Chui Kueh

It doesn't change.

Last weekend was another one which saw me in my hometown en route to Singapore.

It is hard for us to go to Singapore without stopping by Muar; where dear ones are awaiting.

Believe me it gets harder by the day not to visit my parents; strange that the strings are stronger by the day and you just want to look at them. 

Breakfast in Muar is filled with choices.

But tastes seldom change especially when your taste buds  have  been formed from young.

The same is true of me.

When I was a little girl, my Teo Chew mother who is well-known for her warmth and grace among her neighbours used to feed us siblings with the dough above. It is a simple concoction; but one which when you have acquired a love for, you will not abandon it. It is simply rice flour steamed in small moulds and when cooked is served with the secret ingredient that makes one crave for. That topping is a combination of minced salted radish and meat added with thick soy sauce and cooked over a charcoal fire.My mother says that it is the charcoal fire that enhances the fragrance of the toppings and nothing else works. I believe my mum because you may try cooking congee over a normal gas fire and compare it with one cooked over a charcoal one. You will DEFINITELY taste the difference.

Talking to the vendor of the above rice flour delicacy, I told him that I hope not to miss buying this time around as the usual queue is long and suffering.He told me that since it was a week day, I would get a chance to buy them. I reiterated that I have been consuming the dough since young and my longing never change. In fact, the longing can sometimes be so real that I can drive back for it. He laughed and must be feeling rather pleased at my confession. I used to buy the dough from his father and now he is master over the trade.

He asked for my age; I asked for his and we both burst out in laughter as we realise we are more than half way through a century. See, I told him. When you like something and you have a strong love for it, you will never forget and you go back to it no matter what it takes. 

That's why the belief that tastes never change is so true.

May I continue to have the pleasure of having the opportunity to taste them and meet the vendor who encourage me not to be afraid of life but to tread the path that all have to take; to face challenges with courage when we ponder over our present age.

We wonder at the changes of life but told each other not to be afraid; hahaha imagine us talking like this.

But the fact still remains; tastes don't change.

You go for your love till you die.

The Chinese CHUI KUEH; the name my mother will utter.