Shanghai Savouries

In the evenings when I manage to get away from work early enough ( and there are no traffic jams ), I usually drop by this particular stall near my place for tea. Since traffic jams seem synonymous with Asian megacities, that doesn't happen all that often. Run by three mainland Chinese guys ( who are ever so eager to help despite stammering through the little bits of English that they know ), the innocuous little stall sells Shanghai Buns.


Get your shirt on, bro. We have customers waiting!
Not because I think the guys are cute. Trust me, I'm not that superficial! Though I'll admit that out of the three, two are pretty much joe average while the last brother could easily pass off as a clean-cut Korean heartthrob. Certainly wouldn't mind getting a taste of his Shanghai savoury anytime.

But that's not the reason I drop by for his buns.

Simple enough reason actually. Apart from serving cheap and delicious pastries, I've always sympathized with the boys - or more likely those who travel far and wide in search of that elusive fortune. I always imagine my grandfather almost a century back waiting in line for his passage to the relatively savage South East Asia, a naive thirteen year old no doubt imagining a wild uncivilized frontier full of unknown monsters. What sheer desperation must have driven that young boy to board that rickety old junk to sail for Malaya as it was known then.

So I always take the side of the immigrants. Ever since the descendants of Adam and Eve first packed up their bags ( full of fresh fig leaves no doubt ) to emigrate from their home in search of greener pastures, there has been growing distrust of the newly arrived. We associate them with disease, strife and social intrigues. Just the slightest whiff of a crime about town and the prejudiced townsfolk would be instantly up in arms to denounce the unsuspecting immigrants.

After all, they're the easiest to point the blame at. Fresh off the boat without friends or family, helpless and vulnerable, these immigrants frequently bear the brunt of our prejudices.