A three o clock meeting at town saw me and my partner in food crime colleague head to Kamling.
Great mixed fried rice and prawn chilly (sauteed in onions and chopped chillies, no batter). We ordered a small portion so needed another side dish. Was made to order chicken over pork despite my preference of their roast pork and onions. The hakka chicken was well favoured, dry and yet juicy. Something went ping in my head though. The chicken felt a bit under cooked under the batter. I kept my misgivings aside and enjoyed my lunch.
Began feeling a bit out of sorts after the meeting that followed. I blamed it on the back pain pain killer that I took. But soon realised that things were amiss. Reached work, called for a Meru AC Cab, and left early. Slept through the ride. Came home. Still feeling very uncomfortable and full. Hit the bed immediately. Those who know me know that I HAVE to have a shower when I return. The fact that I flopped down even without washing my face tells you how gone I was. I was knocked out till about 8.30 PM lying in a foetal position on the bed.
I could barely reply to SMSs in between all of this. Though the James Bong in me rose to the occasion when a fellow foodie texted me for advice on what to eat at Hangla. SMSs followed as she would update me with her feedback while waves of nausea and dizziness swept over.
I finally threw up at 8.30 at night. It wasn’t the prawn. Or the pork in the fried rice. It was the offending piece of white meat. Cleared the mess. And hurled again. This time didn’t make the mistake of leaving the pot.
I rung up Dr Miranda our doc as I was in no state to step out of the room forget going to a doc. Her first question was about where I ate so that she could avoid it in the future. She was a bit surprised to hear about Kamling, an old favourite. She laughed when I told her that this happened because I chose chicken over pork and called me ‘a funny man’. Medically she said that I should have thrown up earlier. Prescribed an antacid and a nausea medicine. I called for these on the phone from the chemist and felt much better after I took the pills.
To understand Dr Miranda better I need to go back to my first visit to her. I had gone with, what else, a food poisoning attack. We got talking about food and I came out with her favourite pork spare rib recipe!!!! She is bubbling with life and lives in a pretty little cottage called The Bubble near Bagel Shop and St Anne’s Church Bandra. The cottage has a lovely garden which lifts your spirits the moment you enter. She says ‘God looks after the garden’. Her dispensary is filled with stuffed toy including Bertie the Bear whom I am particularly fond off. You go to her with a cold and she will ask your spouse to be careful as its infectious and then say ‘what to do, you guys will kiss in any case’. Can you blame me for wanting to go the doc at the drop of a hat?
I woke up this morning. Nausea was gone. Stomach was hurting though. So from feeling like a pregnant women I shifted to PMS. I opened my mail and saw another friend saying how she went to Hangla and really enjoyed what I recommended.
I guess an International Man of Food has to always be on call. Iron Cross nominations anyone?
Well we went to Dr Miranda who listened to my tales on the Kamling chicken and said that I would know as I am a ‘connoisseur’. She gave me stomach pills and said to keep them with me specially given my food adventures. She suggested avoiding pork in restaurants as it is not ordered often and could be on the shelf for a while. She prefers cooking at home.
I told her about my frog adventures at KL. She told me about how she cooked frogs and dissected them at med school. She apparently didn’t have the nerve to paralyse the frogs by pinning them as was the norm then. So she would get them home, pour country liquor down their throat, get them drowsy and dissect them. All for the cause of medicine!
I asked her if I could have chicken at night and she broke into a rhapsody about how all meat is good and gave me various recipe options to grill chicken without using oil which would be tasty and healthy too.
I woke up Bertie the Bear, shook his hands and left feeling much better.
And then K and I went to the Mary Poppins land of Candies for some sandwiches and ice tea.
