One thing about me is that I am incapable of consuming spicy food. Not sure if it is an actual medical condition but my body reacts quite strongly, no matter the how mild the spiciness might be, by producing crazy amount of perspiration.
The unpleasantness and embrassesment of sweating profusely make me stay away from any food with even the slightest amount of capsaicin.

Apparently, this is something that I, as a Singaporean, should be ashamed of. Friends and family often tease me how is it possible that I live in Singapore and I cannot take my spices. If you have no idea how are those two things related, I am equally clueless.

This afternoon, I have ordered my usual “Pad See Ew Gai” from the usual Thai food stall for lunch. What is unusual today, is that the friendly stall attendant took it upon herself to scatter a generous amount of chilli flakes and peanuts on my meal.

While I have no problem with the crushed peanuts adding another dimension of flavour to my pan-fried flat rice noodles, the chilli flakes gave me a really hard time. I could not wipe my perspiration fast enough to keep it from dripping off my face as I painfully consume my fiery lunch.

At the end of my meal, I was left with an annoying feeling of dissatisfasction and a mountain of tissue paper.

I must remember to explicitly declare my food to be non-spicy regardless of what I am ordering.