Today we sat down to dinner. I wasn't sure what to expect. Our experiences over the past few days have been mixed, and have led to extreme displeasure, sickness, and the utter absence of flavor. Obviously the situation is dire, and we stand at a critical juncture for our gustatory faculties.
Tony's food arrived. Aseem's food arrived. Mark, Mez, and Pramod's food arrived. But where was mine? My stomac gurgled. A faint pang of quesy stirred below as my body protested the diet of at least 2 liters of water per day, combined with food that is, well, also like water.
20 minutes later my food arrived. I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed. I could not contain myself. The world beyond my plate ceased to exist, and for a moment I forgot that I was with seven others, that I was in Vietnam, and lo, even that I was human. All had disappeared, and my basest, most primal instincts took charge.
I grabbed the food and put it to my mouth. The first salvo began with such a satisfying crunch that my eyes bulged and I wasn't sure whether I could continue lest I overwhelm the senses. I tasted tangy. I tasted fatty. Ooohhhhh soooo goood.
The second bite was five times better. A wonderful sense of umami filled my mouth, and lapped gently at the pangs of hunger, slowly washing them away. The very fiber of my being was consumed by the essence of rich beefyness.
I took a third bite, and then another. I could not stop. I munched and munched like a man possessed, diligently ploughing through the dish like a beaver through a log. I wish that I could tell you what was happening around me, but I do not remember.
I finished and surveyed the remnants with utter bliss. My troubled stomach blurbed and glurped as it settled down into into a state of blissful repose.
Oh, I never knew that a hamburger in Vietnam could taste so good.
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ReplyDeleteThe post starts out with your stomach gurgling full of water. Are you sure you are not Ramachandran in disguise - the one who drank up all the flood water in the myth? :)
ReplyDeleteo snap - don't tell Thuy, she'll kill ya
ReplyDelete