The Red Otak-otak

It was raining the whole day. And I was thankful that I was riding shotgun with my Boss. And haras....... er, visiting all our customers, we decided to stop by for tea. Or early Dinner. Or snack. Or "whatever you want to call it" meal time.

This habit actually stems from when we were in our original company where in the late afternoon, all Sales and Technical staff would "disappear" to the nearest Mamak stall. However, this is one habit which I have broken years ago, thanks to my wallet. And not only that, I find that nowadays, its easier for me to gain weight just like that.

Anyway, this place is quite funny. You have some stalls selling the same thing and I wondered how it would have worked out. There is a system in SS2 or other Chinese places where a drink stall "owns" a particular area or tables and the competitors are not allowed to encroach. But here, its different. Just look at the otak-otak. One stall uses green trays and the other uses yellow trays. And the best thing is, there is no system. In theory, if the stall owner looks good and her otak-otak tastes terrible, all her friends could switch them with the competitor ........ er, scratch that.

Anyway, I took from the yellow and my Boss took from the green. The mamak guy was obviously in league with the green team because he "reminded" my Boss to pay for it. But for me, I could walk away because no one came to ask for money. If they did, I would just say my Boss took from the Green team and paid for it. Moreover, both otak-otak looked the same. Looks like it, tastes like it but its not it.

The only thing that stopped me was guilt. Or I suspect, they might have stuffed a small activated tag just like the ones in a Department Store and when I walked past the sensors..............

The funny thing about this place is that almost
everyone is selling the same thing, which is the
otak-otak and nasi lemak. As soon as we sat
down, one lady put a tray of the otak-otak on
our table. Not to be beaten, a man ran up and
did the same.

And another funny thing is, I took
a packet of warm nasi lemak from
the table near a mamak stall while
my Boss took his "direct" from the
stall behind.

Mine has an egg and costs RM1.00 while my Boss
has to get his own egg. But I am not sure how much
his costs. Yes, both our Nasi Lemak are from the
same stall.

And surprise! Although both otak-otak are from
different stalls, they are the same. Chances are,
they got them from the same supplier and then
cooked them from their own stalls.

Maybe its the rain but the place is almost
packed with a lot of people.

There is not much choice here. This is the
stall which we both got our Nasi Lemak
from and just a few stores further, it was
also selling the same thing. I wondered how
they will all survive doing this.