nasi lemak

lately I have been having this cravings for nasi lemak. and its not for those nasi lemak nicely packed in brown papers or banana leaves or newspapers. I want a plate of nasi lemak where I can see the sambal, the telur, both boiled and fried and the timun at the sides and all. (thanks to che din who posted a nasi lemak picture on his flickr the other day).

yesterday morning, I was so hungry (due to not having dinner and vomiting before I slept and when I woke up). but as I drove to work, a couple of nasi lemak stall were in sight. however I was rushing trying to get into the office early becos of the recent "time keeping" memo my director sent me, I was determined to come in the office by 9 (not, I got in at 9.37am).

everyday I park my car downtown jalan tun sambanthan. in the dodgiest place ever. I heard a lot of people got mugged there and I, too, was once stalked by a guy who purposedly wandered around my car waiting for me to step down from the car. but downtown jalan tun sambanthan was the only cheap parking available around klsentral area and recently knowing that I can spot parking places where I need not pay is much more better. so, everyday as I walk/hike up to my office which is approximately 800m (believe me, I know so, I used to do long-distance running in school), I would pass by some small food stalls along the way but due to rushing and always having breakfast at home, I never had the reason to stopped at these stalls.

today I did. I wanted the nasi lemak badly and its already friday. I stepped into the stall. the guy was very friendly. "makan, bungkus?" .. "bungkus". he scooped the nasi into the polistrine and hand it over to me. I took all the lauk that I previous imagined about. a normal nasi lemak. with eggs, both boiled and fried. as I was paying, he sparked up a conversation with me.

Nasi Lemak Guy: Adik kerja mana?

Nasi Lemak Craver: Owh, saya kerja dekat Plaza Sentral atas tu.

Nasi Lemak Guy: Bangunan baru ke lama?

Nasi Lemak Craver: Yang sebelah MIDA tu.

Nasi Lemak Guy: Oooo, baru je kan kerja situ? Selalu gak abang nampak adik lalu sini.

Nasi Lemak Craver: *gulp* Errr, saya dah kerja kat sini dari Disember lagi. Memang parking sini. Atas sana mahal lah.

Nasi Lemak Guy: Yelah, sehari 30 ringgit kan. Tapi memang selalu nampak awak jalan sini.

Nasi Lemak Craver: *blush* Tu la. Selalu lalu sini tapi hari ni teringin sangat nak nasi lemak. Okaylah bang, terima kasih ya. Jalan dulu.

Nasi Lemak Guy: Sama-sama. Bye.


Its kind of embarrassing to know that some people have kept an eye on you. Embarrassing, freaky yet, flattering at some point. I for one am known for walking so fast not noticing the people around me, especially when I stuff the MP3 headphone to my ears.

But somehow rather, I felt good. To actually be part of the life that I walk in day by day. To interact with abang jual nasi lemak, aunty cleaner, coffee lady, the cobbler by the sidewalk and those parking attendants. I always have little chats with them whenever I can, so I feel belong in the society I claim my local community.

This just make me misses my kampung very very much. Do you know that the Chinese aunties in Guchil, Kelantan speaks fluent Kelantanese dialect and the Chinese uncles in Parit, Perak would have the coolest "keme orang peghok" dialect ever!!! And owh, the paddy fields.