CRAB NIGHT

This might seem like an unusual mission to have, but something I’ve wanted to do before leaving KL is to eat as much crab as possible, in one seating.

Assisting me in completing this mission is my Aunty Lily and her daughter, my cousin Liyana. Other family members were present for support but opted for the more civilised dishes that involved cutlery.

We rolled up our sleeves and ordered 6 crabs – salted egg crab, chilli pepper crab and butter crab, to which I turned to Lily and asked – ‘Are you sure this will be enough?’

Lili – ‘Yes’ followed by the more acceptable ‘we can always order more’.

Now I’m an expert crab eater – I’m fast, thorough, and choose the best parts first. But sitting next to my Aunty Lily is a whole new crab eating experience – It’s competition.

Not only is Lily fast and thorough like me, but she seems to have what I can only describe as a psychic ability to grab at the same pieces of crab that I want BEFORE I have had a chance to put my thoughts into action. Lily knows intuitively when the lazy susan has brought the crab platters in arm’s length of where she is seated and can instinctively reach for crab claws without even needing to look at what she is aiming for! Lily is able to multi-task better than anyone I’ve ever seen – holding humorous conversation, while still being able to eat politely, and simultaneously keeping her work area meticulously clean of anything edible, while sweeping all inedible waste to one tidy area.

Liyana to Lily while we were still eating –‘Ma, I need to go to the toilet, move your chair so I can get past’

Without skipping a chew or using any extremities, Aunty Lily propels her body and her chair, closer to the dining table in one swift movement, then looks at me while still working away on a crab leg, and threatens in a light tone ‘This is how I roll’

Needless to say, the pressure to perform was intense.

I put my all into being a worthy opponent and managed to tuck away more than 1 whole crab, but my Aunty Lily was the clear crab eating champion.

T, being a good sport – ‘You can have the rest of my coke if you want?’ lifted what I expected to be half a can of coke, only to find that it had already been emptied.

My Aunty Lily looked at me and smiled, cheekily. I should have known..