Chapitre 6: CH6: Not a glutton
"I am not a glutton. I am an explorer of food."
- Emma Bombeck
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It was a typical day at the Kang Company, where people were busy at work inside their cubicle. They were trying to get emails done and finish off reports before the work day ends.
It was just after lunch, when Delilah finished off her last report to be given to Howard, before tackling other tasks.
Delilah immediately saved another copy of the report, before sending it to the printer to be printed. However, before she could get up from her seat, someone blocked her path.
"Here!"
Delilah looked up to see Firah holding up a bag filled with snacks. She then looked at the bag with a puzzled look on her face and asked, "What's this?"
Firah placed the bag on Delilah's table and said, "Ahhh... just some leftover snacks that I had at home. I forgot to give it to you."
Delilah frowned. "What's the occasion?" she asked suspiciously.
Firah shrugged as she sat down on her seat, turning away from Delilah. She then started on her work that she had left behind before going off for lunch. "I'd figured you would want something to munch on while working."
Before Delilah could say a word, someone piped in from behind and said, "Ha! You're such a glutton, Delilah. I'm not surprised if your clothes doesn't fit you anymore."
Both Delilah and Firah turned around to see who was making the rude comment, and found Travis standing before them, smirking.
Travis was a tall, lanky guy with glasses. He had chin-length hair parted in the middle, beady brown eyes and long thin lips. He always had a smirk on his face, similar to the Joker's smile, which sometimes creeped Delilah out.
Travis and Delilah were not in each other's good books. It all started when they first joined the company together a couple of years ago. Both of them had just graduated from the same university, but with different majors. Delilah majored in Human Resource Management, whereas Travis majored in Professional Communication. So, when they first joined the company, they were already in a competition with each other. Even though, Delilah did not know that since she couldn't be bothered. But Travis was a competitive person. Even if they were in different department right now, he would look for Delilah's faults. This was all because Delilah had taken the title of Best New Employee of the Year - twice in a row. After the third year, they couldn't be considered as a new employee, which made Travis frustrated.
Delilah never thought of reporting him, because she always see him as a harmless little bug. Yes, a bug. Something you can just swat and walk away, without looking back. Because he was all bark and no bite. So, all Delilah needed to do was to his words sweep past her, without bothering to listen at all. Travis knew that Delilah would never cared about him. She was always in a daze whenever he hurled jibe at her, but it just made him more irritated.
Even now, she was making him feel irritated, as she just turned back around in her seat after he insulted her.
Firah frowned at him, displeasure on her face. "What are you doing here, Travis? This isn't your floor to roam around."
The floor for the Marketing department was on the third floor, which was where his department was.
Travis sniffed disdainfully. "Well, I have a meeting with your supervisor," he said smugly. Then he put on a feigned shocked face, his hand on his chest as he looked down at Delilah. "Ehhhhh... Don't tell me you didn't know??" he asked sarcastically.
Delilah ignored him as she tore open one of the snacks and ate them.
Travis frowned when he saw Delilah looked uninterested.
Firah poked him on the hip with her long ruler. "Eh, eh! So, what's the meeting about? Hmm?"
Travis swatted her hand away and glared. "Stop that!"
Firah avoided his hand and continue poking. "So, what is it? Hmm?"
Travis rolled his eyes. "I was tasked as one of the members to join in the Robotic exhibit in Malacauchia. I will head the group into the exhibit, showcasing our products," he said smugly, puffing out his chest.
Firah rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "I see..."
Delilah abruptly stood up from her seat and walked over to the printer area.
Firah and Travis looked over at her as Travis smirked, thinking, 'Hmph! Can't stand to listen to more of my success, eh?'
Delilah was looking over the papers that she had just printed. She was still standing in front of the printer when Travis stood beside her. He peeked over her shoulder and asked, "What's that?"
Delilah looked up at him and instead answered, "Alright, let's go."
Travis looked confused as he watched her walk away, before chasing after her. "What do you mean, lets go?"
Delilah just kept quiet, as she led the way to the meeting room where Howard and the others were waiting.
Travis still looked confused when he walked inside and sat at one of the chairs.
Inside the meeting room, Howard was sitting on the right side of the table, together with some of Delilah's other supervisors and senior colleagues. On the left side, Travis sat together with his supervisor and colleagues, who were from the Marketing department. At the head of the table, sat Matt, with his fingers intertwined together on the table, waiting for Delilah to pass the report to Howard.
Delilah quietly handed the report to Howard, with her head slightly bowed in respect. Howard thanked her with a nod and smile.
Matt gave Delilah a small smile and said, "Thank you, Delilah, for the great job you've done these days."
Delilah gave another head bow to Matt and said softly, "You're welcome, Matt. I'll be taking my leave now."
She quietly leave the room, closing the door softly behind her.
The meeting lasted for a couple of hours.
Apparently, the teams of Human Resource and Marketing Departments were gathered that afternoon by Matt to discuss on their next project. They will be exhibiting their products and services at Malacauchia.
Travis will be one of the people to join the trip to Malacauchia but was actually assigned to be the assistant of his supervisor. Seems like someone exaggerated to make someone jealous. But failed.
The report that Delilah had passed to Howard was the complete list of itinerary for the whole trip, made solely by herself. She had even included suggestions of restaurants to dine in and for those who would like to buy snacks too. Other than that, she helpfully put the price range for all the restaurants listed in the report, together with the types and reviews. The report was useful, especially for those who would like to visit these places during their free time. They do not have to search and research about the places online.
When Travis heard the compliments given by Matt at one point during their meeting, his eyes blazed with jealousy as he swallowed his biting retorts.
During the time that meeting has ended, Delilah was in the pantry room for a little break from work. It was a small room, designed in 'L' shape, where there are a couple of chairs, a long counter and a table inside. There was also a coffee maker inside the room.
Delilah pulled out a packet of 'onde-onde' out of her lunch bag and sat down.
'Onde-onde' was one of the traditional kueh made from sweet potato or glutinous rice flour, soaked with pandan juice and filled with 'gula melaka' or palm sugar. It was then rolled around the grated coconut. It was a marble-sized snack with a soft texture.
Delilah took one piece and popped it into her mouth. As she bit into the kueh, it exploded inside her mouth with lava of sweetness. The sweet flow of the 'gula melaka' felt like a sugary heaven as it pricked her taste buds alive. The soft and chewy dough of the onde-onde gave out a rich and organic flavour, enhancing the taste of the pandan juices. With the grated coconut mixed with the sweet and chewy texture of the onde-onde, it balance the flavours of it all.
Delilah closed her eyes in pure bliss as she ate her onde-onde. "DEE-licious!" she exclaimed.
She was still in her own world when Matt and Howard were passing by the pantry room. Matt smiled, as he saw the expression on her face as she enjoyed her food.
"She really does enjoy her food, huh?" Matt mused.
Howard chuckled. "Yes, she does. But don't call her a glutton. She finds that a wee bit offensive. She likes to see herself as an explorer of food, instead."
Matt laughed out loud as they walked out of the office.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
TheTalkingCupcake
TheTalkingCupcake Malacauchia is just a made-up name I randomly come up with. Sorry. I'm bad with giving names.
Have you all tasted onde-onde? I have to admit that it is one of my favourite traditional kuehs. Some said it's easy to make but unfortunately, I haven't got the chance to make one.
However, if you want to give it a go, here's one with some good steps to making it:
https://rasamalaysia.com/onde-onde-ondeh-ondeh/
Please comment on what's your take on onde-onde if you've tried it before.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone