Nostalgic Drinking Style

It surprised my friend when she saw me drinking Milo this way at Ya Kun.

After eating the egg/s, I pour my Milo into the same saucer that contained my egg/s, stir it and drink it.

My father did this for me when I was young for functional reason, to cool the Milo down and I do it for the girls now. Coco has since switched to drinking ice Milo but Baby is still taking hot Milo obediently. 

It's purely a nostalgic gesture to reminisce my childhood habit and one of those things my busy father did for me.

As I was having a quick breakfast at Ya Kun this morning, a realisation dawned on me. Ya Kun is one of those places that has not been dominated by the presence of China nationals yet. It is a typical local family breakfast place, a place where housewives gossip about schools and teachers, and share their expertise on how to prepare their children for the national exams, a place where friends meet up for breakfast. 

Places in Singapore are rapidly occupied with Filipinos, China nationals and other residents with foreign accents and unfamiliar languages. It has become a tall order to find a respite from the foreign infiltration. Even the public swimming pool where Baby goes for her weekly swimming class sees, or rather, hears, many who speak China-accented Mandarin. They seat themselves down beside you and get their family or friends to invade into the space you occupy. When you move to accommodate them, more of them come and join the invasion, forcing you to move further away.

"Singapore is no longer what it used to be," so said a friend who has emigrated to Australia.

Only small pockets of Singapore allow me to escape the reality of rapid changes. Eating at Ya Kun is one of them, even if its employees are China nationals. At least the girl manning the till adopts our lingo when I ask for 'Milo, less sugar'. She would rephrase it,"Milo, siew dai!"