Hawker Fair

The traffic was bad! It was worse than the evacuation traffic when we were fleeing from Ike! Who would have expected that? With a four-year-old and a 9-month-old baby in the car, it was not very pleasant. It took us two hours to reach Bear Creek Park. We were going to attend a gathering organized by the Malaysia-Singapore Association based in Houston. The theme of the gathering was Hawker Fair.

Needless to say, my mouth was watering, and my tummy growling, by the time we reached the park, and the designated pavilion. The aroma of the familiar food smell of home washed my fatigue away instantly. There was already a big crowd there, busy devouring all kinds of food found in Singapore and Malaysia. We bought our coupons, and I made my way to the Nasi Lemak store, and got myself some lunch. Then my husband got some Fried Noodles (Cha Kway Teow). Since we were late, most of the stalls were already stripped of their yummy food! However, the Nasi Lemak was so tasty I did not even mind that! I was even able to get myself a bowl of Laksa after sharing the Nasi Lemak with my four-year-old.

After settling my tummy, I started to look around. It was our first time at an activity organized by the Malaysia-Singapore Association for Malaysians and Singaporeans. I talked to one of the organizers, who was extremely helpful. He introduced us to some Singaporeans who lived near us. However, like typical Singaporeans, the majority of the fellow Singaporeans and Malaysians gathered there seemed a little unfriendly. Nobody came forward to introduce himself, or herself to us. Most of them already had friends they knew, and stuck to, throughout the gathering. I tried to strike up a conversation with some of the vendors, but got very little response. Guess not all Singaporeans living in the foreign country of U.S. were as desperate as me, to seek out another fellow Singaporean. I did get to know a couple of them at the gathering, and satisfied my craving of speaking "rojak" English!

I did enjoy myself at the Hawker Fair, despite it falling below my expectations, in terms of friendliness. However, I am determined to attend more activities, so that my half-American kids can get in touch with their mother's roots.