SOUTHERN WATERS FRAGRANCE

One of the least ennobling experiences is listening to a kvetchy old lady of Fujianese ancestry vociferating about her landlords, the evil creatures who should have known better why she'd lived there how many years?!? Fortunately it didn't last long, she gave up on the bus and decided to walk the two blocks. Shortly afterwards the bus came.
At the restaurant where I had lunch, a table full of yuppie Mandarin speakers could! Not! Believe! that there was tax (稅) on their bill. It was outrageous! They left no tip.
I don't complain about 稅 ('seui'). I am not a foreigner here.
Nor do I suffer from ugly Asian syndrome.

That is something for the Mandarin speakers. Mainland or Taiwan, or gorhelpus Malaysian or Filippino Chinese. I suspect that Hong Kong people inform themselves of local customs and mores before they come. The waitress there works hard. And understands my Cantonese.


But let us not speak ill of the Mainlanders (陸客 'lok haak').
This isn't Hong Kong, they aren't a plague here.
Just, occasionally, irritating.



Southern Waters (南水 'naam seui') is a toponym of some place probably in or near the Pearl River Delta (珠江三角洲 'jyu gong saam gok jau') in Guangdong Province (廣東省 'gwong dung saang') in southern China. At least that would be my guess.

The pears from Southern Waters (南水梨 'naam seui lei') are totally delicious. Which I knew intellectually before I tasted one. The pair of pears was packed in wadding inside a clear plastic box, and cost me more than the rest of my purchases at that vegetable shop by a huge margin, and considering that the customers there are by no means well-heeled mainlanders, nor rich capitalist roaders (走資派 'jau ji paai', 走資本主義道路的當權派 'jau ji pun jyu yi dou lou dik dong kuen paai'), for that price, they damned well better be worth it.

CHINESE PEAR

They are. Not particularly sweet, but crisp and extremely juicy, with a lovely perfume. A very decadent pleasure. One of them was my evening snack while plonking away on my computer. Asian pears (pyrus pyrifolia) keep well in cool or cold circumstances, much like my apartment at this time of year. Because they bruise easily care must be taken in packing them and transporting them, which drives up their cost. They are not like European pears.
Also, they're as big as a baby's head.

And I now know that a strong cup of milk tea after eating them is perfect.
I was wide awake till nearly midnight. Quite buzzing.


南水香。



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