the story of one bowl of assam laksa

it's been so long since i last indulged in my whims and fancy. that's the problem with growing old up. all of a sudden, my actions are governed by my brain, the logic centre of my existence, as opposed to my heart, who foolishly leads me down paths undefined, with one simple phrase... ' i like ah'. being responsible is so boring.

last weekend, i indulged in a bowl of a hot steaming assam laksa, something that i have given up sometime ago because it ultimately leads me down the path of painful gastritis, the sourness of the soup and all. and you never get full on a bowl of that stuff, satiated perhaps but not full. if anything, you just get more hungry. when growing up, it was one of my most favourite food.

anyway, last saturday, we hunted down this famous assam laksa place along lebuh keng kwee in penang. what would i know, it's the first time i've been there. (by the way, it's pouring over here now and the weather is beautiful. cold, dark, wet. it's days like these that i look forward to). i thought it was packed, being close to lunchtime and all, but a few minutes later, it got even more packed, if at all possible. the peculiar booth seats are slightly bigger than the average one person seater, but yet not quite enough to fit two without engaging into a war of hands when eating. the group of 11 of us had to be dispersed into the far corners of the coffee shop before we can embark on the task of ordering our food.

ah, food ordering. this is my territory, a place where i can spew forth my hokkien lingo which so far has been restricted to only within the four walls of the house. i feel like this place is mine. hitler also probably felt this way when he attempted to conquer the world. ordering from the assam laksa stall wasn't that smooth going though, hitler would also have been cowered. i placed my order for a bowl of their famous assam laksa, only to be met with a 'sit down first, not so fast', which left me very puzzled. does that mean my order has been placed or not? sigh. the complexities of human communication. many minutes later, when no bowl of assam laksa was in sight infront of me, i returned, with a hungry stomach and a undying desire to have a bowl of assam laksa. i stood, i watched, i refused to leave. food can inspire the persistence in me. i told him i'll take it away myself, instead of waiting for him to send to me. that magic phrase earned me an instant bowl of piping hot mouth-watering assam laksa.

need i continue with the story? obviously the assam laksa was the best i've ever had. obviously it was fully satisfying. i can still remember the taste on my mouth, along with the eyes that were burning on me as i was eating, trying to will me to finish faster and give up my seat. it was a pressure-filled lunch, believe me, adding to the excessive acid in my stomach.

the only regret. we only ordered one bowl for two to share. what disappointing responsible adult behaviour. with growing up comes weaker digestive system too. so, even if we wanted to indulge, wanted to gorge until our stomach reaches the point of bursting, our bodies reject. perhaps it was only one bowl that made everything taste so good, the enough-but-not-quite-enough feeling lingering on.