Palette Cleanser

Amidst reporting my “Confessions of a Traveling Music Teacher” themes on this whirlwind Orff tour in Hong Kong, the waxing poetic about the delight of children and the powerful Soulwork of the Schulwerk, the outrage and genuine concern for the demolition derby of Trumpism and hope to stem the tide of destruction, let’s take a break and talk about last night’s dinner. A literal palette cleanser trying to capture a bit of the Veggie Skye banquet with its 17 extraordinary dishes hosted by a most lovely waiter and shared by the seven members of the Hong Kong Board and me. (For those curious and eager to try it, it’s just outside Western Market in Central Square of Hong Kong Island.)

 

I’m not big on taking photos of food, but I couldn’t resist here. So a little tour:

 

The meal began with 10 appetizers, each one unique and delicious and believe me, that would have been enough for the whole meal. But instead, it was just the warm-up. 

 

Amongst the dishes to come:

 

                        The softest and silkiest tofu dish I had ever had. With an exquisite sauce.

 

                A kind of open egg roll wrapped in tofu skin, to be eaten with a strawberry.

 

                                A fake pork (mushroom) burrito of sorts with pineapple. 

 

                                            A pomegranate juice with vinegar.

 

And yet more. 

 

Besides the exquisite care in the cooking, the obvious pride the waiter had in presenting each dish, the impressive variety of foods, it was the touches of these combinations— a strawberry slice here, a pineapple there, a touch of vinegar, that gave it all an artistic culinary touch far beyond the norm. 

 

My obvious complaint? Too much of a good thing!!! As I said, I felt done at the appetizers, so each new dish after that elicited more of a groan than an anticipated delighted. I was SO FULL but felt obliged to keep tasting. And I suspect if we had seven more people to help us share the banquet, they would have cooked larger quantities! 

On so many levels, it was a forever memorable meal and a needed palette cleanser to the horrific food the news is serving up each day. If you’re every in Hong Kong, do check it out. But make sure you’ve skipped breakfast and lunch! 

And bring some take-out containers.