The folks on the street used to say that there is so much power in the sense of smell. There is little explanation needed when it comes to perfumes and scented oils while let's face it, we are all obsessed over the sweet fragrance smell and whatever is good smelling. Of course, it has it's dark side too which is not the topic of my focus.For years now, the ground floor premises of my workplace is a restaurant. It is a drab place in the mornings and afternoons but by evening, it is bustling with business and people. I wouldn't say that it is the best restaurant in town but certainly one of the most expensive, actually. It's speciality.......well, their crabs fare, of course. For the years I have worked now, I have NOT had a meal there. It is true simply for two reasons - 1) It is bloody expensive! 2) Not my cup of place. I guess, one man's food is another man's poison, right? Well, to be honest, the place is jammed pack with tourists and outstation people most evenings. Credit to them for being able to bring in the crowd! It is no wonder that the couple who runs it are laughing all the way to the bank.
Anyway, over the years , I have befriended the restaurant helpers, kitchen staffs and helpers. I have no qualms about mixing with them and sharing a joke or two during the evening when I locked up my workplace. Usually, by the time I leave my workplace, the workers would be having their dinner. They always offered me a place to join them for dinner but I declined politely. I would then walked the back lane and the huge exhaust fan would belt out the most aromatic and stomach rumbling crab fare delights! Sometimes, it's sweet & sour crab, sometimes, it's Marmite crab smell and most of the time, their house speciality baked crab smell with sweet fragrance! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Those magical smell does fill my stomach!
The other day, I stopped at the back lane for a while just to sniff those crab fares! As I squatted down near the TNB sub-station , I have often imagined that if I am a poor person, I would just get myself a bowl of white rice, squat near the huge exhaust fan and wolfed down my bowl of rice while taking a sniff of the crab fares. I would have been one satisfied poor dude! Yeah, the white rice would have tasted heavenly, man! The power of imagination!
Yesterday, as my colleague and I walked down the back lane, I told this fantasy of mine to my colleague. We just stared at the huge exhaust channel and took a whiff of the crab fare aromatics that was spewing out of it. We could hear our stomach rumbling like Mount Krakatoa and we just burst out laughing like two little kids on a street. Afterall, we both have been through times when soya sauce and white rice/plain porridge had been our tummy companions before during our childhood days. We've come a long way from those day but still very humbled by our early childhood experiences. What a laugh we had as we walked to the car park to retrieve our cars. As we bade farewell and safe driving to one another, I just could not help but marvel at the power of smell. This is indeed a gift from God. It's a great night!~
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