Eat Drink Style 5 Things About Me Meme

Scott from One Food Guy had tagged me a while back. So here goes.

O N E
Up until 2003, I refrained from eating seafood. Yes, sushi, chinese seafood, lobster - everything. I suffered food poisoning around the age of 5 and avoided seafood for nearly 20 years. The second I would taste seafood, I would nearly yak. Not a pretty sight. I lost the privilege of eating delicious food and at the family dinner table, I'd hear my sister tell me what I was missing. Things changed when I started cooking, I knew it was time to overcome the phobia and leave that mental support group I was tied to. "Hi, I'm Dylan and I'm allergic to seafood.... " One of my first stops was at Kabuki at the Howard Hughes Center. Because when I think of sushi, I think of Kabuki. Just kidding. I took a bite out of a spicy tuna roll and made myself swallow it. It tasted worse than a bottle of Albertson's finest charcoal-filtered vodka in a plastic bottle. I now know that it wasn't b/c of my phobia for seafood, but really, my stomach reacting to Kabuki's sushi quality. Now, I have to eat seafood every week. I need to eat sushi at least twice a week - even if it's cheap. Zo, Gen, Karen, Komasa, Kiriko are all my fave places to go. Seared scallops? I can eat them like tater tots. It's funny how your palate changes as you mature. I used to hate green onions and cilantro - but now it's a must have. Daily Gluttony on the other hand, HATES cilantro more than anything haha.

T W O
My family used to own a restaurant in the South Bay during the 70s - one of those americanized Sze-chuan ('shee-zwan' as they would say) restaurants. To this day, it is still there and run by my uncle who is a killer cook. I've gone back there a few times to learn wok-cooking from him. I loved it so much I bought my own wok to rock. My sister and I used to piss my parents off because we would eat ALL of the red/green cherries at the bars. Come to think of it, those things were disgustingly sweet - drenched in glucose syrup. *Shudder* We also opened up the fortune cookies and put the cookies back in the wrappers haha. My mom, dad and sister are great cooks - we love to eat and live to eat.

T H R E E
I love Souplantation. I don't know why. And I don't like all buffets. Places like Todai are horrendous, but Souplantation.... quality. Here's my routine... grab the Chinese chicken salad, add corn, egg whites, mushrooms... then head to the soup bar to get Chicken noodle soup - no chicken, just the rubber they refer to as noodles, macaroni and cheese and then a slice of their cheese focaccia bread. Repeat 2-3 times. I just ate there a few days ago and spent about 2 hours with a coworker working and eating. Who says you can't have fun for less than $7.

F O U R
I have rained on a parade. A big parade. A distant relative was having her 90th birthday at Ocean Star in Monterey Park. Anyone who has attended a Chinese banquet is well aware of the amount of hard alcohol available on the tables. Chivas Regal. XO. Hennessy. Johnny Walker. And the like. What the servers at the restaurant don't know is where the adults and kids are sitting. My sister and I found two nice bottles of hard alcohol on the lazy susan. "Let's do it." "Ok, let's do it." We poured the liquor into our tea cups... to the brim and drank. And drank. And drank. And drank. Next thing I know, I'm on the front stage of the banquet hall in front of the golden dragon mural... singing karaoke. In front of 300+ people. From what I could remember, I could see my sister laughing. My parents were happy, not knowing I was completely wasted. Then all of a sudden - darkness. I found myself lying on the floor with 3 or 4 Uncles checking on me. They carried me back to my table, with my laughing sister. I looked behind and saw both of my parents dogging me. Uh oh. Then all of the guests started to get up and leave. I was the period at the end of the sentence. Next thing I knew, I was outside throwing up... with my mom patting my back and dad holding a plastic bag. *Bowing* The End.


F I V E
I have seen the River Dance...

Live. In concert.

Not by choice, but because my mom was putting me through a cultural development phase in my life. To make matters worse, she even bought the DVD. I am forever traumatized by the overwhelming amount of high heels, kilts, leather, velvet and silk.... worn by men. Come to think of it, this was too much information (TMI).

Tagging:
Tuna Toast
Guilty Carnivore
Foodporn LA
I Hate Mayo
Food Marathon
Wandering Chopsticks