Chili Avocado Combo
Abstract: This article writes from my nostalgia for Hong Kong food to the local dining experiences I had in Oxford including the college dining hall, open air market, and self-cooked meal.
My cooking skills didn't improve at all during my 4 years in Hong Kong although there was a well-equipped kitchen in the student hall in which i lived. I guess an crucial factor that contributes to my inexperience of cooking is the extremely easy access to diverse and delicious food. In Hung Hom there are tons of small and unassuming restaurants which serve amazing worldwide food. In fact the wide range of choices always makes me hemming and hawing before actually deciding what to eat. Chongqing chicken hot pot? Taiwan soy-stewed pork with rice? Japanese izakaya? Korean kimchi and BBQ? Thai cuisine? Burgers and sandwiches? ... It is not wise to make such a list in my mind now at late night.
Well I'm not really a picky eater. To be honest I have enjoyed the meals I had in Oxford so far. I'm satisfied with the food served in St Edmund dining hall. It always comes with a full set including starters, main course, sides and desserts. I often get the full 6 points* for a meal out of curiosity, which is more likely to overeat myself. Some Teddy-haller told me that the food in Teddy hall is one of the best among the colleges. I hope this is not the case that every potter praises his pot.
Today I went to the Gloucester Green market, a vibrant open air market with vendors lining up in the Gloucester Green Town square. It is uauslly held on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It is actually a daylight version of the night markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hanging out there with friends is perfect because the food-sharing allows you to try a few more food booths. I had Nepali momos, Spanish Churros, Columbia Cappuccino, Chinese dumplings and a Portuguese egg tart for lunch (of course I shared them with Pat!), which effectively perked me up in a cloudy autumn day. What a manifestation of the globalised world!
Finally I'd like to talk about what I have shown in the picture. I called it 'Chili Avocado Combo', something that I created with limited kitchen utensils for today's dinner. While I was grinding avocado with a spoon in a mug and mixing it with crushed chillies and black pepper (weird, isn't it?), my floor-mate asked, "what are you cooking Amy?" "I don't really know," I instantly replied with a silly grinning face. I was trying to make something edible and creative out of the ingredients I have (inspired by Msaki). Later on I fried some beef strips and an egg separately, heated a piece of bread, and prepared some salads. It turned out to be very tasty actually. It was Finger-lickin' good haha!
*The dinning hall adopts the Point system, in which each person can get up to 6 points. For example, starter and dessert are usually 1 point for each, main course is usually 2 points.