Apologies for having nothing on these pages over the last week. As I have alluded to recently, I’ve moved house. This has disrupted my main reason for getting up in the mornings i.e. writing this bilge and getting cheap laughs aimed at myself and the people who come out with me. I don’t foresee any particular breaks on the horizon, but real life gets in the way, particularly if you aren’t 25 anymore.
So, I had a very mundane lunch which was so standard, that if it was a colour it would be called “beige extreme” and thus, not at all worth a comment. I needed to get some deodorant and shower gel from the supermarket nearby as the offending items that I had brought from the former pad were probably hiding somewhere in a box with expired medicines, wires and coat hangers somewhere in Preschooler Bao’s bedroom.
I hadn’t really investigated my new area yet, apart from working out where the bus stop was, where the recycling faeries congregate and which of the town houses are abandoned so I can have a project for when I finally do win the lottery (I use my free time wisely as you can see) I figured it was time to get out my deerstalker and magnifying glass. The building that houses the supermarket also has a few other shop units, a florist for one, and various other shops which look like side projects for rich women. Getting to the end of my circle I happened upon an Iranian place, which is run by a lovely lady who hasn’t told me her name yet. She asked if I was hungry, and I’ll be honest I was a bit disappointed with myself for eating banality in a box so I had to decline and took her name card with the promise I’d be back. As an aside, I freaked her out on my return as I’d shaved my head in the meantime and she didn’t recognize me 🙂
Right now, Muslims across the world are observing Ramadan, which I imagine to be tricky enough at the best of times, but with scary virus and a pretty brutal early Taiwanese summer, no doubt it is a true test of faith. As the Islamic community here is relatively small (aside from the Indonesian housemaids, Malaysians etc.), I assumed that the community aspect is also a bit lost. It had been only the second time I’d heard anyone in Taiwan refer to Eid ul Fitr with its Arabic name rather than the more common Indonesian language Hari Raya.
Anyway, I went home and checked out her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/foroshgaheirani and noticed an amazing Iftar menu, which I had to try. Iftar if you aren’t familiar with the term is the meal eaten when day has ended and the faithful can now eat as the fast has ended until sunrise.
I have yet to try the Iftar menu, which you can see pictured here- I aim to cajole some victims to join me in the near future, and we have to make a reservation anyway so today I just had some afternoon snacks. A kind of scone, and what looks like Iranian shortbread with dates inside. Scone plus three shortbread= 85NT. Like all Middle Eastern food, they were pretty sweet, my understanding is that folk in the ME often have a very sweet tooth due to alcohol being haram, and they take up sugar as a vice.
We chatted briefly, I was keen to ask her about the difficulty of doing Ramadan in the current climate and she told me that last year was worse as it was closer to summer, and was slightly taken aback that a tall white boy like me was so au fait with Islam.
Anyway, stay tuned for part two where I actually have something to review and talk about and not just a wee update thingy.
The photos are taken from her facebook page, because mine were pretty crap. Again, when I follow up you’ll hopefully see some nice stuff.
52 Cuisines? 