In the Pop Flat, where I stay during the week, The Child has partly grasped the idea that travelling can make time go backwards. When she went to bed tonight she showed me her Christmas stocking. I felt it only right to say that I didn’t think Santa would be along any time soon
Well I’m putting it up just in case.
I am not working this week and my body is confused. I’ve lost my routine and I’m not sure what I eat when I don’t have to cook. I wandered into a shop and got stuck in the tinned section, mesmerised by stuff that should never be put in cans, things like pasta and sausages. But they tasted so good when I was a child - I bought a can of macaroni cheese.
Later I was in an area with a lot of Asian restaurants, I decided that this would be a good idea for supper, I chose the gaudiest looking place on the street, the others looked a little too smart or too hip for my mood. I should’ve walked straight back out when the smell of incense knocked me sideways, but I am British and we soldier on. It turned out that the best thing in the restaurant was the little patch of bright green turf placed under the glass in the table, I did also enjoy reading the menu which was separated into sections;
Meat
Chicken
Fish
Vegetables
Frog & Eel
Noodles
Rice...
Just as the restaurant was filling up, three men in dirty overalls walked in and went upstairs, soon the sound of intense drilling from above obliterated the harp muzak and made our tables vibrate.
Posts
oh jeez, incense in a foody kitchen space, how terrible, nothing turns me off food as fast as that...
ReplyDeleteyour life between London and Bristol sounds...interesting. Im not sure ive really understood how that works, maybe I should go back and trawl thru the archives...
but personally i think any menu that openly lists Frog and Eel as subsections should be applauded...maybe ive been in france too long...
One of the best Asian meals I ever had was at House of Nanking in San Francisco. It was a dump. Eggs and milk were sitting out on the counter. Raw chicken was sitting unattended. We tried it anyway. We let the waiter order for us based on our choices of shrimp and meat. It was awesome!
ReplyDeleteNice bit of turf.
ReplyDeleteWe do soldier on, don't we, it's silly really? Though I think incense might have put me off.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have no one to cook for I tend to live on cheese because I find cooking for just myself a bit odd. Luckily I've never had no one to cook for for longer than a week.
I snorted when I read 'frog and eels'.
So - did you have the frog or the eel? Now that you obey the word of the Lord - maybe you could convert and cook over here!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the turf was an item from their High Fiber menu?
ReplyDelete[brightens at the mention of Miss Whiplash]
@wow that was awkward...house of nanking is still FANTASTIC, just cleaned up a bit now!
ReplyDeletei know the disjointed feeling when the schedule is off! 15 days until the MITM arrives! xoxoxxox
I came home late from work and C asked me, "What's for supper? I have to go out soon." Perhaps you could channel some food-preparation waves her way as well.
ReplyDeleteI also hate the smell of incense- and of frog and eel (or I would if I knew what they smelt (I never know if it is 'smelled') like.
ReplyDeleteWas it hard returning to the homestead only to have to leave it again so soon? Or was it a slight relief to get away back into your own space again?
As for tinned food - I occasionally have either baked beans or spaghetti hoops on toast for a light supper. I think it is delicious.
What a weird place. Maybe "Frog and Eel" is Cockney rhyming slang for, errr, "veal"?
ReplyDeleteI'll have frogs legs in chili and garlic please
ReplyDeleteScreamish - I also can't bear perfumed restaurants and dining rooms.
ReplyDeleteThe house in Bristol is so full of people I need to get away from it now and again, and I get more (and better paid) work in London
Wow and Sav - sounds like we need to head straight out to SF
Sync - Nice bit of turf.
Made me feel quite bucolic!
Eryl - cheese is usually my default meal - or avocado
ReplyDeleteAnge - I had eel - and the Lord smote me for it!!
xl - Miss Whiplash will be around again soon - because I'll be back working with her again next month!
Sav - 15 loooong days - hey it's only 14 now - Hurrah!
red- I am advertising my services as a remote food-preparation device - will send waves.
Um I think it's 3am are you hungry now?
French I love returning to the homestead because I get to leave it again - I do need my own space.
Gadjo - It urns out not I definitely had eeel.
Nursey - sending the frogs right over!
sweetie dahling *she said in her best ab-fab patsy voice* didn't you post a recipe for a really light tempura style batter? if so, please do give it to me again! *stop snickering boys* xoxoxoxo
ReplyDelete(he's on his way to dubai now with a list to fill at the spice market!)
Did you take the photo? I have dozens and dozens of photos of places we have eaten. I should do a montage sometime.
ReplyDeleteSav - not me sweetie - sorry
ReplyDeleteBut would love a good tempura batter recipe - let me know ehn you track it down
xx
Mr Jelly - I did take that photo - now I have an iphone and filters there's no stopping me!
great recipe and the batter is here in the comments. xoxox
ReplyDeleteTa Sweetie - I've earmarked it, er dogeared it - it's marked.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna be in SF in two weeks and will have to see the cleaned up version of the House of Nanking!
ReplyDeletePerhaps your mistake was in not having the Frog & Eel combo?
ReplyDeleteIn Bradford I've found that if it looks like somebody's disused cellar, it is somebody's disused cellar and the food's superb. It doesn't quite work that way in Manchester. I shudder to think how it works in London!
"I am British and we soldier on..."
ReplyDeleteHa!
Well it can be cringe-worthily embarassing to walk out of a place when you've just popped in...
Admit, though, would be tempted to liberate the grass from it's glass prison and wear it out as a hat.
Sorry about the eels. Ugh.
Wow - OK I'll get my ticket - see you there
ReplyDeleteKevin - You can never tell, I'm instinctively drawn to someone's disused cellar.
Mrs Cow - That's exactly what I wanted to do with the piece of grass
I am kind of relieved that you bought a tin of that disgusting stuff. It' will make me feel better next time I am going off the rails.
ReplyDeletePS: Frog and eel? Isn't that perfect Anglo-French fusion cuisine?