Korean instant noodles is to Singapore instant noodles, as Singapore instant noodles is to American Ramen.
I love the dried chives and spring onions that come in fancy instant noodles. A friend from Korea gave me a prawn flavoured pack of noodles and that pack even had dried shrimp (hei bi) in it! The soup was bright orange, every noodle with perfectly springy. A meal in a packet.
Though I have to admit it is not possible to have springy Korean instant noodles with its intense soup every day. Once in a while, you've just got to have a pack of good 'ole fashion curry-flavoured Maggi mee, or better, sesame-oil flavoured Chu Qian Yi Ding noodles. Maggi mee is like coke in the south (US) -- when I was there, this was a typical conversation:
(At a restaurant)
Them: "Want a coke?"
Me: "Sure thing!"
Them: "What do you want?"
Me: "Er... a coke?"
Them (oblivious): "Okay!"
Only later did I find out that for some people down South, coke refered to all soda drinks, whether or not it is actually coke. In the same way, a typical conversation regarding instant noodles in Singapore will be:
(At the supermarket aisle)
Me: I feel like eating Maggi mee leh. You want?
Friend: Sure. What kind you want? Korean? Indonesian? Cheapo onion flavour one?
Me: A pack of each for everyday of the week!
Okay, I exaggerate. They say that eating too much instant mee will make your hair drop. So far my hair count is the same.
Since I'm on the topic of confusing international conversations, here is another one I had in England.
(Evening time, about 5pm. Asian girl just arrived in England a few hours ago, after a long journey on a budget airline that serves no food. She is hungry.)
Them (stiff upper lip): Would you like some tea?
Me (thinking about dinner): No thank you. *smiles*
Then: Are you sure?
Me (very politely): Yes I'm sure. Thank you.
... 6pm
... 7pm
... 8pm
... 9pm
Me: I think I'll go to bed now. Quite tired from the journey. Thanks for your hospitality.
Them: Okay, good night.
(Asian girl scronges in her bag for scraps of food and goes to bed hungry and forever and ever remembers that "tea"="dinner" in the UK)
The last time I had Korean Instant noodles I titled the post in Spanish, ate Korean instant noodles, and wrote about an Indonesian game. I'm so international. *pat back* :)
Have ya'll had any confusing conversations?
2 comments:
ahahahaha... that was the funniest post by far... esp the part abt tea=dinner... i know it's the lingo thing cos i was in Oz for my undergrad years and yes, they never say dinner... it's always tea... culture shock huh???
i guess every place has it's own terms and definitions for everyday things and if you're an outsider, it can all be quite bewildering...
just a few choice ones from Down Under:
birds = girls
sheilas = girls (they must all share the same name or something)
she's got nice eyes = she's got great boobs
so watch out if you get complimented for having nice eyes... they're looking much further down than you think...
nice eyes = great boobs??? That's one I didn't know. I probably won't ever get told I have nice eyes though, haha!
Arkansas. :) The south affects the soul. It has been five years and I still can't kick the habit. Sometimes I still feel the need to leave my home barefoot. ;)
Post a Comment