If I have an unusual quirk, it’s probably my ability to eat the same thing over and over and over again.
I’ve never been a fussy eater. I could eat the same thing for every meal for days with no complaints.
Recently, I realized that my short working life could easily be told through the eyes of the food that I eat.
It’s almost as if I’m sitting down with a familiar friend every time I order the same meal.
At MINDEF Public Affairs for breakfast, it was tao suan or a cheese omelette with hash browns.
Lunch typically saw me ordering char siew and shao rou. I was legendary for ordering char siew and shao rou for lunch.Amongst my colleagues it became known as the ‘Dedrick Special’. I ordered it so often, after a while I did not need to tell the auntie what I wanted.
I’d simply go to the store and give the auntie a knowing smile and she’d know what to do.
The uncle and auntie running the store loved me for my patronage. I think they wanted to adopt me.
On the rare occasions we went out to eat, I’d order a Cajun chicken from Botak Jones.
Unfortunately, at Mentis Marketing, I never found any comfort food.
But this dry spell came to an end during my tenure with Ogilvy. When I worked there, breakfast almost always saw me grimacing through a nasty cup of Japanese green tea.
You see, around that time, I read that drinking green tea everyday could extend your life by twenty years. I had gotten it into my head that I’d drink lots of green tea and live 20 years longer.
But it tasted so bad, I wondered if it was worth living an additional 20 years with a bad taste in my mouth.
For lunch I’d have the Korean BBQ chicken at Lau Par Sat, or an oyster omelette. Sometimes, I’d go to Amoy street for the chicken rice with char siew followed by something from Zhen Jie’s stall for dessert.
Whenever I went to Amoy Street I’d almost always order a kopicinno.
It was the most caffeine-laden drink I’ve ever had.
I still remember the first time I ordered it.
I saw the Indian man putting a heap of coffee powder in the cup, before pouring black coffee on top of it, adding milk, and then putting more coffee powder on top of the milk ala Kopi Dinosaur.
In wide-eyed disbelief I asked myself, “Who the hell ordered that?!”
Then he handed me the cup.
It was the best tasting and most potent kopicinno I’ve ever had. To this day, that kopicinno is the benchmark I judge all other kopicinnos by.
If I didn’t go to Amoy Street, I’d walk to Golden Shoe for the cheap but delicious Nasi Lemak. My dad loves the briyani there, but I did not take to it.
And that brings me to my current job at Red Dawn Communications. I have found my new ‘best friend’ in the form of mutton curry, with 1 chapati and a cup of teh.
It’s absolute heaven. $3.70 for the mutton curry and chapati, $0.90 for the teh.
If I’m early enough, I also get a plate of free cucumber and onions. It’s shiok with the lime juice on top.
If you are ever in the Farrer Park/Little India vicinity, you can drop by Azmi’s Restaurant from Monday to Friday around 2pm. You may just see me there enjoying the new ‘Dedrick Special’!
