Some Like it Hot, Some like it Cold, Some like it in the pot, nine days old...

This is the porridge I have been eating for the past five days =)










Its half eaten, but I figured if I don't take a photo now, it might get more inconvenient to do so in the next few days since I am on leave this week =P





It is called gruel techinically. I guess. But locally its called "choke" (for native english speakers, no it is not literal, just a romantization of the phonics of the dialect)

It has pieces of fried oil stick (called "eww"-"cha"-"kway"), some "chong" (some fragrant vegetable I can't remember the name), strands of ginger, small slices of fish and fried onions. And a raw egg thrown in. Add vinegar and pepper to taste.


Whats there to talk about gruel? =)


....






Well for one I have only started eating it this year. Given that this is at a coffeeshop near my place for the last 33 years, it really did take me quite a while to take a liking to it did'nt it? =P


Well a few things struck me. Fried Onion bits. I really hate the stuff. It always had a very strong taste that I hated. And ginger. I like it to taste, but not bite and chew it as if it were the main. And the gruel itself. Man it used to be that ... the taste is nice, but it get boring and sick after the first ten spoonfuls or so.

What I liked about it in the past? The oil sticks. Thats about it =P


So what made me like it now. Well a few things. I have been ill for a while so I was looking for something plain. The porridge fit the bill. The other thing was I changed the way I ate it. I used to only eat the gruel and only eat the oil sticks. Now I eat everything and I realised what I had been missing. The onion bits and ginger, in a vacuum (i.e. on its own) have a strong taste, but when you eat it with the gruel, you better appreciate what the dish is supposed to taste like. I've been a fan ever since =)


Moral of the story? A few things. Many things in life are there for a reason (especially if its been there for a while), so give it a shot give it a chance, you might just like it and discover something old, something new. =)

Another thing? Look around for things forgotten or forsaken, you might discover something old, something new, something you =)

Oh you want something more? (I did say a few) Somethings cannot be taken in a vacuum. Few things in life are black and white. In context, everything changes.

And I think it applies to so many things in life.

Of course some things are patently bad (no doubt) hence, as with the dish, you need to apply more than one train of thought or rule or doctrine and decide if you want to do something.

As always, due diligence will go a long way. =)