Growing up in the lovely town of muar, food is everywhere. I can go on and on about food but I will save that up for next time. Allow me to start with 5 gentlemen, who brought joy to my family, with their specialties, on wheels.
We had an old uncle who goes on a tricycle, selling ice-cream. This uncle takes a route that passed by Grandma's house and my house, so in either location, I can get his ice-cream. you know you want your ice-cream when you hear the bell ringing, and sis and I used to play with it.
Now, this is not your normal ice-cream. It is purely homemade. There are only 2 flavours - Corn and Chocolate. My favourite is the corn, and you can find real corn kernel on it as well. Most of the time, my sis and I will go for the mix. RM0.20 for small size, RM0.30 for regular and RM0.50 for the large. All served on cones.
But hold on... there's more.
Uncle serves it on bread as well. This is piece of bread nicely slit in the middle and ice-cream is scooped into it.
Sometimes, we will buy in huge tupperwarae - RM1.00 or RM1.50 so we can have it for the rest of the day.
Folks, forget about gourmet ice-cream or whatever chemical products you find nowadays. This my friend is THE ice-cream. The texture is somewhat in between of being flaky and smooth, "icy" and creamy. You don't get any better than that. And of course, who the hell had thought of serving it with bread? Well, uncle probably pioneered it and I am surprised to this day, I still see no copycat.
Uncle takes a long route people, all the way up to Parit Jawa, and he wasn't young. That could be around mid 80s or something. Wherever he is now, God bless him.
Around 3.00pm every day, we would hear "kiang-kiang", "kiang-kiang" sound emitting from miles away. This metal symphony only mean one thing - the Indian breadman. This uncle rides on bicycle as well, but with a huge "treasure chest" like storage in front of him. Kind of hard to manouver if you ask me.
The treasure chest contained different type of breads but my favourite will be the following: Lian Seng's Kaya and marjerin bread (red and green wrapper respectively), brandless bread with cream filling in the middle slit and peanuts version. Of course, uncle has a large selection of junk food as well, and mum was nice enough to occasionally allow sis and I to get some. Uncle was an stern looking man, with white hair - had never seen him smile though - but certainly, filled some hungry afternoon with treasures from his wheels.
Pon-Pon is how I fondly remember the soya bean milk guy. He rides a motorcycle, with a huge basket behind him, carrying soy bean milk and other stuff. Of course, the soy milk was a must, but this uncle sells "mi kantin" as well, all packed in plastic bag. Buy and just squeeze the content into the mouth. I think he has others, but the one that is vivid in my mind - soy bean milk and mi kantin.
While the 3 uncles above serve us in the afternnon, there is this one master char kuey teow guy who provides the supper. This guys rides on pedal bike, and usually has a companion riding with him on motorcycle. God knows how he managed to pedal the stall, with a large cooking station right in front. Now, this guy is one happy motherfucker. While he also used the "pon-pon" horn, on good days, I could hear him singing or whistling. We would flag him down and get our yellow steel plate out for him to dish the freshly fried sin in. Sometimes, dad will request for extra eggs (using our own). I cannot remember how it tasted but it must've been quite tasty. He disappeared one day though, so no more char kuey teow on wheels for supper.
We weren't limited to that for supper though. There is this pakcik who sells satay on his bike. The barbeque station is behind him and I swear to you folks, he had a candle light flame that never get blown off. We had that a few times and not much I can write about him, except for the undying flame - almost like the Olympic torch.
Last but not least, every Saturday night at 7.30pm, Ah Gek will be in her station wagon and stop opposite to present of freshly prepared kuih and kickass siew pao. She is my aunt's sister-in-law and a real wicked kuih maker cum baker. The atmosphere in the neighbourhood can be quite festive with her arrival, with neighbours crowding the car and interacting with each other....and being Dad, he would sometimes help with spreading the love, by sounding the pon-pon horn.
I am sure these food on wheels heroes would have never imagined that one day, some kid would write a blog about them. For them, it's just another day in life.
Many a time, we lament when circumstances don't work to our favours. For our heroes on wheels, they brave the rain and sun to ensure that they do not disappoint customers who were waiting for them. They ensure the quality of the ice cream is consitent, bread chest is well stocked, soy bean milk is fresh, char kuey teow is sinful enough with generous amount of pork lard, satay is cooked thoroughly and the best kuih in the world tag remained through the years. They didn't give in to the unfavourable conditions, and this noble act of determination, discipline and commitment had indeed brought joy to many, at least to this kid.
When we take self out of all the context of things we do, the sincerity kicks in and we do it with a genuine heart. Success is almost certain. That, I guess is satisfaction at the highest level,knowing that you have fulfilled someone else's longing and wish, no matter how simple, no matter how small.
World's best curry plus home cooked long bean rice - that's acapolypse.
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