It was a really early morning at work. By 8am, I was famished. I needed food.
I was going to trot out to buy the usual Starbucks coffee and muffin. Then I decided it was time for me to contribute to communal breakfast at the office. Every other week, someone would always buy breakfast from the nearest hawker centre for everyone else . They relish the cheong fun, prata, chye tau kueh...the sorts. I don't eat much breakfast. But I'd sit around, nibble and enjoy the chatter. I also realize that the colleagues could instantly taste what's good and what's bad, or what's different from the usual.
I never offer to buy breakfast because I don't know where to get the 'best' stuff at that hawker centre. If I get the food from anywhere else, they would know! And it'd probably taste awful. I'm not very good with picking out good local fare. I'm a little embarrassed to confess that I don't know that after so long.
The colleague wanted won ton mee. But I was utterly clueless as to where to buy the 'best' coffee and 'best' breakfast items at the hawker centre. So I mustered all my courage and asked "Where?"
So the colleague rattled off the names of each stall's specialty.
I blinked and tried not to show my confusion as I noted the list of where-to-buy-from.
I'm not very good at negotiating around the hawker centres. I don't even have any idea where these said stalls are.
Never mind, I can't be that dumb.
It was fun strolling to the hawker centre. Along the way, I took in the morning sounds and smells of incense and daily routine, the excited chatter of amongst familiars; the noisy bustle of a busy marketplace.
Sure, I had the names of the stalls. But I still had to actually locate the stalls on my own. And I found them! Ha!
I'm so pleased with myself.
My first time going to the hawker centre to tapau breakfast for the office.
Hey, I remembered all 5 different types of coffee/tea and food requests okay.
More baffling to remember than latte, long black, flat white, cappucino or mocha.
Trickier to remember than chocolate muffin, tuna wrap, pastrami sandwich, plain scones, bagels with cream and cheese, hashbrowns, omelettes, scrambled or the occasional bircher muesli.
So. I think I've been properly inducted into the breakfast food culture at the office.
31 comments:
how long have you been working in that office?
and may i ask how long have you been living in your "cocoon"? ;) your confusion sounds just like any of the expats i used to work with would have, haha.
if i were given the choice, i'd go for local breakfast over Starbucks anytime!
Ah... that's cos you are hardly 'Singaporeanised' but then again, hawker fare is tricky; everyone seem to have their own favourites.
hah! i know what u mean by the coffee bit. that was a complete culture shock to me! i had to get my local colleagues to sit down and translate what all those types of coffee mean!
you know what these foods are. sure can find one. as u said, u not dumb wat.
every hawker ctr's got its special stuff. so it's just to find out what they are anyway!
When I first arrived in KL, I got confused with the way drinks are ordered .. how if you just say coffee, it will be served with condensed milk and sugar, when you mean coffee, as in, on it's own. For that you have to say Kopi O. That O.. I think is "black" in Hokkien.
And then, tea can be teh O, i.e. tea on its own. Teh (which is with the condensed milk and sugar) and the third kind which is Teh "Si", which is tea served with evaporated milk instead of condensed.
Then they have 'Cham' (pronounced "charm" with a silent r) Which is a mix of tea and coffee.. and also Neslo which is a mix of Nescafe and Milo.
Of course there's the "white coffee" which is coffee beans roasted in a special way, is my favourite.. taste much better than starbucks.
Then they call soya bean milk with the black "cincau" aka grass jelly, "Michael Jackson". ROFTL.
It was all so mind-boggling then.. but no longer so, after 9 years.
Just like Kikare.. I love hawker food for breakfast! Porridge, noodles, dim sum, our Malaysian favourite: nasi lemak, etc. Anytime 2! :)
wah. i cannot eat so much in the morning. whatever u bought sounds like a full meal already!!
kikare: ummmmm......2yrs. heheheeh. the coffee/tea floors me completely.
dr: yah lor. i know the food. but i don't know what's good.
rachael: wahahahaha. but u know what is ayam buah keluak and where to find it! that's quite a feat!
clamshell: bleah. but it took me a while to learn what's mee pok, mee kia, the sorts. heh. all thanks to a corny joke. u know i always end up picking the bad food at hawker centres!!!
jomel: i think i'll just be a dumb dumb in KL. the friends taught me teh ais limau! wwoohoo. i cannot eat so much at breakfast. so never bothered to find out which is what. for a long time, i didn't know what tau suan is. and when i knew, i kinda thought chendol = tau suan. lol.
dre: i usually don't take breakfast. unless it's a physically taxing morning. fyi,this day, i ate a wan ton mee. because i was starving. that lasted all day. :)
Wow...i’m actually quite surprised here. Hmmmm…I …er… always thought you were pretty ‘localized’.
I have soooo off Starbucks. Been reading stuff bout them, pretty much a rip off every time u order a cup of coffee. As for hawker centre breakfasts, I’m a big fan. Like I wrote, usually my comfort food in the morning and yah, I’m the guy who volunteers to do the hawker centre breakfast run too.
CHEE CHEONG FUN!!!
hmm i somehow miss the 'morning breakfast' break of the 9-5 job...
cavalock: i try to be!!! i recently learnt what a butterfly is as opposed to a 'ham chim peng'. oh dear. is that how u spell it? :) i have a good deal at Starbucks. 30cents off for starters coz i bring my own mug. i usually pack lunch frm home and eat in the office. i rarely go out.
goodshithappens: i like that! but the hawker centre ones are kinda sweet and black....and thicker rolls. very different frm the char siew or plain soya sauce thin roll type i like..... :)
orientalQ: naaah. u can eat it anytime u want!!!! :)
waaaah, i miss such brekkie. China Square only got Han's, Mac or those beehoon.
lms: tapau to work! stop somewhere along the way!!! but now...can u 'blackmail' the friends working near u to tapau for you? :) hmmm...maxwell market's a BIT far to walk.... *brightens* convince tehpeng to cook??!!!
please lor, you didn't even know what's mee pok tah then. only fishball noodles. u way better at malay food.
eh, if i want 豆浆油条,菠萝包 u know how to buy for me???
mars bar: rude boy you! do u want to call me a potato and banana too? ahhh...i know what they are!
i watch HK dramas one okay?!!!! but ummm...i don't know where to buy them here leh. before this said morning, i do go to the hawker ctr near the office. but like 20 times in these 2 years LOR. bleah. how would i know where is what??!!!
anyway, u don't work near me wat.
please lor. like 5000miles away!! ha! ;P
hah! watch more HK dramas then. LEARN! u still speak cantonese with ang moh accent! wahahahahahha! good. at least u know what they are. u better learn to identify spices next. later ask u to buy celery u come back with turnip or something. goodness. so embarassing. gaah.
i still remember i asked u to buy radish and u came back with TURNIPS. like they're so different lor.
can i call u a bimbo now??!!!
mars bar! oeh! no imp-bashing here hor!!! offline offline! NOW!
sorry ah, girl. i cannot resist. not that u dunno. u just don't THINK!
ahem...if i may.
u did wash the rice with like detergent. like dishwashing soap detergent. not vegetable soap okay.
*covers head and sprints away stat*
impie, tmrw i want kopi kau siu dai.
yeeeepeee you're reading Murakami!
OMG...u washed rice with dish washing detergent?!?
jazzgal: SCOWL. that was a loooong time ago!!!
meteor: bleah. 1 only i can remember!
kikare: heh. i quite like his works.
cavalock: oh. shshshhhh.
all this brekkie talk is making me hungry. i will gladly trade boring ol' cereal for some chye tau kueh!
err... did you grow up here? :P but I'm not too surprised since you said you're not found of local food.
And I love "butterfly"! Btw, it's also called "beh hway jnee" ( I just made up the spelling). :D
wildgoose: i did! but i never actually eat out for local fare all that much. i have my fav stuff and that's all i know. so while i know what the dishes are, i'm not familiar with going around for the best of each type.
heh. i didn't know all these differet kopi, kopi-si and whathaveyous till like last year. even so, i still get confused!
ummm....what dialect is "beh hway jnee"??? i've absolutely no idea how to pronounce it.
geesmo: one thought: go cook!!!
We CTE all the way to office so no chance. :)
tehpeng is happy with kaya toast and 2 half-boiled eggs with teh in the morning, near his office.
"Beh Hway Jnee" is hokkien. :)
I also learned about all the kopi c siu dai, blah blah after I started working too. And I just look at what looks good on other people's plates before ordering at hawker centres. :D
lms: :(
wildgoose: :)
i donch blame you .. everyone got their own favourite hawker store.. hard to keep up. i never used to like hawker food this much.. till i moved to canada.. and couldn't get them. Now i'm regretting big time..!! how come i didn't try this or that..!
mamabok: i should move away again for a stint. maybe i'll even learn how to cook local fare! ;P
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