Opening My World Up - Through Food

When I was much much younger I used to hate vegetable, especially those which are pale green in colour. It also explains why I was so round and chubby as a young kid, haha. No one tells me to hate them but somehow I just got this restriction programmed in my system. Topping my fear list was celery!!! My ‘processor’ registered it as ‘so-VERY-raw’. My Mom and sisters used to cook and eat trees and trees and trees of celery! Later, somehow during my first visit to American Chillies’, I got to try their celery dipped with honey mustard. My eyes were lighted up with a different perception. I wasn’t sure I love it, but after a few more encounters, my hate has turned into love and now, C-R-A-Z-E! Not that because it sounds like salary (which I do love to have in abundance), I just grow to like it so much that other greens would pose a no-challenge anymore. Why??

Another classic example was salmon sashimi. I remember during my first ever trip to Hong Kong with my Dad and two of my fellow buddies, TC & KW. Dinner on the first night was exciting, as we explored this market of fresh seafood before getting them cooked in the restaurant nearby. There we were sitting in front of this thick piece of orange-looking fish. Being not exposed to such luxury at young age, we were with the thought, ‘what on earth can fish be in orange??!’ There we were, closing our doors to such quirk of fate. Remember my first bite almost ended up with me throwing up, but to my Dad’s stern warning (“it’s very expensive, u better not!!”), I gulped it up with flows of water. Another ‘what-on-earth-can-fish-tastes-so… creamy?!!’ thought ran through my mind. My buddies had similar tough time keeping up with nature. Subsequently, I went over to Australia to pursue my study. It happened that my housemates and uni friends were extreme sushi freak. I was ‘forced’ to join them in this weekly affair. Somehow I was also curious how second encounter with salmon sashimi would end up (or throw-up – yes, a type of challenge). “What?? You don’t eat this??” lamented everyone. Being forced to conform, I had to agree with them. But after a few times, ironic as it may be, I have grown to love it so much I would save hard-earned money to enjoy it. Now, not only do I love salmon sashimi, I love every other fishes or ‘things’ that come raw. Sorry, I should re-phrase – I would love every kind of food. No, I should re-re-phrase – I would love every kind of food, drinks, music, hobbies, interests, yada yada yada. Yes, I do. Why??

I am no philosopher, but such coincidences and irony got me to think that:

‘Everything on earth is there for a reason; as long as you are not closed to accept how things are, you can see, hear, touch, taste, feel a lot more, and learn to love
more’

Or laymen-ly to explain, if MINORITY of people out there enjoy something so much, it doesn’t make them fools or weirdos, which the majority would brand. For me, it only explains how narrow one wants their thoughts to be.

Don’t you think so too? Most of the times, we are so stubborn that we comfortably reject things without offering a second glance. I used to too… but now I’m glad I can write this down and pledge that I will never would.

Nothing now ever surprises me. Not durian’s ‘stinking aroma’, nor bittergourd’s ‘biting taste’, which certain people would claim. I was that ‘certain people’ too. But now, I belong to those who say durian is ‘fragrant’. It’s ‘fragrant’ – if that’s what you want it to be…. Throw me a dinosour egg, I'll happily swallow it.