BREAKFAST OF KINGS

The dream from which I woke involved double mushroom chicken (雙菇雞 'seung gu gai') and a side of plain cooked bokchoi with rice, chopsticked at a crowded market with lots of bustling people. May have been in Chinatown, but I think more likely in Hong Kong, in the New Territories. It was very good. The word 'umame' came to mind as I was waking up, which is a word I rarely use. A very hipster word. This was much too good for hipsters.
And also I take that characteristic very much for granted.

Also, there were no hipsters present.

I had hiked over the hill to get there, I was peckish, and the open-fronted eatery had seemed inviting. There was no sambal or Sriracha, but never mind.


Here's the thing: I distinctly remembered undergrowth, rocks, and shrubbery on the hill.

One thing which struck me while I was eating was that there was no evidence whatsoever of a place nearby vending boba drinkies, which rather indicated a middle class middle and aged environment, catering to regular people instead of a younger crowd, so obviously nothing Hello Kitty related either, except for the occasional utalitarian garment like an appron or baggy shirt for food-shopping in.

It gets light earlier now, and it's not as cold when I step out for a smoke after my first coffee in the morning. There are birds tweeting. Very Spring-like. The weather has finally improved. People go to sleep later in the evening, and wake up in doorways and under overhanging architectural features earlier because of the walking dogs and early passers-by.

There was an Amazon delivery guy down the block. At barely past five A.M.

I would hate to wake up a that hour on a Sunday for a package.

All I need is quiet, coffee, fresh air, and a pipeful.
Maybe some double mushroom chicken.
Champion dawn.



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