I received a call from Nigel just after 9pm today.

“Guess who I’m with?”, he asked, unable to contain his excitement.

“Unkaleong?”, I warranted a guess. I knew that Unkaleong was down from Thailand for a quick break and it wasn’t that difficult to figure out who Nigel would be excited about.

“Yes!”, he exclaimed. “Come join us! We’re at Laundry.”

I like hanging out at Laundry; the ambience at Laundry is always pleasant and the music is great.

But I was still at the office feeling tired. “Nah…I’ll pass.”

Nigel was persistent. “You have to come!”

In the background, I could hear Unkaleong’s voice. “I’ll show you my abs if you come!”

I was in my car and at The Curve in less than half an hour.

Chilli sausages

I was ravenous by the time I arrived at Laundry. Unfortunately, after making the requisite introductions (it was my first time meeting most of them), I wasn’t able to order dinner as the kitchen was closed, so I was resigned to ordering from the snacks menu. Sadly, nothing caught my fancy, and to prevent my stomach from making strange noises while getting acquainted with the charming lot, I ordered the chilli sausages. At RM9.90 for a few pieces of commercially produced chicken sausages (which looked liked they came out of a bag with a popular label) fried in chopped chilli and sliced onions, I felt a little shortchanged. And extremely hungry.

SzeUnkaleongNigelNigel, Chee How, Unkaleong, Mervyn and Robert

Thankfully, the company was better. Sze, the lovely teacher who taught english teachers (seriously!), spoke with a delightful accent that made me want to say Budapest the way she did. Robert, the man who grew up on an estate eating banana leaf rice was a package full of surprises, while Chee How, the man who loved to travel, shared his ideas on how to backpack on a budget. Mervyn, the diver with an infectious smile, struck me as a person with a great sense of humour. Nigel and WMW, the bubbly duo (not dating each other), cracked me up the whole night.

Errr...Unkaleong?

And then there was Unkaleong who knew exactly what it would take to make us hungry.

I later went home to eat some delicious wantan noodles with wild boar curry to satiate my hunger. But that’s another story altogether.