Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Box O' Pies

An actual conversation between me and my friend, sometimes contributing member, the Krispy Kreme Korrespondent.....

Krispy Kreme Korrespondent (i.e. the alternative KKK): oh i bought you a box of chicken pies

Krispy Kreme Korrespondent: from that pie shop

Sui Mai says: a box of chicken pies??

Sui Mai says: who do you think I am?

Sui Mai says: homer simpson?

Krispy Kreme Korrespondent: yeah but i forgot about your carbs thing

Krispy Kreme Korrespondent: so no worries ill eat them

I am now seriously worried. #1. Did she seriously think I could eat a whole BOX of pies?? #2. Is she now going to eat a whole BOX of pies by herself?

Yeah, about the carb thing... trying to avoid some of it in an effort to maintain a bigger bust to belly ratio. It's a constant battle I tell ya!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

I'm smarter than you

I'm still here, I'm still in Hong Kong!!!

And still eating excessive amounts of food... Unfortunately due to a hiccup with my service provider (*coughpccwcough*), I have been struggling with some odd hours in which I can get online. Anyhow, back now.

Thought I'd start off with a quick Muji post. Muji, much loved by many for their practical, simple designs. Muji, much loved by me for their quirky and odd-ly named and manufactured products such as 100% Peas and Cheese and Cod snacks. I love the fact that I can find Muji in Paris but I bitterly mourn the fact they don't carry snacks.


This time it was an innocuous piece of "black charcoal cake", formally named:
In any case, my Mom is very fond of their Baumkuchen, multi-layered cake. However, peering closely through the packet, I was convinced it was all a con and there wasn't any layers, just a lump of cake. My Mom bet me there were layers.
I was sure I was right. After all, I had my contacts on so had the eyesight of a, um... thirty-something year old. While she, on the other hand, buys mobile phones based on the size of the numbers on the screen. Besides, I was university educated, very..um..well read (comic books, to be sure) and unemployed while she is the manager of two offices, in Hong Kong and in China, raised two seemingly normal children but incredibly gullible, as evidenced by many odd purchases throughout the years, conned by fast talking salespeople.

So, here is the evidence.
I was wrong.
BUT, I said, I bet you can't eat the layers separated!
I hadn't even finished the sentence when my Mom pulled apart the layers, wrapped it around her finger and stuffed it in my mouth.
So, the conclusion is, Mom's always right. No matter how gullible they appear. As evidenced by her immediate purchase of a broken bit of wire the sales lady convinced her was a miracle hair tool.
Oh and the cake? Very nice! Not much sesame flavor, lightly sweetened and wonderful with a cup of tea.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Busy, busy...

*chomp, chomp*

*sluuurp*

*burp*

Sorry, just got back to Hong Kong, am too busy eating to blog.

Off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow!

Hope to check out a few fabulous recs from friends.... to work up your salivary glands for what I'm going to consume, check out the fab blog EatingAsia. Not recommended viewing on an empty stomach....

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

An Ode to Cherries

I love cherries. Fresh cherries that is. And ONLY fresh cherries. Nothing except fresh cherries.



I loathe anything else cherry flavored, maraschino cherries (the only person I know who likes them is my Grandmother), cherries marinated in brandy, anything that has cherry in its name except for fresh cherries. Not that I tasted any. A friend brought over a pineapple and maraschino cherry concoction once for a birthday. To her outrage, I refused to try. Despite the fact that I will willingly put pig's snout, lamb brains and chicken butt, I refused the single vivid red, toxic looking cherry.


Yes, shame on me. I was scarred a long, long time ago by something called "fluoride treatment". Shout out to all those who went to school in the 80's. Cherry flavored fluoride treatment. Trust me, I did all I could not to vomit and the ungrateful dental assistant still had the gall to be angry about all the red spit which decorated the front of her pristine white shift.


In any case, I decided after that that I did not like anything cherry except for fresh, crunchy cherries.


A point of view I admitted to Umami, a lover of all things cherry. Well, not ALL things cherry but lets just say the girl loves her Griottes. Cherry jam, cherries macerated in liquor, the girl has got a thing for them.


"Ewww", I thought sadly, "We don't have the same tastes at all!"


Well, as it turns out (as in most cases), she's right and I'm wrong.


First of all it was Susan, mistress of all things yummy, who encouraged me to try Berthillon's cherry sorbet, which I have since become hooked on.


Then it was Jaden's Persian Sour Cherry Saffron rice, which so freaking delicious I gave myself a bellyache eating the whole thing in two days.


Then it was my beloved dish at Louis Philippe, duck breast with cherries and stewed apples.


So now, when offered a cherry at a food fair, I will no longer turn up my nose and instead, guided by food gurus Susan and Umami, I will be brave, take my stomach with both hands (trust me, it takes both hands to carry that thing), and open my mouth.


As my Dad always used to chant at my picky brother, "Never try, never know"