World Cup in Mamak

The word ‘mamak’ first came to me when I was in the primary school, thanks to my buddy, Syed. He is an Indian-Muslim, by and large the Indian-Muslim is more known as ‘mamak’ by the local. Since then, I have been calling him ‘mamak’ instead of his real name (if that pissed you off, blame it to the local). The most significant change mamak brought to the country is none other than their roti canai; food made from water and flour, beaten and toasted on a hot surface. The mamak then taken their roti into another level, it undergo countless evolution after evolution, modification after modification and now you’ll be surprise how many choice there are in their menu. When you talk about mamak now, the first thing that came to our mind is their multi-branched restaurant; a place to eat, chat and brag.

You got to admit that the mamak really have brain, they opt for cheap labor: Bangala instead of the local, they installed Astro, they buy big screen television, they run as late as 7-11, they sell purely halal foods, they put a wifi sign but off it during peak hour, they raise the price of ‘teh tarik’ when only flour price raised, they ask their waiters to give you a dead stare when you not ordering anything from their menu, they put ridiculous name for their food: Roti KL Tower for instance, they put chairs and tables at the pedestrian road illegally, they sell candy bar and goodies at their counter for extra income. How can they not be rich?

Now World Cup is just around the corner, there’s no reason why mamak not taking this opportunity? In fact, they had already blocked the whole road just for their tables and chairs: illegally that is. How can they not be rich?

Everyone knows what it feels like watching World Cup at home; it’s just like watching TV at home right? But, not everyone knows the thrill of watching World Cup at mamak; to be honest, it’s exactly like barbarian watching a frenzied wild boars fight. Despite this, I’m still going to blog this even at this midst of chaos.

Yesterday, it was the England-Germany game and everyone was so spirited before the match. I’m of course on the English side and even predicted that it’s going to be a two-nil match. I reached the mamak stall nearby fifteen minutes before the game, and guess what? It was already full house. But my strong will keep me stay there despite raining; thank god it was only cats and dogs rain. In this midst of chaos, you have to be cautious who you support and where the supporters are. Nonetheless, all that only show when the first goal is scored. When the first goal is scored, observes clearly who’s the one cheering and who’s the one cursing. Then pick a side to either cheer or curse at that time. But of course, don’t cheer on the cursing side and vice versa.

Tired of the commentator? Bored with their ‘ah-mou’ slang? Never worry, at mamak you won’t be able to listen to the commentator all the times; in fact mamak have their own group of commentators-wannabe. I was near the gamblers group yesterday. Well before the match start, it was all about ‘eat ball’, ‘let ball’ and ‘buy which side’. But once Klouse scored their first goal; it’s all about ‘his mother’, ‘your mother’ and ‘F which side’. But the funniest line of the night which I actually laugh it out loud is “Rooney kaw gay kah? So sissy geh”

The atmosphere at the mamak for the whole night is terrible. Germany supporters provoking the England fans, the fans banging their table after each goal, motorcyclist parked their bike almost everywhere, people honed their car after each goal and it was pure chaos. If not because of the World Cup yesterday, the police would have misunderstood it as a riot. It was awful. Nonetheless I do enjoy watching the game till the end, although many of the England supporters leave when Muller scored his third goal for Germany. I was shouting, cheering and cursing all the time despite the rain and I have to stand throughout the whole game (Duh! That’s what full house supposes to be). Eventually I lose my conscience and the barbaric side of me had taken control over my body. The game ended with the German triumph over the English: four-one. Luckily there was no fight and everyone leave peacefully.

Overall I enjoy the night: You can have your ‘teh tarik’, your own commentator and your ‘roti canai’ with you; what more can you expect, even the audience in the stadium can’t enjoy such a luxury.

But back to my conscious, since when I’m a football fans? I guess with that kind of atmosphere, you couldn’t not to be a fan. I guess this is the end for England in World Cup 2010; “Goodbye Three Lions”