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2009-10-30
Most people who know me would know I have that wanderlust lurking beneath the otherwise obvious yearn for stability to nest. While it's comforting to know that the places you go eat and all will exist for another long period of time due to popularity, it's not unusual to want to explore unfamiliar territories as well. Recently I stepped into Wan Chai again, and instead of looking into the favorites, I looked for the unfamiliar, something that didn't strike me as something I would normally go in.
Fast food, Japanese style. You first pay for your orders then you wait inside the dining space. There was a TV, blaring in the small screen some worn movies that nobody remembered watching. Instead of TV, I looked around to find that the furnishing is quite neat. The space, though, was filled tightly with chairs loosely arranged as if a strong wind has blown through the space creating an organized chaos. No sense seems to make out of that arrangement, and nobody seems to care either. Until then, our food has arrived.
On a tray udon with broth so steamy my glasses were fogged just to take a second look of it. The udon noodle was soft but slurp-able, in ways that you just know it's not the premium kind but it's 'edible'. But that does not nearly justify on the quality they use. The broth was faintly briny and certainly reminded me of MSG-laden instant miso soup I had growing up. The Pork cutlet that went with the udon arrived again, piping hot. The thinly battered piece of meat was cut into strips, The coating was thin, and crispy at the same time. Crispy exterior enrobed the seasoned meat, assuringly enough, it didn't bear the texture of cardboard. (What a relief).
A white-peach soda accompanied the udon and porkchop. This one was a major disappointment. We didn't expect much of a peachy drink, but what we weren't expect at all would be a faux-peche taste-alike that brought me back to painful childhood memories of "good for you" fruit-flavoured cough syrup. And to make things worse, it's cough-syrup diluted with soda water. The killer combination of fizz and artificial flavours drove me up the wall and possibly on my way to gastronomic insanity soon enough.
The Curried Potato Cake brought me back to the real world though. Though not outstanding, the deep-fried disc was served cut in half, golden brown on the outside and a moist interior filled largely with curried mashed potatoes. The patty was slightly larger than a hockey-puck (please look it up, it looked so much like it in real life) and it's best split in half and shared between two people.
The idea of wandering without a fixed destination may seem pointless and like an extravagant activity not many are interested in pursuing. It is, time consuming indeed to seek out for places you want to try but know very little about. Maybe one shouldn't think too much about the anticipation of something great, or great expectations that may or may not be fulfilled at all. The idea of wander in the city is to be inspired by it, and by many wonderful establishments that we have overlooked blooming around us. This, is certainly what wanderlust is good for, I supposed.
Note: You don't always get to good places wandering around, but at least you try them, you'll learn your lesson...
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