SINGAPORE: With school canteen food being much in the news lately, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a local Reddit user asked others on the platform about their core memories when it comes to the dishes they enjoyed most in their youth.
For them, it involves the fishball noodles from the school noodle stall when they were in P1 to P3/P4. They had these noodles at recess every day without fail.
One day, however, the noodle stall changed hands.
“I didn’t realise it until I took a bite and immediately spat it out. This is NOT the fishball noodles that I love. I asked my friends, who were happily eating theirs, if they felt the noodles tasted off. They said it was the same. I think that was the first time I experienced being gaslit + the grief of losing something that matters to me lmao,” wrote u/piopiolink on r/askSingapore in a recent post.
Many commenters were only too happy to share their core memories.
Noodle stalls seem to be popular with many, because the most upvoted one came from a Reddit user who wrote, “The noodle stall in my primary school canteen would sell wontons on Wednesday. Fantastic with crunchy water chestnuts, and I think mushrooms in them. $0.10 each, thrown into a plastic bag with a dash of sesame oil over it. I got $1.20/day from my parents, so some weeks I’d not eat on Monday and Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, I’d eat 36 wontons for recess.”
Another shared a memory that included their father. “Used to love the laksa in my primary school. I would rave to my dad about it because he was a laksa fan. One day, he managed to come down to try it. The verdict: ‘longkang zhui’ (drain water).”
To this, a commenter replied, “My standard for laksa is really high because my primary school laksa was seriously amazing! I swear it’s on the same level of deliciousness as Janggut or Sungei Road, and I ate it almost every day…”
One put in a good word for crabmeat sandwiches. “In my primary school, the snack store sold the best crabmeat sandwiches. The bread was always soft and fluffy, and the crabmeat salad was moist, thick, and flavourful. The onions or shallots inside were always small and crunchy and had the right amount of oniony fragrance released when you crunched down on them.
The aunty always greeted us with a warm smile and gossiped about the nasty discipline master together with us. She must’ve put the love of bread and sandwiches in me because to this day that’s one of my favourite ways of eating stuff.”
For one commenter, eating the same meal had unexpected consequences. “In Sec 3, I ate the same Malay stall for 1 year straight cos it had the shortest queue (SAP school). Think it’s like some curry chicken drumstick and rice. My weight increased from 63 to 78kg within a year LOL.”
Like others, a Reddit user talked about the kind aunties and uncles who ran the stalls. “The stall aunties/uncles always treated us like their sons/daughters. Friendly banter with the aunties/uncles when someone is indecisive after queuing up. The drink stall auntie/uncle would already know your order.” /TISG
Read also: Kf Seetoh on HCI meals: ‘Kids study and work ridiculous hours… they deserve a true happy meal’
