Fun with Stinky Tofu
I went to the Taiwanese restaurant today for lunch with my mother and sister. There were experiences.
When Lisa and I were in Taiwan we tried stinky tofu. And contrary to what most people would think, it was good. It stunk, yes, but it tasted fine. I'm no stinky tofu newbie here. So I thought it would be interesting to order it at the restaurant, half because I did actually like it, and half because it would be a fun thing to order - you know, a non-Asian American ordering the crazy Taiwanese dish, and liking it.
Anyway, I get it, and while my sister was accosted by the scent, it didn't bother me initially. I don't know if most of you know what stinky tofu smells like. It kinda smells like garbage. It's commonplace in nightmarkets, so incidentally nightmarkets end up smelling like a mix of stinky tofu, roasted meats, normal Taiwan smell (yes, Taiwan smells, I don't know why, and it's not necessarily bad, but the smell is still there), and body odor. Thus to me, stinky tofu smell is associated with nightmarket smell. So after awhile, the stinky tofu smell, which hadn't bothered me at first, started to overwhelm me. I like nightmarkets, but several times I got physically sick from the smells.
But prior to getting nauseous from the smell, I ate some. Now, as I said before, the stinky tofu I've tried in the past was good. THIS stinky tofu tasted like it smelled - terrible. I ate half a cube, and couldn't imagine eating anymore. Unfortunately there was a lot of it. And OF COURSE I didn't want to appear like I didn't know what I was doing when I ordered it, so I took some napkins, put a bunch of the tofu in the napkins, and balled them up inside my purse, to make it look like I ate some.
SIDE STORY: The first time I went to Europe I was 19. I was in Germany, at a little cafe. Because I wanted to appear cool, and European (or at least like a traveled, world-savvy American), I ordered a blackberry brandy. Keep in mind, I was NINETEEN (and the legal drinking age in the USA is 21), and had very little experience with alcohol. And while I didn't know this at the time, blackberry brandy is SHIT. I've had it since then, and I still hate it. Talk about horrible drinks... Anyway, I ordered it, took a sip, and immediately hated it. But I couldn't just leave it - that would confirm to the Germans that I was a stupid teenage American who didn't know what the hell I was doing. So I surreptitiously soaked several napkins with the brandy, so it looked like I had drunk it. And then I hid the napkins in my purse. I was quite pleased with myself. I later told the people I was with, and they found it hilarious. They also ordered me a cocktail that I WOULD enjoy (amaretto sour FTW). And things ended happily.
Anyway, as soon as I could, I threw the rest of the horrible stinky tofu away. Otherwise, I finally tried scallion pancakes, which are delicious, even for someone like me who hates onions.
tl;dr - I ordered some stinky tofu because in Taiwan I had liked it. Don't like it now. Hid it in my purse because I didn't want to lose face. (<<< hahahahahaha Chinese culture reference)
I succeeded in mailing off four packages for the exchange. Yay!
I also got a job interview for Monday. It's not what I'm looking for, career wise, but it's supposedly a good company, and the hours are good for me (Saturday - Tuesday). And I CAN keep looking for other jobs while working, especially since the job will be a contract position. Still want to move to Hawaii...
Random bit of random - I'm not really a fan of Danson's, but I am quite enjoying this song. Though the video reminds me of a mashup of 5566 and Show Luo. I like Amber's part a lot, though I'm confused as to why she rapped in Korea. Why not Mandarin? Though I'm assuming she knows Mandarin, being Taiwanese American, but she might not - thus the Korean... Either way, good song! Though I'm disturbed that Danson is looking a lot like Kim Hyun Joong...
When Lisa and I were in Taiwan we tried stinky tofu. And contrary to what most people would think, it was good. It stunk, yes, but it tasted fine. I'm no stinky tofu newbie here. So I thought it would be interesting to order it at the restaurant, half because I did actually like it, and half because it would be a fun thing to order - you know, a non-Asian American ordering the crazy Taiwanese dish, and liking it.
Anyway, I get it, and while my sister was accosted by the scent, it didn't bother me initially. I don't know if most of you know what stinky tofu smells like. It kinda smells like garbage. It's commonplace in nightmarkets, so incidentally nightmarkets end up smelling like a mix of stinky tofu, roasted meats, normal Taiwan smell (yes, Taiwan smells, I don't know why, and it's not necessarily bad, but the smell is still there), and body odor. Thus to me, stinky tofu smell is associated with nightmarket smell. So after awhile, the stinky tofu smell, which hadn't bothered me at first, started to overwhelm me. I like nightmarkets, but several times I got physically sick from the smells.
But prior to getting nauseous from the smell, I ate some. Now, as I said before, the stinky tofu I've tried in the past was good. THIS stinky tofu tasted like it smelled - terrible. I ate half a cube, and couldn't imagine eating anymore. Unfortunately there was a lot of it. And OF COURSE I didn't want to appear like I didn't know what I was doing when I ordered it, so I took some napkins, put a bunch of the tofu in the napkins, and balled them up inside my purse, to make it look like I ate some.
SIDE STORY: The first time I went to Europe I was 19. I was in Germany, at a little cafe. Because I wanted to appear cool, and European (or at least like a traveled, world-savvy American), I ordered a blackberry brandy. Keep in mind, I was NINETEEN (and the legal drinking age in the USA is 21), and had very little experience with alcohol. And while I didn't know this at the time, blackberry brandy is SHIT. I've had it since then, and I still hate it. Talk about horrible drinks... Anyway, I ordered it, took a sip, and immediately hated it. But I couldn't just leave it - that would confirm to the Germans that I was a stupid teenage American who didn't know what the hell I was doing. So I surreptitiously soaked several napkins with the brandy, so it looked like I had drunk it. And then I hid the napkins in my purse. I was quite pleased with myself. I later told the people I was with, and they found it hilarious. They also ordered me a cocktail that I WOULD enjoy (amaretto sour FTW). And things ended happily.
Anyway, as soon as I could, I threw the rest of the horrible stinky tofu away. Otherwise, I finally tried scallion pancakes, which are delicious, even for someone like me who hates onions.
tl;dr - I ordered some stinky tofu because in Taiwan I had liked it. Don't like it now. Hid it in my purse because I didn't want to lose face. (<<< hahahahahaha Chinese culture reference)
I succeeded in mailing off four packages for the exchange. Yay!
I also got a job interview for Monday. It's not what I'm looking for, career wise, but it's supposedly a good company, and the hours are good for me (Saturday - Tuesday). And I CAN keep looking for other jobs while working, especially since the job will be a contract position. Still want to move to Hawaii...
Random bit of random - I'm not really a fan of Danson's, but I am quite enjoying this song. Though the video reminds me of a mashup of 5566 and Show Luo. I like Amber's part a lot, though I'm confused as to why she rapped in Korea. Why not Mandarin? Though I'm assuming she knows Mandarin, being Taiwanese American, but she might not - thus the Korean... Either way, good song! Though I'm disturbed that Danson is looking a lot like Kim Hyun Joong...