Petaling Street

A walk down memory lane
To rekindle the embers
Of life lost now regained
No dog meat please
Maybe snake soup
Just wan tan and sui kau
The sweet scent of char siu
The smoky hint of crispy roast duck
Hanging in road side stalls
To tickle the senses, assault taste buds
Walking through dim alleys
With low hanging tarpaulins
To keep the rain away
Catching a whiff
Of beefy broth of ngau lam and balls
Ngap keok pau so unique
Familiar smells sights and sounds
Of a past so distant
So vivid
Catching matinees after school at the Rex
An ice cream to go from Cheong Kee
Casablanca is a movie
Petaling Street is not
Dirty grimy dusty noisy
Extortioners pick pockets hustlers
Disorderly until
Police in plain clothes appear
In giveaway khaki pants
Hot sweaty
In starchy whites, navy blue skirts
We stroll from school
To catch the bus home from Foch
Hurriedly before it gets dark