Yesterday, Rebecca and I met a fellow ex-pat for lunch. Her name was Maud (insert-last-name-here). What a delightful person. So we went to a little French cafe by the name of Cafe Breton. I was hungry and had a Go Fish sandwich, open face sandwich with scrambled egg, smoked salmon, capers, and some kind of cream with a side salad. Rebecca ordered a double Cafe au Lait, coffee and foamy milk. Maude arrived, and immediately was very warm and sincere. She had a double Cappuccino, but all that is beside the point. My point is that she could carry a conversation with the best of them. Anything we said that was remotely related to the conversation was listened to and commented upon and integrated very smoothly. She and Rebecca had a good long conversation about books: what is good, what is bad, what is long, what is short, how kids need to read more nowadays, it is good that I have assigned reading for the summer, and a few more things that I don't remember. Wonderful woman! Oh, and she is an artist. She takes newspaper photos of people and paints them on large canvases. She showed us a few on her phone and they were phenomenal. Apparently she also takes an art class in a nearby mall next to the galleries. Some days she is next to a very young child and others next to a kid with Down Syndrome, with a relatively young teacher. She is great.
So, previously, Rebecca and I had agreed that I would wander the Greenbelt while Rebecca and Maud chatted it up. So I did for about 45 minutes. I was pretty amazed at the array of stores. Any designer brand that you can think up, they have it there. Lots of different American brands like Calvin Klein, DKNY, Converse, etc. I was given 500 pesos to spend, if I did spend anything. I didn't, as pretty much all of the clothes were 1000+ pesos. But even if I did have enough, I probably wouldn't have bought anything. The only store I really entered was the Converse store to see how much hi-tops were. 3000 pesos, around $75. More than in the states. And then I remembered that my pair of Superman hi-tops were being looked at by the Shoe Hospital to get fixed up.
Then, I went back to Cafe Breton and I couldn't find Rebecca. She was gone and the table was recently left. I could tell because all of the plates and glasses were still there. I did find her moments later, thank goodness, as she walked Maud to a taxi. Then we went to the Landmark grocery store to do some shopping. I spotted both fish heads and baby crabs. I said to Rebecca that I would make fish soup with some heads. Man, I love fish soup. Thanks Mom and Grandma for making delicious soup. I told Rebecca that I love the smell of boiling cauliflower because anytime I smelled that smell it meant that Grandma was making soup. Anyway, fish soup is the easiest thing in the world to make. You take your fish product, bones, head, whatever, and boil it with plenty of water, salt, pepper, and either dried vegetables or fresh carrot, celery, and onion. Then, once you have a good flavorful broth, you add your potatoes and cauliflower and other good boiling vegetables. Salmon heads are particularly good because they are fatty, so the fat melts in the soup and gives it a nice rich mouth-feel. Mmmm....
One last thing. Hong Kong is cancelled. We are going to SINGAPORE! I am really excited. Our hotel is the former post office from the 1920's and 30's so it's very classic and old-timey. Rebecca also made it a point that we go to the food courts, which, thanks to Anthony Bourdain, we know are littered with little specialty stalls that promise good things. And of course we have to go to the world class aquarium and zoo. Should be fun.
Then, I went back to Cafe Breton and I couldn't find Rebecca. She was gone and the table was recently left. I could tell because all of the plates and glasses were still there. I did find her moments later, thank goodness, as she walked Maud to a taxi. Then we went to the Landmark grocery store to do some shopping. I spotted both fish heads and baby crabs. I said to Rebecca that I would make fish soup with some heads. Man, I love fish soup. Thanks Mom and Grandma for making delicious soup. I told Rebecca that I love the smell of boiling cauliflower because anytime I smelled that smell it meant that Grandma was making soup. Anyway, fish soup is the easiest thing in the world to make. You take your fish product, bones, head, whatever, and boil it with plenty of water, salt, pepper, and either dried vegetables or fresh carrot, celery, and onion. Then, once you have a good flavorful broth, you add your potatoes and cauliflower and other good boiling vegetables. Salmon heads are particularly good because they are fatty, so the fat melts in the soup and gives it a nice rich mouth-feel. Mmmm....
One last thing. Hong Kong is cancelled. We are going to SINGAPORE! I am really excited. Our hotel is the former post office from the 1920's and 30's so it's very classic and old-timey. Rebecca also made it a point that we go to the food courts, which, thanks to Anthony Bourdain, we know are littered with little specialty stalls that promise good things. And of course we have to go to the world class aquarium and zoo. Should be fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment