Running errands isn’t so bad actually, for me at least. Most of the time, my set of ‘errands’ include paying bills, a trip to the bank and maybe drop a package at a courier office. All these tasks can be done in a town that’s conveniently 10 minutes drive from home, a place I call Cheras Town.

Well, actually it’s called Taman Segar, and it’s where Cheras Leisure Mall is located - but I prefer the sound of Cheras Town, gives it a ‘quaint little town feeling’, because that’s what the place really is like.

As always, today, I parked my car at an open area shaded by trees, and made my way to my first stop, the Celcom Service Centre. It was a pretty hot day. Fortunately, with cool winds regularly blowing in and my path covered in the shade of tall, leafy trees, the walk wasn’t really all that unpleasant.

I paced my steps lightly while I listen to Maaya Sakamoto’s songs funneled into my ears, sending a flock of pigeons scampering away as I trod along in ignorant bliss. I was about to turn into a corner when my nose caught the sweet scent of ghee. Almost by instinct, my body turned on its heels, and before I knew it I stood before a couple selling fresh, crispy apam balik.

In case you’re not from these parts of the world, apam balik is a traditional Malay snack, made with batter smeared thinly onto a hot plate. As it cooks, it is sprinkled lightly with sugar, generously coated with ground peanuts and a dollop of creamy sweetcorn before it is folded in two and served warm and crispy. For 60 cents, I walked away with a happy snack in my hands and carried on.

After that, it was off to the bank but not before I make another pit stop. This time, a small crowd caught my attention. They were all gathered around a stall that sold a grand variety of fritters: Goreng pisang, goreng keledek, goreng sukun, goreng cempedak, goreng ubi kayu, cekodok and even cucur udang!

Most of the sweet fritters were all made using the same batter mix. At first glance, the items look no different from anything other stalls would sell. But this pakcik is smart - he took a large pisang tanduk, have his wife them it up into little bite sized cubes, dipped them in batter, fried them and served them fresh inside a basket with a sign that says “Jom Rasa Tepung Special!” [Try This Special Batter.]

And so I realised that the crowd gathered to sample this Tepung Special, and I grabbed a bite for myself. The batter was surprisingly light, crispy and it was barely oily, despite being deep fried in a large wok. I then remembered what an aunt told about this kind of batter, and unlike conventional goreng pisang batter, batter like this one often included baking soda in the mix! Which kind of made sense because the soda would create air bubbles and made the batter lighter and crispier when fried.

Unable to resist the temptation, I waited in queue and paid RM2.00 for a bag of cempedak goreng. It was a delicious walk all the way to the bank. After settling my business, I headed toward a couple of shops to buy some little things. Armed with a bag of crumbs, I scattered some of it near a bunch of pigeons and that drew more of them to the spot.

As I sat down and watched the pigeons merrily feeding themselves, I caught sight of a white truck with chinese wordings on top. I had no idea what it said, but judging from a large tin barrel and several containers of milky white drinks, I instantly knew that truck belonged to a soya bean vendor, and in that large barrel is a delicious soft, sweet beancurd dish called tau foo fah.

I got myself a large serving with brown syrup for RM 1.80 and enjoyed it on a large wooden stool under an even larger shady tree as I watched pigeons scampering away, again terrified by blissful passerby. The clouds were gathering and the day began to cool down. Rain would probably come later, I thought.

It was almost 4 PM and after a nice day out at the town, I figured that I should head back home, chill out and continue with my assignments when the night rolls in.