The World of Tai Tai

LEBUH KIMBERLY STREET KWAY CHAP BY LO SIN YEE   Kway Chap is an acquired taste. Not everyone can accept a bowl of murky broth with suspicious-looking offal. The one on Lebuh Kimberly Street, Penang, however, has attracted foodies from all over the world. The more you eat it, the more addictive it becomes. I first tasted it in 2010 and was surprised by its incredible flavours . For six years, due to the tightness of my budget, I seldom made it as far as Penang. One night, however, while browsing through YouTube, I stumbled upon a video of Kimberly Street Kway Chap. Mark Weins, the commentator (who is also a renowned food critic), sang the noodles’ praises. The sight of him slurping the noodles stirred up my hunger . Driven by a strong craving, I flew from Miri to Kuala Lumpur and took a transit flight to Penang, which is a food heaven. After checking into my hotel, I headed to the famed stall at Lebuh Kimberly Street, and found it to have g...

The deafening ringing of the school bell reverberated at  every corner.  Before it trailed off into silence, a cacophony of voices and laughter rose around a yellow cat.  He lazily raised his head as hundreds of feet pattered up and down the spiral staircase  above him. A girl squatted down and stroked the cat’s head.  The cat let out a big yawn, showing his sharp teeth and tongue with utter nonchalance.  The girl chuckled and petted the cat’s cheek, just behind the whiskers, her own hair, parted at the centre, dangling from both sides of he r slightly pimpled face. The cat closed his eyes, gradually submitting himself to the touch, enjoying the sensation.  The girl squealed as she ran her hand, kneading the cat’s head to his tail,  repeating it several times.  The cat purred throatily in response to the girl’s crooning.  A few more girls joined in, taking turns caressing the cat in the same manner.  One of them even held the ...

“Sin Yee,” asked See Wei over the phone , “are you going to attend our first reunion?” “Sure,” I replied, unable to suppress my excitement.  “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” See Wei, my ex-classmate, was organizing a reunion at a nearby restaurant.  I was among the first few to be contacted.   See Wei was the only classmate I would see around, for his pet shop was situated in the vicinity of my neighbourhood.  The rest seemed to have evaporated into thin air.  After completing primary six in 1982, the majority of us moved to a secondary school in Lutong while the rest ended up in neighbouring towns or overseas.  By the time we finished the fifth form in 1987, we had gone our separate ways and seen each other less and less until our names lost their scent of familiarity. As the day for the reunion drew near, a string of forgotten names resurfaced from the dark recesses of my memory.  Thankfully, See Wei had formed an alu...

                               I stopped at where the trail ended, inhaled the cool morning air and gazed into the distant sky.  Something was whispering in my heart, drawing me all the way here from the warmth of my bed.  The quietness surprised me, for I had never expected that a thirty minute-walk across the road from where I lived, lay a trail leading to a kingdom of trees untroubled by human activities, so dignified in its tranquility.   The sky cleared up all of a sudden, unraveling a range of bluish hills among gold-tinted clouds in the distance.  I stood rooted to the spot, the sight totally holding me in thrall, dispelling my stress, infusing my body with wave after wave of invigorating sensations.   The beauty of the hills  eclipsed even that of the forest itself ,  making my eyes misty.  How meticulous God had been in preparing me for this momen...