Ever since my first trip here, my diet has been unpredictable. In Virginia, I'm used to southern comfort food and chain restaurants. That's really all there is in my area. Not complaining. We all know Cracker Barrel is the bomb dot com. But when I stay in the San Gabriel Valley...well, I might as well be in another country. The area, Monterey Park to be specific, has the highest concentration of Chinese people in the entire U.S. So you better believe the Chinese food here is off the charts. Most of the business owners here are first generation immigrants so the language barrier is painfully difficult and most of the restaurants' menus are only in Chinese. So it's not unfamiliar for me to order something without fully knowing what it is. Food exploration is the name of the game.
It's not just the food outside the house that leaves me guessing.
My visits are spent with my boyfriend's Chinese/Cambodian family that is always kind enough to house me and feed me (which seems to be Mama Lim's favorite part). Food is a huge part of the culture. Not eating what's offered to me is the equivalent of me kicking a puppy or something similarly cruel. "My mother's cooking is the way she shows her love" my boyfriend tells me. So it's settled. I will eat anything that woman puts down on a plate. I don't question it. I just eat it and pray to the food gods that it isn't an eyeball or coagulated blood tofu (....yes, that really happened).
Even though taking a bite is like taking a gamble, she has never fed me anything that tasted gross, made me sick, nothing like that. I've even discovered some new favorites.
Just yesterday, she left me the most bizarre food I've seen in a while.
"I'm going out, you fry this up with egg and eat. You try." I nodded my head and stared at the plate of...what was it? Meat? Some root vegetable? Good god. I had no idea. So out she headed to the post office and I, to the kitchen. It was just me and the food blob. I did as I was told and fried it up (sans the egg), grabbed a pair of chopsticks and went for it. I was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet and glutenous, similar to mochi, with a flowery undertone. Hmm..yes yes. I chewed and chewed and fried up some more. New favorite snack? I think yes. If you're curious, it wound up being red bean paste with bits of flower (not sure which kind; Mrs. Lim wasn't sure how to translate the name).
It can be a little intimidating to explore all these new textures and flavors unfamiliar to Westerners, but I promise, it's always worth it. So take a risk! Try something that looks different, that smells funky, something you're afraid to try. You never know if you may be eating your new favorite meal.
 |
| Mrs. Lim's mystery food |
