Favourite Sounds

Yesterday evening as I was walking home, I passed a local pub/izakaya where the front door was open.

I could hear sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen, and it was at that point that I realised that nothing is quite as calming and smile-inducing as the sound of a wok chan (wok stir fry spatula) hitting a wok.

The distinctive, brief but audible echoing ting brings back a flood of memories, from my grandma cooking something fatty and delicious at the back of our old house, to my mum whipping up mee goreng to order.. Or of the myriad of food stalls that line most streets in Malaysia and Singapore, with each stall owner creating their own aromatic masterpieces.

I never really thought about the sound until yesterday evening. I wonder if it's coincidence that my thoughts occured a day before my grandma's birthday..