25 things - the food edition

What a great way to waste away Sunday afternoon of the long weekend...

I think the premise is 25 Foods/Meals that are memorable?  Not sure, but here I go!

1. Grandma (mom's mom)'s wontons are the best I've ever had anywhere, and even my mom can't quite duplicate them.  I used to ask for them whenever I went back to visit.  Grandma will now claim she doesn't know how to make them, nor did she ever make them in her life...very sad.
2. Grandma (dad's mom)'s "healthy congee" was my favourite growing up.  Dad's mom's actually not that dazzling in the kitchen but this is the one thing she couldn't mess up.
3. Tempura on the street corner near my apartment in Taiwan.  They sell out by 9pm daily, while the rest of the vendors tend to stay there till about midnight with their food carts.
4. Rice noodle soup on another street corner by my apartment in Taiwan.  With a side of pork cheeks doused in garlicky sauce, it's heavenly.
5. Vermicelli noodles in Ximending in Taipei with Iggy, eaten standing up outside the shop because they're too famous to seat their patrons.
6. Deep dish pizza at Uno's in Chicago.  It was a deceiving little bastard that I couldn't conquer in one sitting.
7. Cheesecake with strawberry topping from Save-on-Foods.
8. Chocolate mousse cake my mom made for my 18th birthday party.  Every other cake has paled in comparison, including the more recent ones my mom made.
9. Steak frites at Pastis with Alex - he was incredibly sick, and I was incredibly full from eating all day.  We wanted to kick ourselves for not being able to indulge as much as we should've.
10. The warm platter at Zwolf Apostelkeller in Vienna.  Best meal on our backpacking trip.  Best German/Austrian food ever.
11. Lobster meals by the sea with my dad.  He takes me there every time I'm in Taiwan, regardless of what's actually in season, just so we can both satisfy our lobster cravings.
12. Some type of melon (don't know the English translation for it) we had in the Pescadores Islands in Taiwan.  They are supposed to be a vegetable but they were so full of flavour and so juicy that even though I never liked them before, I became a convert.
13. Barbeques in my grandma's front yard (we closed the gate).  It was always a fun gathering of family and friends, lots of good food, and full of silly conversations until the wee hours.
14. Candies my grandpa gave me after dinner.  He'd give me one after dinner every time we were over, without fail.  My grandpa's the best.
15. Chocolat chaud at Angelina's in Paris.  That's what heaven tastes like.
16. Scrambled eggs from the Queen's Head in England.  The chefs would add two parts eggs, one part heavy cream, and one part butter.
17. Sprinkles "black-on-white" cupcakes.  Never was there a store-bought cupcake known to be so moist and chocolatey, with the lightest buttercream that had the best balance of butter and sugar.
18. Full breakfast at Campus Hi-Fi in London.  Definitely my favourite greasy spoon breakfast. 
19. Sushi from Sushi Marche - spicy tuna (genius use of green onions) and kamikaze rolls (genius use of lemon peel).  
20. Frrrozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity3.
21. Grilled artichoke hearts at Mercatto.
22. Truffle frites from V Bar at Hotel Valencia on Santana Row in San Jose.
23. Stir-fry potatoes with rice vinegar that my mom makes.  Sounds weird, but so delicious.
24. "Chinese spaghetti" (nothing like the Italian version, don't worry) that my mom makes.  I just can't do what she does.
25. Our last meal at the Queen's Head.  Finally treated with some food respect as a paying customer.

my mother

I like my mother, I really do. Ask anyone who knows me. I talk to my mom at least once every two days, I like visiting her, and I always follow her around when I'm home (much like what I did when I was 2 years old and unwilling to part with a parental unit). We always have things to talk about, I can tell her mostly everything (in time), and of my two parents I'm definitely closer to her.

She's in town now. I am seriously questioning my own sanity. Perhaps I was too quick to conclude that we get along. Perhaps I was delusional to think that we have a healthy relationship.

Two minutes after picking her up at the airport, she asked me if I had instant noodles, the Taiwanese kind. I replied no. (Alex doesn't endorse "junk" in the house, and I hardly ever crave it. When I do, I drive for 5 mins to T&T, buy one pack, indulge, and wait another two months before the next urge hits me.) She then proceeded to list all the failed expectations of not having a warm bowl of soup and noodles, especially after such a trying long day that she'd had. Egged on by her hunger, she then asked her next question (and I feel like she must've know the answer deep down): Will I have coffee tomorrow morning? I replied no, I don't have a coffee maker. I was almost defiant in my response because I knew that would add fuel to her fire, and sure enough, it did. How could I possibly invite house guests when I don't have a necessity such as a coffee maker? Um, because I want to buy a Saeco Odeo Gira Espresso Machine that makes Caffe Americano but haven't found justification to drop $1,000 on it?

Anyway, this really set the tone for the rest of the night (two hours). In the hours between travelling home (making a pit stop in Chinatown for noodles before my ears fell off from her whining) and going to bed, she decided it was absolutely crazy of me to

a) not own window treatments in my north-facing windows - $2,100 for Hunter Douglas Silhouettes, why would anyone have bought window treatments after getting a quote like that?! We are looking to do something eventually...
b) not have a kitchen backsplash - I want to do stainless steel subway tiles, so it's taking a while to organize it. Meanwhile I take perverse pleasure in ruining my wall above the stove because it'll be covered up eventually anyway!
c) want stainless steel tiles - apparently that's a sign I'm "cold".
d) make her sit on my Bertoia chairs at the dining table...don't you know, she almost FELL OFF! - Um, I like my designer, I like the choices we made together, and you can sit on the upholstered fancy chairs if your unbalanced butt wishes
e) not have all upholstered fancy chairs - that'll be $2,000. Will it be on your MasterCard, Mom?
f) not have updated lighting fixtures - seriously, who cares. I know I'll get there eventually and for now, I have enough light to function.
g) not have a junction box over my dining table - again, who cares. She doesn't know this, but we only bought the table less than two weeks ago because imagine if we didn't have a dining table for when she came to visit!!
h) not have renovated my bathroom. I won't even go into details here because that'll just end up being a post on its own.
i) not have two bathrooms - I feel like she's Rachel's sister and I'm Rachel...yes, you may go upstairs and use the "second" bathroom. Say hi to the people who live there.
j) not have breakfast materials - I daren't tell her I don't eat breakfast at home generally. I was too tired for another defensive argument.
k) have "dirty" floors - I'm sorry if your feet picked up some dust. I do not live in a bubble and there is likely some "floor-stuff" on my floors. I refuse to devote my life to cleaning daily and certainly don't have the money to pay for someone else to do so for me!

The list really went on, and continued again in the AM because I stayed home until 9:30 before heading over to Ogilvy and then Aeroplan for meetings.

Honestly, ask me on Tuesday next week how I feel about my mother. I may very well have changed my opinion. What if she becomes one of those bitter old people who just criticize others to make themselves feel better(?)...like Monica's mom!! Ugh.