Nothing like a Cuppa

Nothing like a cuppa as a pick-me-up on a long work afternoon. It is all sweetness, froth and milky tea.

All ye Malaysians and Singaporeans will instantly recognise this drink. For the uninitiated, all you have to do is to stroll down to a coffee shop and in this part of the world that usually means a non-airconditioned little street cafe which serves often both meals and drinks quite cheaply.

If you do not intend to drink your tea sitting in the coffee shop, then ask for "packet" and they will decant your tea into a plastic bag like the one you see in the picture and lo and behold you have a portable cup that you can hang (as long as you can find some where to hang it off). This cost me all of S$1 (less than an American dollar).

I especially like the version which has a strong dose of ginger in it and it's called Teh Halia (or ginger tea). It is heavily sweetened with condensed milk and has been aerated by being poured from one large cup to another several times with the upper cup held a good 2 feet above the lower cup. Cheaper and faster than a cappuccino machine, if you can aim right that is. Ahhhhh.

Alliterative-Accentual Verse

I tend to write on a full stomach rather than empty so when I did this exercise, I was thinking more of drinks and snacks so my food tends to be less robust than what Stephen Fry came up with. However as the exercise is more about writing in the bang bang bang - crash! style ie alliterate three times and then change in a line, so it scarecly matters really what the subject matter is.

Here's my attempt and for those of you who don't yet know what alliteration is, you will by the end of the poem.

Things I Want or Don't Want to Eat or Drink Right Now:

Chocolate comes first or cocoa with froth,
A lemony drink or lime leached juice
Speedily hits the spot and sooths but then
Coffee doesn't. Caffeine kills my mind
But my body remains hyped: bouncing off the walls

I crave kana a lot, those clumps of fruit
Dried, salty, sour and sweet - I drool
Now that I'm done with drinks and desert, I desperately want
A Kaya toast: covered in coconut eggy jam
Thin crisp bits of bread, buttered and hot.

Or half-boiled eggs basting brown wholemeal toast
With soya sauce and pepper, spotting the yolk
Teh halia heaving with froth is heaven I think
So I'll stop soon enough to ready my mug
Yew tiao too is tea-dipping worthy

I wouldn't want wanton mee right now
Nasi lemak's not nice - too gelak
Oyster omelette oozes oil and lard
All these add on an extra pound or two
So to the gym I go and gallop on the treadmill.