THE SIMPLE LIFE

Dinner yesterday was marvelous. But it was also breakfast and lunch, because I had been too busy to go find food till long past five o'clock. Bitter melon and sliced roast duck simmered with thin noodles: 凉瓜燒鴨絲炆米 ('leung gwa siu ngaap si man mai'). Good eating!
I attacked it with hotsauce, and schrokked it down.
Perhaps I should have eaten far sooner.

The milk-tea was a lovely afterthought.

I did not used to be so casual about food. Both while growing up at home, and during my long affair with Savage Kitten, food was something to which I anxiously looked forward. Social events that involve food inevitably induce an appetite. Shared food is sacramental.

Singular food is far less so.



All the other tables had pluralities of people. It wasn't until I was nearly finished that an elderly woman came in and sat to eat alone by herself.
I could not see what she ordered, but she lifted the rice to her mouth with what seemed like a lack of any great enthusiasm.


Perhaps she should try distracting herself from food earlier in the day. Trust me, that works wonders on building an appetite. The time it took for the kitchen to huts together my bitter melon and duck with noodles seemed like an eternity, the world instantly and miraculously became bright and cheerful again once it arrived, all hot and fragrant.
I almost snatched the plate out of the waitresses hands.
An energetic squeeze of hot sauce, and voilà.
Don't bother me, I'm eating.



AND MILK TEA, OF COURSE

[Per Wikipedia, 嘁香港嘅淡奶牌子有唔少選擇，包括三花牌、子母牌、黑白牌、百佳牌等，而「三花淡奶」又簡稱花奶，係部分香港人對淡奶嘅含糊稱呼。而三花牌係雀巢公司出品。]


One nice thing about that particular chachanteng (糖潮港式茶餐廳) is that they understand the need for saucers underneath teacups. Hong Kong milk-tea (港式奶茶) tastes so much better properly served.
Not everybody grasps the importance of the saucer.

Where do you put your spoon after stirring to dissolve the evaporada (淡奶 'taam naai'), if there is no saucer (小碟 'siu dip')?

杯之下一個茶杯碟, 眞係非常最重要嘅！

It's a serious issue.




==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================