food

this german friend of mine is obsessed over only letting tea leaves stay in the water the instructed amount of time
this english friend of mine, i think, throws away tea bags a bit too early and totally puts too much milk in it
i think the slavic twins friends of mine even wanna measure the temperature of the water before putting the tea in

- think about how we keep reusing the tea in the pot when we go yum-cha in hong kong
well, german said the tea might get bitter if it stayed too long
i said, the bitterness could as well be what it's meant for - or not

but any way i don't understand the idea of fixed recipes

this korean friend of mine asked if i missed home food
i said i cook maybe the asian way with 'western' ingredients
the fact is
i love cheese and yogurt
smoked salmon and rocket salad
what is home food anyway

chinese food is a stupid notion
to me it only refers to chinese take-away you get outside of Asia
greasy and shiny
Gebranntnudeln it could be in the whole of Germany

they are interested in the exotic i guess
and to them mangoes and lychees are fine delights from the east
my bolivian friend has never seen a dragonfruit, a shame that i haven't had time to show her
but i treated ms belarusian
- and durian? probably a very spiky myth

oh and tofu! at least in Germany they have predominantly fried tofu
it's the silk and smooth one that i long

and i've learnt that broccoli and spinach can be eaten raw
and i am developing caffeine dependence
at the same time appreciating the wonder of comforting tea - but with the leaves staying in however they want

what food do i desire?