FEATURE | LUMEN 13
Mat
Tread across my elongated body Encrusted with myriad rubber rubies Red , as they had quaffed the afternoon rays Or steeped in the blood of a hundred men
Feet pelt down on me like bullets Beads of perspiration fall and kiss my face The midday heat pours into my veins Escaping my lungs like the breath of hell
“ Look how short it is now !” “ How to do 2.4 like that ?” I feel my eyes roll back and forth Smouldering up a sweltering haze
Now that the grief has sunken under I lay down beside the old flagpoles Recounting the years I spent with her Up till the day they took her away
She took the shape of a crescent moon Thin as a sickle , waning in her final years She was everything like the letter ‘ C ’ Even the vaulted chapel would agree
The red C parted and parted from me Stripped me bare and a strip I became What else do you ask of me ? I ’ m just your lowly welcome mat
By Ryan Koh her own business . Like most Singaporeans , Mdm Sew absolutely loves Japanese food . Of all the cuisines , Japanese food rank highly among Singaporeans . Thus , upon making the decision to enter the food industry , it was Japanese cuisine that she wanted to try her hand at .
Mdm Sew ’ s most popular dish is the omelette rice . She attributes its popularity to the taste of the omelette , which is freshly-made and served while hot .
When asked why she chose to work at SJI , she responded frankly , “ Well , SJI is a popular school .” Her decision to work at SJI arose from its large student population . She enjoys dealing with SJI students . “ Sometimes they ’ ll say that my food is good . They ’ re nice to talk to and polite .”
Her interest in the food industry continues to spur her on to work hard every day . “ It ’ s a passion ,” she states with pride .
Malay food stall
Mdm Nor Ha Yati has run a Malay food stall for about 6 years . A former housewife , Mdm Yati discovered her love of cooking for children , and so , decided to establish her own Malay food stall . Currently , her most popular dish is the rendang .
When probed about the most annoying customer habit , her response was instantaneous : " The fussy types ." Sighing before lamenting , she continued , " But we still have to find ways to manage them ." Truly , running a canteen stall is no easy task .
Western stall
The Western stall vendor , Mdm Hanis Jani has 18 years of experience under her belt . The owner of the Western food stall used to work as a graphic designer , but decided to leave her job to establish a food stall when her children were born . Running her own business granted her greater work flexibility and more time to spend with her children . “ I get to spend the holidays with my kids ,” she says with a smile .
A personal pet peeve of hers is when customers fail to prepare money prior to reaching the front of the line . She finds , however , that SJI students are remarkably courteous and would often volunteer to help retrieve dirty plates from the collection point . She also values how SJI students never fail to say “ Thank you ”.
Chinese mixed rice
Like the drinks stall , this stall is run by another dynamic-duo . This time , it ’ s the mother-son team of Mdm Pan Choey and Mr Raymond Chew .
Mdm Pan Choey is the true manager of the stall and responsible for all the delicious food . Mr Chew , on the other hand , being the filial son says he feels obligated to help out his aged mother at her stall as an assistant .
Mdm Pan Choey started working as a canteen stall vendor at CJC as far back as 1983 . She worked at the school for a few months , before spending the next 30 years as an assistant selling hawker food .
An interesting fact is that Mdm Pan Choey had worked at SJI ’ s Bishan campus as a cleaner . When she heard about the campus relocation , she knew that there would most certainly be a demand for new canteen stalls . She then spoke to her friends in the Facilities Department to find out more about the process of securing a stall . And the rest , as they say , is history .
Despite her age , Mdm Pan Choey even continues to sell curry puffs at a hawker centre every Sunday , and spends every day living her dream of cooking food for people to enjoy .
Indian food stall
Frequent patrons of the Indian food stall would be wellacquainted with the cheerful smile belonging to Mdm Selvi Samy . Mdm Selvi used to work for online companies before trading in her keyboard for an apron about three years ago . The techwhiz turned cook considers her signature dish to be the briyani .
Ever the pragmatist , Mdm Selvi likes working in SJI because the school cohort is much larger than her previous workplace at a primary school . However , putting aside practicality , Mdm Selvi ’ s love for cooking is genuine . She captures the overall spirit of SJI ' s canteen stall vendors best with this , " When the students say that my food is nice , everything I ' ve worked for becomes worth it . I enjoy cooking and seeing children enjoying my food . It makes me happy !"