I have been suffering withdrawals. Malaysian food withdrawals to be exact. And, in my persistent stubbornness, I’ve refused to try to sate them. “It won’t be the saaaame!” I moan. “I don’t want tooooo!” I protest. So I am suitably sien (which is hokkein for a cross between tired and non-plussed) when (having neglected to make a booking for my mother’s birthday myself) my dad calls me up to say “We’ve booked at Kuali for tonight. See you then.”
I contemplated, just for a second, going through my holiday chronologically. But straight after Malaysian Mondays #01 came a whirlwind five day trip to Hainan Island, China (where, strangely enough, there was nary a Hainan Chicken to be seen), and I could hardly do a Malaysian Mondays post on China.
“So,” I thought, “why not skip over that side trip and recommence where I land squarely back on Malaysian soil”. And that is what I am doing.
I have been home sick with a stomach bug. It is a pitiful state to be in, especially for someone who enjoys (nay, craves) the edible as much as I do. So I supplemented. A stint with Maeve and Food Safari. A flick through a magazine or two. And a proper sit-down-and-remenisce session with my photos from Malaysia.
There were so many highlights to that trip – both personal and edible – that I want to share with you. So, in a bid to actually get them all out there and on the interwebs, I’m initiating Malaysian Mondays. And what better day to start it all than Merdeka Day?
“So Shez, what did you do on your birthday?” It’s a fair question. After all, I’ve not-so-surreptitiously mentioned its approximate date and the gifts-of-a-sort I received on my return home.
Home. It’s a funny term that one. It changes from time to time, subtly, almost imperceptibly, and then one day, you let it slip in conversation and realise that the place you’re talking about isn’t the place you’d usually refer to as home.
