화요일, 3월 23, 2004
today i went to katong for breakfast. well, not really breakfast. i mean, it was more like to watch my parents eat the famous-all-over-singapore katong laksa. yes folks, the katong laksa which has been hailed from far and wide over the small island, making it become an establishment that has since become larger than life, and larger than life it has become indeed, as i was about to find out.

when i stepped off the four wheel drive that carried me to this shrine on hallowed ground, i took in a few sharp breaths. not because i was awed by the presence that filled the place, nor the aromatic smell of laksa gravy or whatever it is that makes people so entranced by the very thought of consuming one of singapore's more famous delicacies. what shocked me so was the fact that on the little five footway that ran alongside the parallel parking lots, there were numerous laminated photos of random minor hongkong, taiwanese and local celebrities, all looking the very picture of contentment and perfection alongside a slightly portly lady with the dyed hair and clashing attire in top to toe lycra that is such a common ailment that most middle-aged stallholders suffer from. my guess was that she was the proprieter.

"mum, surely you're not going to eat there are you?" there was no disguising the 'bleagh'-ness in my voice, probably due to the fact that the over the top frills were driving me round the bend. so you can imagine my relief when my parents swerved and turned the other way, while my dad uttered something about the lady boss of that stall being rather neurotic-- or did he say just plain nuts?

walking in the opposite direction, there was no mistaking the prominent bright coloured sign that read 'katong laksa' -- for the second time, no less, not forgetting the usual jargon: all that accept-the-original-beware-of-imitations-once-you-eat-this-you'll-never-eat-anywhere-else-i'm-just-being-a-wannabe-trying-to-cash-in-on-this-whole-laksa-shtick-so-please-support-me-the-rest-are-shmucks kinda thing. to be frank, the whole competition as to who was the real katong laksa was frankly quite mind-boggling.

there were no less than three stalls, all in a row, all claiming to be the 'original' katong laksa. not to mention that one of them sold rather dodgy pineapple tarts sold in little plastic bags, but they looked decidedly too unhealthy to be actually not liable to be classified as 'elderly'. strange as it might be, the laksa at that stall looked pretty good, and according to the gourmet tastes of my one and only parents, that one was allegedly the best.

up till now the thought of it remains a mystery, tucked away deep in the warm niches of singapore's heartland. i'm sure someone out there knows which one is the 'real' katong laksa, but is unable or unwilling to admit the truth to hedge out the imposters. such is the conundrum that plagues the minds of foodies, but hey, to each his own, and as long as the three of them stalls co-exist peacefully, there's nothing to be complaining about. we don't want an encore performance of 'chicken rice war' here, or some other skirmish over cuisine.