Previous few blogs border on the more somber tone..shall talk about something more light-hearted in this blog..
One of my fave things-to-do is to go eat my fave yu yuan mian at my fave stall at bt merah..been eating at this stall for the past 12, 13 years? Couldn't rem exactly when i started patronising this particular stall..but i know for sure, by the time i was in sec 4, the lady chef already knew my usual order liao..so i reckoned i must have started eating there around sec 3..? Do the maths..& u can figure out my age..?! *.*
The reason why i call the main cook lady chef is cos she didn't seem older than mid-20s when i was first a customer still in my pimply teens..& her parents are usually around to help serve the noodles so it didn't seem so right to call her 'auntie'..since i'd usually say 'xie xie auntie' when her mother brings my yu yuan mian to me..
After all these years, she still doesn't really look old enuf to be called an 'auntie'..so i'd just call her 'xiao jie'..not tat i had to address her much..these days i can stroll towards the stall & simply signal to her with one finger(index lah..did u really think i was going to say the middle finger?)..meaning '1 bowl of the usual' & she'd simply nod to acknowledge my order..no words exchanged at all..
The amazing thing is i dun exactly eat there tat often nowadays..it was sort of on the way home when i was still in sec sch & jc..add a couple of frens staying in bt merah..u would find me there at least once every week or so back in those days..when i started life in uni & then work..my visits became less regular but i still made efforts to eat there whenever i can..
Over the years, i've brought frens to eat at the stall..reviews were mixed..from 'so-so lor' to 'ok lah' to 'not bad leh'..i rem mentioning to someone before..it's ok if u dun think it's as nice as i feel..'cong xiao chi dao da de dong xi shi bu yi yang de' In fact, i'm more than happy going to the hawker centre on my own..cos then i wouldn't have to 'compromise' on where to sit..
Despite having been to the hawker centre N times in my life..i still find it a challenge to recommend good stalls to frens..simply cos of the fact tat i seldom eat at any other stalls..i vaguely knew wat other stalls exist & i think there are at least 2 other yu yuan mian stalls in the hawker centre & 2 other similar stalls within a 400m radius..but i really have no idea wat they taste like..i remember vividly i had gone there on one afternoon many saturdays ago when i was feeling down..& to my sorrow(yes, it was tat catastrophic to me at tat time), it was not opened! i was so upset i left the place without eating anything & went hungry for the rest of the afternoon..
And now, as a quarter-lifer..this yu yuan mian serves as a comfort food for me..in fact, it was one of the first place i went when i came back from uk..the lady chef could still recognise me despite my no-show for half a year & my new found status as xiao pang..if this is not customer service, i dunno wat is!
Had gone there again this afternoon..& despite watever gastric pains and headache i was battling..i managed to scoff the whole bowl of yu yuan mian..& feeling so good after tat :)
You see..some of the best things in life are really free..or at least they dun have to cost more than a bowl of yu yuan mian : )
P.S. Just to share a little secret..there was a period of time when she used to serve mushrooms together with the mian..& surprise surprise, i'd just eat them up all ^o^
No comments:
Post a Comment