh my dearly beloved expectant expatriate friends, nor am I trying to be cheeky parading my foodie adventures on this page much to the dismay of friends who are trying to psyche up for Ramadhan. Please be kind enough to let me blog about my recent meetup with friends and then I can breathe easier and try to blog about other things, okay.
Moving on very quickly now.
Last Friday, I made plans to meet Uja at Qi Ji, Century Square for a little tete-a-tete over Chinese snacks. I just had to see her again because the last time we met I did not have the chance to pass the kiriman hugs from all across blogsphere since it was really a wham bam thank you ma'am kinda meetup. This time around, we had only two hours before Uja had to speed off to JB for another makan sakan gig. But it was enough to expand my girth all directions like an aerated balloon. I was a little early so I decided to browse around at Exclusively Hers, the whole floor dedicated to all things girly wurly. So I tried that little black thingy in the size I am so accustomed to wearing ( and I am not going to tell you what size I wear), and found it oh so oversized!!! I had to get it in two size smaller!! Wowee...And I am proud to say, I was not in any GI or diet save for ganti puasa. And by now, you all would know what and how I eat right?? That's a morale boost indeed. Dropping dress sizes, having eaten so much at that. So I rewarded myself with that nice black thingy, and a long beaded necklace to go with it. I leave it to your imagination how I would use that necklace.
While wrestling and detangling the knotted lil black thingy out of my ample anatomy, Uja called to tell me she's reached Qi Ji. Made my purchase and ran down to my favourite place to buy goodies for my inlaws. And there she was, looking ravishingly fresh, not unlike those faces you see stepping out of spas and beauty parlors. Mind you, this lady knows where to go to have a little girly pampering for the price of a regular meal. So rather than that perfunctory so-called professional handshake we just threw our bumpers at each other and locked in a oh-so warm an embrace, I was on the verge of getting sappy not unlike a grandmama. And then just like the last time we met, Uja asked me the question that's a sure fire way into my heart,
"Apa kau nak makan?", what do you want to eat?
So we ordered giant popiah basah, with prawns and extra chilli, soon kueh and chee cheong fun. We had to stop at that before I go overboard and order mee siam, mee rebus, tauhu goreng and what nots. So like a guru besar, Uja told me to cerita-ceriti because she was in the mood to listen. That wasn't very hard. You know how I can bebel kan? And I have grown up to be quite obedient, you know?( Iza Sofia! Stop sniggering this instant!!!)
After we makan until we terbodoh, Uja suggested that we look for some chi-chi coffee and chit chat some more. She made me order low-fat latte, and I halfheartedly obediently said okay. Low fat and Nazrah don't really get along. But then Uja's gebang prowess kept me captivated. While I gulped my low fat latte to the last dregs, oh, I pimped it up with extra syrup, Uja only drank half of hers. Hey this woman on a diet or what? Yes Ayu, I know, I know, we should keep a healthy diet. Quit rolling your eyes already. I brought my besar gedegak camera but sadly, I forgot to load the battery in. So no pictures lah, Uja took some, so maybe I'll post them later.
A latte and potato chips later, it was time to go. So we did a major boink-boink hug session, one from Kakteh, one from Ely, one from Maknenek and one from me before we parted ways. Ha? Empat aje dia tanya? Well, let's just say the whole of Sentraal Station was there in my big embrace.
After that I went to the supermarket to get some groceries, and picked up some more goodies for the peeps at home where a dinner of assam pedas was waiting for me. We were all so stuffed that immediately after isya' it was lights off!!
The next day CA enticed me to follow him to this aquarium at Upper Changi Road to view this 2 foot tank, before which he had wanted me to try out this new Yong Tau Foo joint. It's called La Mian Yong Tau Foo. I must say it's a pimped up place for fish products in somekind of soup. I have pictures but blogspot won't let me upload. Bleargh! And oh, CA bought another fishtank. Please God, save my poor soul! As if 11 children was not enough! You wonder why Aishah has no adik? She has 10 tiny swimming ones...all with the same hippie freestyla temperament!
So anyways, days passed before I could blog again, yet feeling somewhat cautious about writing too much about food. Somewhere in between writing new songs, nursing migraine and PMS, I managed to arrange a reunion with a long time friend Aminah Azira. She had just found my blog recently. I got to know that we got hitched to dashing Singaporeans( kasi kembang sikit cik abang tu) around the same time and that she's been in Singapore about the same number of years I have.
I remember Minah as that cute lil girl with ponytails who really loved cats. There were so many feral cats back then at MRSM Beseri. Imagine, everytime we had a meal 2-3 cats would be waiting inches away from our trays hoping to share our nasi kawah. So some people actually decided to make it a huge project to basmi kucing from our campus. So together with a girl named Farina,who if remember correctly is a daughter of a vet, ganged up to save as many kitties as possible, while another group of kids chugged those poor unsuspecting feline into gunny sacks to be disposed off at the town market. I also remember Friday afternoons in a communal bath, well, it's actually the typical kolah air that 10 people can waddle in. So before the people of Block A washed the kolah as a weekly ritual, they were kind enough to let me bedebush in the pool with them. I was a Desa Ekhwani illegalos.
So we planned to meet after 13 years. The umpan was sup kambing Upper Boon Keng. So happens that CA was taken ill that day, the severe heat was really getting to us poor poor migraine sufferers. But then he had to pop in at the office for a while. So he drove us to Minah's house. When I got there, I got the lift system mixed up but finally found her place. The door was open but nobody was there. Aishah and I gave salaam and yoo hoo-ed but there was no answer. Maybe she was nursing. So I just made myself comfy on the steps outside her house and played pat-a-cake with Aishah, giggling and thinking about all that excitement over a few pieces of pancakes elsewhere in the world.
Aaaaanywaaay, I decided to text Aminah after 15 minutes and she called me back telling me that she's on the way home. Yeay! My soup, my soup!
So we got comfortable as soon as I was invited in. Lovely,lovely home. And lovely, lovely time I had. Gedabak Gedebuk, it was makan time, so I assembled my bruschetta and she had let me use her broiler. While waiting for the cheese to melt, I had a grand time playing with Aaqil who is such a darling. He reminds me of Aishah at that age. An Energizer adrenaline machine indeed. As usual looking at baby boys made me feel all broody again.The kids took a while to warm up but there was not that much drama. Good girl, Aishah. You did not terrorize anybody today. Minah was busy setting the table.
Soon after, I walloped lah all the kambing I could eat. Muahahaha. I am glad Minah liked my bruschetta. I had brought fudge cake too but then I thought I couldn't possibly eat anymore as I have had my fair share of cake for breakfast earlier.
Two hours went by like the speed of light. It was time to go when CA rang me to tell me that he's on the way. Little did I know, he was actually savouring tau huay downstairs from Minah's block. And by the way, Minah, the tau huay is one of the best he's ever tasted. Second to my favourite stall at Serangoon Garden. So it had to be au revoir for now....almost getting sappy again, we promised to meet again. Longer this time. I hope to introduce Minah to my Gebang Gang so we can go out and melantak sama-sama. Like Noreez says, the more the merrier!! Some Beseri friends are coming over soon, I can't wait for that too!
Okay, that's it folks. My last post about food until maybe Hari Raya. Please Allah give me strength and inspiration to write about other things. But then this weekend I am meeting my Gebang Gang again. How la dey?
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