A sleepless night leads Nicole Pingon to an unexpected conversation, and a dive into her sonic memory and imagination.
For this edition of Notes, participants in our Signal Boost programme have created audio stories around the theme 'Order'.
You can find a full transcript below.
Transcript
[Backyard crickets and suburban sounds are heard in the distance.]
[A rustle of bedsheets, a large window slides open. The outside sounds can be heard more clearly, followed by a breath.]
[A single cricket sings out a short phrase.]
[The single cricket sings out again.]
[Rustle of bedsheets]
Hello?
[The Cricket sings. A gentle laugh erupts.]
Hi…!
[A lone cello string is plucked, and rings out.]
[The Cricket sings]
[The cello begins playing a short melodic phrase – feels unresolved, as if it’s asking a question.]
Why are you still awake?
[The cello plays a downward spiral of plucked notes – as if in response.]
[The Cricket sings.]
[The cello continues its melody – upwards.]
Oh of course … you’re nocturnal.
[The cello continues it’s melody – downwards.]
Well … I can’t sleep, because I can’t stop thinking about yum cha.
[The cello melody – noodles up, and then down.]
[The Cricket sings.]
[The cello moves upwards, then falls on an unresolved note.]
I mean, of course yum cha’s about eating delicious food.
[A gentle percussive instrument – both woody and metallic in sound – plays a short phrase.]
Like xiājiǎo (虾饺 / prawn dumplings), shāomài (烧卖 / dim sim), fèngzhǎo (凤爪 / chicken feet), nuòmǐjī (糯米鸡 / sticky rice chicken) … but it's also about the rituals around it.
[The Cricket sings.]
[The percussive instrument twangs, and rings out.]
Well … Yum cha was pretty much a weekly occurrence for my family.
[The percussive instrument plays a repeated staccato phrase.]
We used to go on Sundays, after the lunch time rush, and hang around til’ close.
[The cello begins to dance – meandering with the words.]
I would always order mángguǒbùdīng (芒果布丁 / mango pudding), and ask for an extra drizzle of condensed milk.
[The cello continues to dance – upwards, then down.]
And, I was never allowed to order rainbow jelly, so when I was instead given a bowl of dòufuhuā (豆腐花 / tofu pudding), I would completely overload it with sugar water, just to annoy my Mum.
[The Cricket sings.]
Hmmm …
[The cello continues to dance – upwards.]
My Dad would bring a pocket radio and listen to the races, and since it was already noisy inside, was bothered by it.
[The Cricket sings.]
[The cello concludes its dance. The percussive instrument gently takes its place, playing a slow melody, and each note rings out.]
Yum cha is a place where I expected to hear a bunch of dialects outside of the Mandarin I spoke to Mum.
It’s where I’ve picked up tiny bits of Cantonese, and heaps yum cha etiquette.
[The percussive instrument ends on two staccato notes, followed by a ripple of sound – like grain slipping through metal, or rain falling.]
[The Cricket sings.]
[The percussive instrument plays a melody – gentle and metallic – and rings out.]
Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve thought about that …
[The percussive instrument plays another melody that swells underneath the words.]
[The Cricket sings.]
Oh I wish … but we can't go to yum cha right now …
It’s the middle of the night.
[The Cricket sings.]
[The percussive instrument plays a pair of notes.]
Hmmm … alright then …
[A gentle cough – as if preparing for a speech.]
When I think about yum cha…
[The cello strings swirl in a pattern up, down and around.]
I hear the bustle and buzz of conversations,
I hear the clink of plastic chopsticks, as they stab through har gow,
[Voices join and sing ‘clink’, a low string note plays – punctuating ‘stab’, a mouth joins with ‘sssssss’, and a breath. A chorus of mouths begin to mimic open mouth chewing.]
I hear open mouth chewing, and satisfied grunts as stomachs stretch.
[A low string note bowed – mimicking a grunt, and strummed strings ring out. A chorus of multiple voices sigh. A laugh is heard.]
I hear the plonk of chángfěn (肠粉 / sticky rice noodle) falling into bowls of sweet soy, and cups of jasmine tea knocked over the stamp card.
[A low string is plucked mimicking ‘plonk’, followed by an upward melody. A metallic sound rings. The cello plays a short melody, followed by staccato notes.]
If the table cloth isn’t stained with tea and sauce… did you even go to yum cha?
[The cello resolves the melody.]
[A moment of hearing sounds in the distance. The Cricket sings.]
Who’s to say Crickets can’t go to yum cha, hey.
[The Cricket sings.]
So … where to next?
[The sounds of backyard crickets and a dog barking are heard in the distance. The Cricket sings.]