I had the simple yet priceless pleasure of visiting my favourite morning market today. Ironically, it's located right in front of my English learning center in Eng Ann. So, I'm actually there nearly every day, just that by the time I start work, it's the late afternoon and morning markets are exactly that - markets in the morning. So, I never really get to enjoy my early morning ritual that I used to have more regularly when I was younger.
Well, first off, most of you may not know that I'm never a morning person. The fact is, I'm very nocturnal and come alive at the strangest hours. For example, I used to have a weekly game of futsal with my high school mates that would start at 11pm and end slightly after midnight. We did that for five years. Unfortunately, old age and family commitments have ended our late night kick-about. I would still however be up for a game of futsal any night of the week; more so than any morning of the week where I'd be like a zombie.
Ever since my teenage days, I've had the habit of staying up late and waking up late. By sleeping late I mean 4am to 6am. By waking up late, I mean 12pm to 2pm. No joke. I used to piss some of my friends in the corporate world who would call me at lunch break only to discover I'd just got up. Yeah, I'm a lucky boy, I know. So, never being the morning person, it's no wonder I've not had the luxury of visiting my favourite morning market in Eng Ann. So, when I had the opportunity today, having found myself up abnormally earlier than usual, I took my mum along to visit our old hang out.
You see, it's much rarer for us to be in Eng Ann now since we live on the other side of Klang. However, having lived on that side of Klang (Eng Ann) for more than 20 years, it's hard not to miss that place. I still think the best food stalls are over there and complain forever about the lack of good food on our side (Bukit Tinggi). So, what joy it was to finally taste my favourite nasi lemak sotong from the old makcik's stall, those wonderfully large prawn and meat dumplings from the wantan noodle stall and those thick pieces of classic Chinese peanut pancake. The only thing missing was my favourite 'bei huey ji', which wasn't open today. Not sure what to call 'bei huey ji' in English but if you guys know what 'yu tiao' or 'yao char kuai' (fried dough fritters) are, then you might recognise a version which is in the shape of an 'L'. It's sweet with sesame seeds on the inner sides. 'bei huey ji' means 'horse legs' or something to that effect since they look like horse legs that are drawn up as they gallop. Nevermind, I'll just snap a photo and show you guys next time.
However, not having my favourite 'bei huey ji' didn't matter that much when I heard someone shouting my name from across the street. It was my recently graduated ex-student and four others at the Hakka Restaurant. We waved to each other excitedly. Then, barely moments later, as I walked on, a van passed by and another ex-student waved to me from the passenger side. What a wonderful coincidence! And to think - this was my first visit to the morning market after a year. Maybe I'll get luckier next year.
