Nasi Lemak & Changi Point
Yesterday while driving, I was listening to the radio when there was talk about nicest nasi lemak stall in Singapore. Listeners were urged to sms their recommendations to the radio station.
Nasi Lemak is a Malay staple food that is easy to eat and tasty too. Easy because it was mainly rice cooked with coconut milk and pandan leaves; the hot sauce (here we say chili sauce) is called sambal. Traditionally it has small fish — ikan kuning (literally, yellow fish), deep fried with ginger spices. Not forgetting a thin slice of fried egg. As time passes, the Chinese begins to sell it; often adding fried chicken wings, fried fish cake, plus other stuff. Being a traditionalist (maybe hardnose), I don’t eat food cooked by those outside of the ethnic group. By that I meant, if it’s Malay food, I must eat from Malay stall; if it’s Chinese food, only from the Chinese. Not a segregationalist, I just feel that those outside cannot cook as well. I suppose I’m just plain stubborn. And why waste time trying out a Chinese cooked nasi lemak? I just go straight to the Malay stall and order it. period.
Somehow, a series of words conjure up memories of my childhood. When my three neighbors (3 brothers – Ah Hui; Ah Lek; Ah Leng) plus my elder brother and I would take a 2.5 hrs bus ride from our house in C’wealth Cresecent, Queenstown, to Changi Point. Every Sunday morning, the 5 of us would take bus no. 2, eagerly aniticpating the sight and smell of Changi. I think bus no 2 still ply the same route after all these years.
Being poor– we would save up our money to have just enough to pay for our bus fare (10 cents each way) and nasi lemak (20 cents). The Malay boys from the nearby kampong at Changi would ply their trade along the beaches. The highlight of the trip (after swimming) would be to eat that precious packet of nasi lemak. It’s a heavenly joy for us kids. By the way, we were just about 8 to 13 years of age. My brother being the oldest and Ah Leng and I were both 8 years old.
We’d guard our money otherwise, not only does it mean we don’t get to savor nasi lemak; it’d be a long road back to Queenstown from Changi Point. For some it might be very dreadful thing but for us kids back then, it was part of life. I recall walking to Capitol Theater from Queenstown. Almost everywhere we went we walked. Why? No money, that’s why. We developed endurance anyway. When I got enlisted into the army. Road march was never an issue with me. 
