Tuesday night was rather special. At about seven,I dressed up smarter than usual, put on a pair of 老人鞋 old man's shoe which I bought in Kunming, China and made off to town. Normally, I would dress simply, have early dinner and turn into a couch potato but that night, I was invited to join my Muslim colleagues for dinner. It was the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. My colleagues who had been fasting had gathered to break fast together. The dinner was supposed to be at three quarter past seven but I was already at the appointed place at half past seven. The hosts were still gathered at the hall, praying; and I took time to survey the food that had been laid out. Besides nasi biryani as the main course, there were roti jala, little murtabak and my favourite spicy noodle soup, assam laksa. Nasi biryani is a mixed rice dish originating from India; murtabak, a stuffed pancake usually found in Indian muslims restaurants probably has the same origin and roti jala or lace pancake is a traditional Malay dish eaten with curry. A Malay boy had asked me to try fasting and I wondered later if Buddhists do fast. I know that monks don't eat after noon and neither do lay people who undertake the aṣṭāṇga-śīla that is the eight precepts. That's fasting too, I suppose.
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