BUANASENI

The Best Soya Bean Drink in the World

SOYA bean drink is one of my favourite drinks. I have tried all sorts of soya bean drink from Drinkho, Yeo’s, local brands to the Soya Cincau you can get from the Mamaks. In 2015, I encountered the best soya bean drink I have ever tasted. It was home-made ground from the beans.

I was the Chief Executive Officer of MyCreative Ventures in 2015. Whilst my periodic reports go to the desk officers for Minister of Finance (Incorporated) Division at the Ministry of Finance, once a year I would brief the minister himself on what has been achieved for the past year and what next to do for the coming year. The Minister of Finance was Dato’ Sri Najib Razak.

He (Najib) was a busy man. I couldn’t get any meeting slots during the normal office hours. I was advised to go to his personal home at Bukit Tunku. So, there I was sitting on a big Italian sofa at a mini lounge just outside the meeting room. I took the opportunity to go through the reports on my laptop. After all, this was not a mere minister. It was the Prime Minister.

As I waited, various people passed-by in front of me, ushered by Najib’s Special Officer, into the meeting room. I guess these people have more important agendas than my two hundred million Ringgit investment portfolio for the Malaysian Creative Industry. There were Ministers including the ones that I remember, namely Dato’ Sri Salleh Keruak and Dato’ Azalina. There were Penghulus of Kampungs from Pahang. One of them wanted to request for funds to build a bridge in his Kampung. There were random people whom I don’t recognize but it was certainly a good mix of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Then a figure whom I feared most walked pass by. She looked at me. Well, she stared at me, and asked, “Ha! Ni kenapa ni tunggu dari tadi lagi ni?”

I gulped my saliva and replied, “Errr,… tunggu Dato’ Sri. I am from MyCreative Ventures.”

“Lahhhh! Kesian lama tunggu ye.” Then she yelled out to her maid, “Hoi! Ni ha, bawakan air soya bean satu.” She smiled at me for the first time and went off into the meeting room. I wasn’t sure why, but perhaps she may have some ideas on how to design the bridge in that Kampung in Pahang.

“Thank you Datin Sri,” I responded politely. Five minutes later, the man-maid came with a tall glass of soya bean drink. It looked cold and adequately served with ice. I smiled and said, “Thank you, Bro.” I picked up the glass and paused momentarily. Then in my heart I prayed, “Ya! Allah, protect me from whatever nonsense. Bismillahi-Rahman-nir-Rahim.” I took the gulp. It was not just a gulp. It was The Gulp. It was The Gulp of a Soya Bean Drink. It was the Best Soya Bean Drink in the World that I have ever tasted.