HAVING lived in Penang for seven years or about a quarter of my life, I still miss the super rich white coffee from my hometown of Ipoh.

I will never forget how disappointed I was when I ordered my first coffee in Penang.

Sorry, Penangites, no offence meant, but the standard coffee in your coffeeshops will not cut it.

Ipoh white coffee is made from beans that are roasted in margarine only.

This gives the roast a considerably lighter hue compared with beans roasted the usual Malaysian way with both sugar and margarine; the sugar caramelises and gives the beans a dark brown hue that is almost black.

Served with condensed and evaporated milk in the right proportions in any Ipoh coffeeshop, it is a rich drink or to borrow a Hokkien expression: gao.

The version offered in Penang coffeeshops is actually made with condensed milk and a little bit of watered-down coffee.

The only coffee in Penang that can pass muster with this Ipoh girl is the one served by Everling Ang at her little pushcart by the corner of Noordin Street and Lorong Ceti in old George Town.

Here is a coffee stall that marches to the beat of its own drum.

I went to interview her to see how her small business of over 40 years had weathered the pandemic and was glad I did because I finally got a powerful dose of coffee in Penang after seven years.

The start of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination this month brings back many fond memories of my student days burning the midnight oil and downing pots of coffee.

Yes, SPM made me a coffee addict. I am grumpy without my daily caffeine fix, even if it is just Penang coffee.

I vividly remember how nervous I was on the first day of SPM.Getting straight As was my sole aim in life then because I saw that as the only way to obtain a scholarship.

However, life doesn’t always go as planned.

I did not obtain straight As and failed to get a scholarship.

What a low point in my life that was. I saw myself as a failure.

If I could go back in time and talk to my younger self, I would tell her that it is normal to lose sight of our supposed life’s purpose.

I would say stop being so harsh on yourself because it is okay to make mistakes and failure makes one stronger.

I would tell her not to be too hung up about getting As.

I would hug her and tell her a broken heart is just a phase.

I would tell her that her body image would change.

I would tell her life would go on and there would always be Form Six and she would eventually get a scholarship from Star Education Fund and become a journalist.

Realising that I would not excel in the sciences, I decided to pursue a degree in mass communication.

And from there, this Ipoh girl landed on Penang island to study at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Come to think of it, I had always thought I would end up as a lawyer or teacher.

Never in my teenage daydreams did I visualise becoming a journalist, a job which has exposed me to people from all walks of life.

I am thankful for the opportunities that came my way and the people who generously told me their life stories.

As long as I can find good coffee, I can take life one day at a time.

-Source from The Star Online