Speakee The Singlish

During a meal at Sibu, I was explaining nasi lemak to Alec, saying that lemak refers to the coconut used to infuse the rice. “If you’re having curry and there’s loads of coconut milk in it,” I mentioned, “you might hear someone say the curry is very lemak.”

After we returned to Singapore, I’d bought Alec a cooking lesson at Cookery Magic to learn how to make laksa, satay and peanut sauce, which are all dishes he likes. (My mother can teach him most local dishes he’s interested in, but she doesn’t do these.)

During the lesson, the teacher was encouraging Alec and the other woman attending to taste as they went along. Alec tasted the laksa gravy and remarked that it was “mmmm, quite lemak“. Cue sudden dropping of jaws, as the cooking teacher and other student (a Malaysian woman) stared at him dumbstruck.