By Quinn Wharton member of the corps de ballet of San Francisco Ballet. September 27, 2009
I may not know what everything is, but it looks amazing!
I have learned on this trip that food is not just about eating, but also about comfort and familiarity. We become very accustomed as a culture to eating specific things, so the act of eating those things becomes like a ritual, not just a simple act of refueling. I have found that abroad, when I’m faced with a number of dishes I don’t recognize, my body loses half of the eating experience. No matter how good the food is, it can’t completely satisfy me because my body is craving comfort, as well as nourishment.
A pork bun.
I figured this out by eating with two of our resident Asians and culinary adventurers, Frances Chung and Ashley Muangmaithong. I have visited numerous Chinese restaurants on this trip and have had varying degrees of success. Inevitably when it’s me and a table full of Caucasian people, we order things we are comfortable with: a bunch of noodles with veggies, some form of fried rice, some dumplings. It always ends up being something we enjoy, even if the wait staff speaks no English and the menus are completely indecipherable. This is because we order things that comfort us.
Fried taro cakes. Something I probably wouldn't have ordered if Frances or Ashley hadn't suggested it.
Eating with Ashley and Frances is another matter. They both have been raised in different cultures: Frances in a Hong Kong Chinese-Canadian setting, and Ashley in a Thai community in Walnut Creek. They are both more adventurous than I am; eating with them is a trip into unknown regions. For example, we’ve ordered whole deep-fried fish in sweet and sour sauce, barbecued chicken feet, fried taro cakes, and all kinds of other foods I can’t remember the names of. So even though everything tastes fantastic, (honestly it’s all delicious), my body still doesn’t feel settled after a meal. The extreme foreignness of everything I’m eating throws me off, especially the chicken feet.
Chicken Feet! A little boney, but tasty.
They taste like BBQ ribs, but they look like chicken feet covered in sauce and they have tons of small bones that you have to spit out. But since it is delicious (and I’m hungry), I will bravely proceed. I’ll put on my shining armor, climb upon my steed, and (tums in hand) stride into the local restaurant to order some fried scorpions and spicy bullfrog.
A Culinary Adventure
member of the corps de ballet of San Francisco Ballet.
September 27, 2009
I may not know what everything is, but it looks amazing!
I have learned on this trip that food is not just about eating, but also about comfort and familiarity. We become very accustomed as a culture to eating specific things, so the act of eating those things becomes like a ritual, not just a simple act of refueling. I have found that abroad, when I’m faced with a number of dishes I don’t recognize, my body loses half of the eating experience. No matter how good the food is, it can’t completely satisfy me because my body is craving comfort, as well as nourishment.
A pork bun.
I figured this out by eating with two of our resident Asians and culinary adventurers, Frances Chung and Ashley Muangmaithong. I have visited numerous Chinese restaurants on this trip and have had varying degrees of success. Inevitably when it’s me and a table full of Caucasian people, we order things we are comfortable with: a bunch of noodles with veggies, some form of fried rice, some dumplings. It always ends up being something we enjoy, even if the wait staff speaks no English and the menus are completely indecipherable. This is because we order things that comfort us.
Fried taro cakes. Something I probably wouldn't have ordered if Frances or Ashley hadn't suggested it.
Eating with Ashley and Frances is another matter. They both have been raised in different cultures: Frances in a Hong Kong Chinese-Canadian setting, and Ashley in a Thai community in Walnut Creek. They are both more adventurous than I am; eating with them is a trip into unknown regions. For example, we’ve ordered whole deep-fried fish in sweet and sour sauce, barbecued chicken feet, fried taro cakes, and all kinds of other foods I can’t remember the names of. So even though everything tastes fantastic, (honestly it’s all delicious), my body still doesn’t feel settled after a meal. The extreme foreignness of everything I’m eating throws me off, especially the chicken feet.
Chicken Feet! A little boney, but tasty.
They taste like BBQ ribs, but they look like chicken feet covered in sauce and they have tons of small bones that you have to spit out. But since it is delicious (and I’m hungry), I will bravely proceed. I’ll put on my shining armor, climb upon my steed, and (tums in hand) stride into the local restaurant to order some fried scorpions and spicy bullfrog.