Yesterday, after I've taken out the cleaned laundry from the washing machine, I can still hear noisy clonking against the metal wheel. I looked in and found two brown seeds.
They looked like chestnuts. I wonder if they are edible.
In many parts of Asia, including Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and China, one can find street vendors roasting large cauldrons of chestnuts. The smell of warm chestnuts swimming in, apparently, coal pebbles is heavenly. The coal may explain why my fingers turn brown as I peel open the shell to get at the sweet fruit inside. During my time in Beijing, the warmth of the chestnut in late autumn was very comforting.
I left the two chestnuts on the washing machine and Jules spotted them as he was taking his shower.
Mummy, those are mine, he laid his claim.
What are they? I asked.
They are conkers, he replied.
Ah, yes. My "Westernised" son knows these things as conkers. He explained they are the seeds of horse chestnuts.
I'm not sure what he does with them but I found another one in his pocket today.
That's my conker, he said as he added it to his stash.
Meanwhile, his old man is thinking: kao lat.
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