绿豆糖水

i still remember that time, when i was in primary 3 or 4,
mum always brought us to buy sth to eat after school for snack. [our classes finished at 3.40pm that time...n for a growing kid, food is especially important. yes, i believe so. *nod nod*]

so there was once...it was drizzling that afternoon.
we encountered this uncle pushing his cart-motorbike near our school. he was selling 糖水 and all sorts of chinese snacks.

so mom asked: do you want 糖水?
of course all of us said yes.

so we eagerly got out of the car and called for uncle to wait for us.
turned out he only had 绿豆糖水 left.
even though we were not that fond of 绿豆糖水, and in fact prefer 红豆糖水 much more [coz we often have it], we still bought the 绿豆糖水, thanks to 糖水 uncle's persuasion and recommendation.

indeed, the 绿豆糖水 was delicious. and we regretted not buying more coz mom was afraid we might not like it and wasted it.
we made a promise then to buy it whenever we see the uncle again.
but...we never had the chance.

years later...dad mentioned a 糖水 stall selling traditional 糖水 and chinese snacks.
turned out it was the same stall as that one we ate a few years back.
wanted so much to taste it again, we (or rather I) tried going to his stall a few times.
and all of the times, it was either sold out, or the stall was closed.

again...years later...
today when i was driving back from college, i suddenly remembered the 糖水 stall. so i went, pushing my luck.
that same uncle was there. he's now a grandfather dy.

went to the stall...trying to survey what was on sale (coz there wasn't a menu there)
grandfather saw me peeking and asked me what i'd like.
i ended up buying all the types of 糖水 he was selling today. (1 packet each lah...4 types only ma)
yes...including 绿豆糖水.

to my regret, however, the one i want to eat most, the one i have been missing all these years, the one i have not been tasting for years - 花生糊 - was not available today.
dad recommended his 花生糊 highly, further adding that his 花生糊 might be the last traditional and tasty one we could find in KL.
he doesn't sell it everyday. it kinda depends on his mood. thus making it harder to get.
heard the grandfather say he'd sell it tomorrow. sigh...真的这么没缘分吗?

actually...the reason we got out of the car that 1st time...was because of 花生糊 too. coz mom knew how much i liked it. (she liked it also lar...but i was a big fan)
though i was a bit disappointed that time, it didn't matter that much though.

coz i remembered that on a rainy day, an uncle brought us warmth with his 糖水 and his smile.

and again today, he showed patience and understanding to a young woman who was overwhelmed by her excitement of finding her childhood food that she could not decide what to buy.

it tasted nearly the same as that we had years ago. still delicious lah...jz lacked sth. it's probably the beans...not as nice as last time.
would i go back for the 花生糊 tomorrow? i don't think so.
i'll try my luck again next time ^^

heard no one's gonna inherit his stall, his craft. he has no desire of passing down his craft and recipe to anyone. though he's had countless offers over the years.
guess this boils down to the stubborn, stuffy chinese thinking again.
"unless it's my descendent(son), i'll teach no one."

a few years more and i'll only be able to taste it merely in my memory.
i mourn for my loss. for the loss of all of his regular customers. and for the loss of future generations' taste buds.

more....i mourn for the loss of traditional 糖水's existence. just as my dad mourns for all the delicious food etched in his memory.