Of Fasting and Food Quirks

I am so stuffed, I am amazed how I can still manage to blog. If you notice, I have been blogging using my blackberry. Not that I am lazy (well....), it is just that I can be so stuffed it's rather difficult to maneuver around except when I am in bed, heh. 


Anyway, my mum's cooking prowess shows through this one week of break fast after whole day of fasting.  For those non-muslims who are just curious as to how fasting means, well honestly, I don't feel hungry ALL the time. I do feel a dip in energy level obviously as food provides energy but I can still go about doing my errands and working. I do also feel hunger pangs but they don't last very long and it will just go away without me realizing. As most of the time, I am working in air conditioned environment or that I am at home, I don't have annoying headaches that may come about as a result of lack of food and water but I have walked under blistering sun before (for instance, yesterday) and it can pose as a bit of a challenge. After years of training, you somehow can accustom yourself and not think too much about the heat. You er, just have to get your errand over and done with so that you can come back home and take a good rest until break fast time.


Anyway I want to talk about food quirks. I'm sure we all have food quirks. I have a few. I usually don't like to make it like some kind of big deal when it comes to food quirks and I don't really care if people say I'm weird like whatever, though I do think they are though I don't say it out loud, haha.


Some of the food quirks I heard of is that some people can't stand those green leafy garnishes on food, namely coriander leaves, and I know many don't like tauge or beansprouts in their dishes. I don't mind but I mind if they put a whole lot overpowering the whole dish. I can understand why they don't like beansprouts especially with the 'tails' still on them. I got an ex colleague who requested for the noodles to have no beansprouts but they came with beansprouts and she promptly returned them. 


Some odder food quirks is a recent one when one coursemate said that she will never eat KFC anymore ever since she watched a video that showed how the chickens in a country were so overfed they could hardly walk and looked sickly and with no feathers. She also doesn't eat hotdogs because they look disgusting though she will cook for their children.


So what are my food quirks?


I don't eat fish. Call it bad experience in the wet markets when I was younger and intoxicating smell that put me off fish. I do eat tuna with mayo though but at one point, I couldn't eat it. Why I could eat it? Well, my mum tried to feed me something fish related when I was young so that was something easy to feed me especially when eaten with bread. I still can't eat a lot of it too though or I would feel sickly like wanna puke sickly. I could eat fried ikan bilis or anchovies. Fish burger? Hrm, something my mum also made me eat though the minute I see bits of skin, I just can't go on.


Another food quirk? I can't stand sambal belachan or chilli paste that people usually eat to add a bit of spize to their food. I just...can't. It stinks and it tastes awful and sometimes I wonder if I was born to Malay parents coz Malay people lurve their sambal. Because it is such a common condiment in Singapore, I do get weird looks if I say I don't eat sambal in its raw form. I can, however, eat a sambal based dish, just that I can't eat the stuff on its own :S


My most famous food quirk? At least to my mum coz she finds it super annoying....


I don't eat ANY FOOD with coconut milk in them. I think I've mentioned this numerous times on my blog before but it is true! Do you know that I can't basically eat a lot of food coz of this and coconut milk is like such a popular ingredient in Singapore dishes, Malay dishes or otherwise. Can you imagine missing out on so many good food? Namely, Nasi Lemak, Laksa, Rendang (beef or chicken cooked in dry paste) and even desserts like bubur hitam which is like a very popular dessert in Singapore!


This began a few years ago when one day I just decided I shall not eat anything with coconut milk in them and being a Malay where most Malay dishes contain this ingredient, it's just a stupid thing to do. At first, I just tried to minimize consuming it but then it went full scale. But I am heartened to know that my mum is slowly adapting to this quirky habit of mine by replacing the milk with low fat evaporated milk instead. The food doesn't taste as rich as the ones used with the real deal but to me, it is still delicious without the guilt hanging over me. I do however make an exception during Hari Raya. I can't run away from it, haha.


I've got other food quirks too. I don't eat the yellow hokkien noodles AND kway teow noodles as well. And you wonder why I'm Singaporean as many popular noodle dishes have these noodles used in them. Char kway teow, anyone? Honestly I did eat them before in quite recent times but in small bits and I realize, they don't taste as nice as they used to. Now they just taste so bitter and super oily like after a few bites, I just don't feel good. I think they add a lot of oil to them to make them taste better but it just doesn't cut out for me anymore and at least if I have given them up, it's just a good thing to do so.


Other than that, I eat like a pig, hahaha. Ok, not really. My carbo intake has been slashed so much! I used to be able to eat rice and have a second helping and now I can barely eat half a serving even and it frustrates my mum coz she doesn't know how little to put on my plate. Though now she doesn't put much rice, it is still more than enough for me and I will feel full.


So have you got any food quirks to share? Am I bad for missing out on so many popular dishes, haha...

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