I like to eat. Love to cook, and dabble in a multitude of cuisines. Some experiments don't turn out all that great. On the whole, however, people like what I cook and love what I bake.
Some tastes don't turn out all that great, either. Jackfruit really is a "heaty" fruit, as Indonesians call it. Swallow a bit (tastes fine) and feel your face redden to flames. Whoa! Singapore Fish Head Curry is pretty good, once you get past those eyes staring at you and that gaping maw (turn the bowl so you don't see it, and pick out the fishmeat).
Finally managed to close my eyes and taste Indonesia's great delicacy - ikan bilis. Bleeagh! on that one! Itty-bitty dried fish, eyes or no, are yucky. But in only one place (so far) could I find nothing I was willing and able to eat: Pitsanuloke, Thailand. Just too ferociously fiery. Besides, some of that stuff was really globby-looking.
Benuaq Dayaks, while at their longhouse up the Mahakam River in Kalimantan (Borneo), served sticky rice cakes wrapped in pandanus leaves with a scary-looking brown sauce. Turned out to be fresh coconut with spices, like cinnamon. Totally delicious! And so most food most places turns out to range from pretty good to superb. At the very least, strange results are edible-without-gagging.
Finally got around to reading A Cook's Tour, one of professional chef Anthony Bourdain's oldie-but-goodies, while recuperating. Travel Channel's host presents lots of good times, good food and good fun with interesting people. Great travel story. But will I sample some of the things he has eaten?
Bourdain just plain has to be crazy. I draw lots of lines he never will. One of those has to be drinking cobra bile and eating cobra. No thanks, terima kasih, nyet! Some of these things are hard to bear reading about. Taste? Never!
Yes, Bourdain is such a wild and crazy guy he must be a bit deranged. But that's what makes him a jolly good read.
May your road rise to meet you - with scrumptious food (and a good book)!
Ann
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