SF Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer shared stories of his most memorable meal today and encouraged readers to discuss their own favorite dining moments. The SFoodie blog also addressed this topic calling out one particular quote from Bauer’s post:
As a critic I can evaluate the food, but when I talk about memorable meals, it’s a confluence of the setting and a particular set of circumstances. The food, of course, is important because it’s the element that brings it all together and seems to solidify friendships and cement memories.
I agree that enjoying food isn’t just about the literal flavors but rather also about the smells, sights and people around you. My most vivid food moment happened about 15 years ago when I was traveling in Singapore with my family. We had flown in earlier in the day, crazed with no real sense of time or place. To add to the confusion, we ventured across the harbor to this bizarre nature-cum-theme park called Sentosa Island. After visiting some cultural exhibits, it started pouring rain. I’m talking a serious tropical downpour. Fortunately, we took refuge under a nearby hut like this:
Typical Sentosa Island Rain Shelter
While under the shelter, we smelled something enticing coming from a nearby vendor cart. We broke through the rain and procured a steaming hot plate of some bright reddish-orange noodles, not really knowing what we were about to eat. It was spicy, pungent, tangy and sweet all at the same time. We later learned the dish was called Mee Goreng. Each bite was a new experience and the rain pounding all around us added this whole other dynamic to the midday snack. This was the moment I fell in love with Singaporean food. The collision of flavors along with this totally strange five-minute rainstorm made this a meal I can still taste 15 years later.
dgreno
Mar 13th, 2010That was indeed a great day. Totally thrashed from an insanely long flight, but Sentosa Island brought us back to life. In addition to the amazing Mee Goreng, I remember also enjoying the writhing Drunken Prawns and supremely messy Chili Crab.
That meal almost gave us the boost we needed to stay awake that evening when we saw “Les Misérables” on stage with multiple-language sub-titles above the stage.
Allison
Mar 13th, 2010Yes, my lifelong love affair with chili crab (because food that is hard to eat and/or messy is always more delicious) began that day too. And for the record, I’d like to remind you that I was the only one who made it all the way through Les Miserables without falling asleep.
Danielle
Mar 24th, 2010It’s always interesting for me to read a foreigner’s experience of the food that I grew up with, glad you enjoyed it