Food for Thought

By Julian Mokhtar

We love our food, there’s no question about that. With a love that makes some of us drive for hours to some small town for one particular dish, even setting off before dawn if it’s a breakfast dish. Some will jealously guard their “secret” eating spots for fear that they’ll become popular. Whether that extreme or not, the overriding question is: what to eat? Sometimes that’s difficult to answer. Have you ever been in a food court or coffee shop, looked around at the dozen or more choices, and been unable to decide? Or have nothing there that you fancy? You end up wandering from one to another and finally settling on something because you’re hungry and have to go back to work. On the other hand the answer could be very clear and in that case we can be very determined in satisfying that craving. If it’s not immediately possible, we plan, we save if it’s something expensive, and as mentioned earlier we can be willing to travel long distances for it. Even myself, although I might not drive all the way to Kampar for the famous claypot chicken rice or Ipoh for the famous salt baked chicken, I might drive across town to a particular banana leaf restaurant or whatever. Recently, especially, due to lockdown and restrictions, some have taken up cooking to be able to eat favourite but unavailable dishes. Then of course there are the various delivery options. As people would take photos of friends and family while on an outing, there are those who take photos of their food. That can get a bit annoying if you’re hungry, appetising looking and delicious smelling food has been served, and you have to wait while your fellow diner(s) busy themselves taking pictures of the food from several angles. Actually, come to think of it, quite often it’s only the food that’s photographed, not the people at the table. The question of what to eat can get complicated, or at least limited, as we age or if we’re restricting our diet. Nasi goreng, nasi lemak, mee goreng, char kway teow? Yes! Yum! Oh, wait. High carb, lot of salt, fattening, cannot. Steak? Yes please! Oh, wait, shouldn’t eat so much red meat. Fried chicken, fish and chips, pisang goreng? Deep fried! Avoid! Something for dessert? High in sugar, fattening, risk of diabetes. Add to that people who are vegan, lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, allergic to nuts, allergic to shellfish, allergic to garlic or whatever, and dining with others becomes a question of “what to eat, like that? Can’t have this, can’t have that”. Yes, I too love food but I’ve developed the habit of eating less overall and making healthier choices such as making sure to eat more vegetables and fruits, less meat, less carbs, less salt and sugar, eat yogurt for intestinal health. There are still a lot of tasty dishes that meet those conditions so I still enjoy my meals, and every now and then I have one of those “unhealthy” things. I admit there are times when the craving for a Mars Bar is just irresistible. When all is said and done, I think it’s also important to be thankful that we’re able to ask “what to eat?” and to have a choice. For many others the question is “will we be able to eat?”. So spare a thought for them and help a little if you can.