Man I miss it!

OK, since I've been away from Malaysia there are a large number of things that I sorely miss. Cheap video games, Baskin 'n Robbins, KLCC, Ampang Point, Laksa. And... um... I'm missing something. OH! Kawan! Yeah. Friends, they're always good for money :D. But the thing that tops the list at the moment (other than kawan kawan) is mamak. (Maaaaaaaybe more than kawan kawan :P)

It's not just the smell of roti canai and sambal of the cool night air of the mamak stalls. Sure, that is a giant part of my mamak missiness, but since I've been in Romania I've kinda meditated on the mamak image and I've hit a milestone. Although mamak has a lot of makanan bes gile, like roti boom, teh tarik, and Indon Mee goreng with bawang and telor mata kerbau and kicap on top... You can't forget the Indon Mee goreng with bawang and telor mata kerbau and kicap on top... but even though it has all those heart attack inducing and deliciously lethal foods, it has a more metaphorical and underlining meaning to it. Mamak isn't just a fast food restaurant for Malaysians on a budget. It's actually the whole idea of a perfect Malaysia! We see indians, chinese and malays all eating and discussing and ranting. We see a Malaysia in unity! When you enter a mamak stall you don't feel any aura of hostility or sadness. It's a place filled with the smell of food and the feeling of multicultural beauty. All races eating all kinds of food and all in peace with each other.

Mamak is also a place of sheer inspiration! In one corner of the room a Malay daugher is talking to her father about how she wishes she was a baker, while just a few tables across a Chinese and a Malay are talking about their past as kids fishing. And just outside the mamak stall, a group of university students are ranting about how crap their lecturers are, and across from them a group of lecturers are ranting about how crap their students are. And two tables behind the lecturers 20 or so teenagers are complaining about the government and their sexual imprisonment by JAIS. It amazes me how in one small area of sociality, an abundence of different lives are being juggled and balanced and planned. A million mamak stalls, with a million more hungry customers and a billion stories within each of them. Inspiration gile!

But the best memory I have of mamak is, of course, with my family and friends. I remember when I was 16 and my life was in utter ruins, juggling my hormonally charged love life, my crappy skin and illnesses and my new change to Malaysia from Thailand. It was a hellish festivity of one crappy event after another. But what cheered me the most was having the few mamak suppers and early dinners with my two sisters, Nurul and Lily. There I would ask them about their days at ISKL and how their friends were. It was the cloud that would often cheer me up in the time of dire.

My other fondest memory was of me and my MMU friends; Nini the artist, Pravin the philosopher, Emerson the mecha-lord, Ben the Flasher, Lina the slugger, An the smooth, Jason the smooth talker, and Calvin the Clavicus. It was my last week at MMU before I would leave for Romania. We had beautiful and psychadelic talks of how the world was crazy and reminiscing how we first met and how we would meet in the future and open an art university in Malaysia and how each and everyone of us would be head of each branch; like photography, and art, and filming, and animation... And I remember fondly how they would constantly say how they would miss me, and how uncomfortable I felt at their remarks. THANKS A LOT PEOPLE! Haha! But I miss them so much.

Mamak is a beautiful place. Not only the food, but the concept. A place of kenyang-ing, of future pondering and of peace and unity. A beautiful place. AND AKU MISS GILE BABI MAAAAAAAAN! DAMN YOU ROMANIA FOR NOT HAVING MAMAK AND INSTEAD HAVING OVERLY PRICED SANDWICH AND BURGER BARS AND STUPID NO TEH TARIK AIS!... Man, I miss mamak.

Peace out,
Me.