Jitra mai sabai sabai...

Parked beside a busy secondary street and covered from the scorching cosmic ray by the shade of perennial trees, this mobile nondescript eating establishment is a place to hang out during lunch time and after office hour. Unlike mat laptop and minah hand-phone that normally associate themselves with imported high street cafes and dominate glamorous restaurants, the people that frequent this place is all moving about in a no-nonsense objective and purpose. This place is for a really serious people who come just to eat. The subject of discussion are cendol pulut and laksa utara, two palatable combination that match each other nicely.

This quintessential eating establishment must be legendary and the owner must be very proud of his origin too. Otherwise he wouldn't come down all the way from the tranquility of Gunung Jerai to the fake world of big metropolitans, bringing along an orthodox way of eating and communal tradition while at the same time promoting a far away place as well.

Din Chot who operates that stall and with a slight Siamese accent told me there are 3 other similar stalls within a 4 km radius from where he is stationed. It seems the franchise is good. Whether this is the sign that our Bolehland is prosperous or a mere adventurous venture, I have no idea. Din Chot himself is probably a nom de guerre and he probably represents a class of Melayu baru motivated by the big city neon attraction and promises.

The laksa is very tasty but slightly spicy by my palate standard. But that doesn't stop me from having a second helping. The star of attraction however is the chendol. It is very difficult to get wrong with anything involving coconut milk. The endless suplly of tapai adds a sureal quality to it. I was told the tapai was supplied by a mysterious mak cik specializing in the art of making that fermented sticky rice. Din chot however is not willing to reveal the identity of this makcik when I asked him the question. Probably this makcik hold the secret recipe for this whole successful business entrepreneurship.

My shallow experience with food tells me that this whole eating experience can be improved especially if they make the portion bigger so that all I can remember after that near perfect afternoon desert is a delicious feeling and inner peace...serenity.

Sabai...sabai...