"lookie what the cat threw up!"

once upon a time several years ago, trader joe's sold something called a "spicy lemon soda". it was immensely unpopular and at one point, they'd sold it at 2$/6bottles to try and get rid of it. and it still did not disappear fast enough. i, however, have a taste for sweets that usually come in combinations of spicy, sweet, salty and by extension, loved the soda. it kind of burned and left a warm almost roiling feeling in your tummy when you drank it.

one day, a year and a half ago, i had a cold with a stuffy nose and really couldn't taste anything. then i figured i might as well try and concoct something warm and flavorful, and perhaps sinus clearing with expectorant properties. what happened was that really gross looking hot lemonade with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in it. it didn't taste very good. but the chili did help with the phlegm and i'm sure the lemon bits gave me much needed vitamins.

HK student lunch

had lunch with my cousin today. she has to go to school (she's 16), but gets a 1 hour lunch break, so i took 2 minibuses down to her school and met here there just as she got out from class. most students in HK don't eat in the school canteen b/c it is overpriced and the food sucks. they usually go to nearby "tea restaraunts" or bring lunch/go home during their ample lunch breaks and order combo meals that come with a drink. for example, she got a roast pork and wintermelon stew with rice and a cold milk tea (2.83 US$). i got a "student set meal" of bacon (and supposedly pork chop) on top of spaghetti covered with a goopy unspicy curry sauce and a cold milk coffee (2.31 US$). unfortunately, i was a bit rushed this morning to make it on time, so i left my camera at home. food here can be crazy cheap like that to cater to students, or really expensive. i mean, a full hot meal with choice of drink for under 3 bucks is unheard of in the states. although.. i must say that local student/kid fare is pretty gross. teens seem to like eating things like creamy tomato goop covered rice and spaghetti with ham or spam on the side. i had to try a student meal though, hehe. but next time.. i'll stick to the more traditional fare like my cousin. oh oh, even better, i was hungry 3 hours later because i didn't eat much of that stuff.. so i went to a thai restaraunt and had afternoon tea there. gotta love the brit influence. for 2$ USD i had a hot lemon tea and a bowl of thai style pork chop rice noodles with bean sprouts. i think one reason why food is cheaper here is b/c portions are nearer to CharSiuBao-sized meals. so if you eat a lot, you can order different stuff for variety! yum yum.

is it.. tea time?

baked beans on toast. not a big fan of heinz. this is some other brand.. maybe it's bush's or henry's store brand. van de camps pork and beans rank pretty high on my list however, they are not to be confused with baked beans. extremely filling and satisfying. and flatulence inducing.