I don't normally do something this dirty and filthy. As a doctor, I wouldn't recommend such an unsanitary act - just imagine the diseases! It's an absolutely disgusting habit that I'm trying to discard but... I can't resist. Especially when my ISO asks me to do it.
Eating cockles and clams by a drain. Really ( what didja think?! I'm a good boy! ). It's an institution in my town actually. Situated in one of the side alleys by the most unsanitary drains in town, there is a small stall that has sold steamed cockles and clams since forever. I have a feeling they probably served the Portuguese when they invaded Malacca. There are rats, spiders and cockroaches crawling up all over the walls and the alleway. Just opposite the little stall ( lit by a row of dingy incandescent bulbs ) are a row of garbage and back doors. The cockles and clams are dropped into a steaming hot pail of water and served - almost raw :) Certainly not a pretty sight for anyone not used to the odd eating idiosyncrasies of the Asians.
And yet the place is usually packed with customers, squatting by the drain in short stools. Including me. I can't resist seafood. What can I say? It's an addiction - and since I dropped caffeine, I need something to feed my crazy desires.
5 comments:
Hey, I thought you were more adventurous than that! I guess, it is only natural for people to take risks.
If it makes you happy, it really cant be all that bad!
As a boy scout we used to eat even more dirty things... Eg roasted bread on a stick that turned green from tree sap lightly dusted with ash. You are not alone, on this one.
I. HATE. COCKLES.
The only way they can be improved would be if they fell into the drain and got washed away.
Oh, I have been there myself when I was in Melaka two years back.
The cockles were a bit too raw for me, but still I think I downed about 5. Thank God I didn't have diarrhoea the next day.
If you're Malaysian, it's unlikely that you'll get diarrhoea :) We eat at far more unhealthy places than that!
Paul
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