Garlics and Sapphires

Yippie... thanks to the public holiday, it's yet another long weekend... and... because I am sort of in between assignments... it is a relatively free weekend. And after the string of activities that I had lined up in the last month, it is a welcome break indeed. But, it is kind of the last weekend I have before the rush kicks in... with all the travelling that is slated to come... so in a way, this is my little brief respite.

So, what did I do over this weekend? As can be expected... I visited my fav bookshop, and grabbed a couple of books. Being wary that time may not be on my hands anymore... I went for "quality" not "quantity" this time round. This meant that I rented a couple of expensive books ($22 each) instead of my usual paperbacks ($15 each)... and I left with 8 books rather than 12. And boy was I rewarded... I spent the whole of this morning reading this newest gem:

Garlic and Sapphires - Ruth Reichl
What is it about? It details a pretty well renowed food critic's stint in the New York Times... and takes us through her various escapades in the many restaurants. And foodie that I am... I think I've been salivating at the myriad of dishes that have been presented... I could almost just taste the food. *yummy* and not to mention the star treatment. The highlights in the book for me are the parts where she lifts from her column, for example:

In Japan an expensive object is prized because of its price. This explains why people actually buy those$100 melons you sometimes see in Tokyo. It also explains why all my Japanese friends are so taken with Honmura An. "Very expensive soba?" they ask when they hear of the Soho noodle parlor. "They must be good."

They are. The buckwheat noddles knows a soba have been eaten in Japan for 400 years. As soba restaurants multiplied, the Japanese urge for perfection set in, and soba masters began competing to see who could make the purest soba. This is not easy. Buckwheat is extremly nutrutious, but it resists turning into malleable dough. Ordinary soba noodles are made mostly of wheat: to make pure buckwheat noodles that do not shatter and crack apart requires the hand of a true master. The Japanese says it takes a year just to learn to mix the dough, another year to learn to roll it, a third to learn the correct cut.

At this point... I am dreaming of that exact same soba... but then again, I am just greedy.

Just a little point to note: on my way to work today, bumped into a hall junior... and he is only graduating this year. Just thought that I'll note it down... for some reason, feel that I may just hear more from this person in time to come.