Sole Food

It was raining that night.....well actually its raining tonight, but it wasn’t when I decided that I was in dire need of some Indian groceries. I wasn’t really in dire needs but taking care of trivialities meant one, I could turn a blind eye to more significant items in my “to do” list. Secondly I would get to go out and grab dinner. All in all, a brilliant plan.

So I landed up in Hancock Street with the dubious pleasure of selecting a venue for satiating my gastronomical desires. The aforementioned rain however cut short my mental deliberation and I entered the ubiquitous Honk Kong eatery. A look around the place showed that it was frequented by connoisseurs of “authentic cuisine” by which I mean the Chinese. Feeling a little out of place I decided to brave it out and that’s where the trouble began. Have you ever gone to one of these Chinese restaurants where the menu seems to go on and on filled with food you would never eat unless undergoing Chinese torture and soon all the items start blurring? Well thats what happened to me. All I could see was a jumble of words with a few oddities sticking out, fried jellyfish, tongue of sheep, fried pig skin so on so forth. Feeling a little desperate (the server was waiting for my order) I ordered the first thing that seemed appetizing, pan fried sole with scallions and ginger. Along with it I also ordered a mango smoothie.

I sipped my smoothie which strangely seemed to be concocted out of raw mangoes and awaited my dinner. I heard a voice say, “One pan fried sole?” and I turned my head to look at the dish and just stared mutely. Waking myself up from a stupor, I nodded my head and gave the server a weak smile. This thing, this monstrosity of a fish, was humongous. It could have been easily devoured by a family of four but here I was my sole self with the sole fish. I got a sudden feeling that my fellow diners seemed more interested in my food than their own and I studiously avoided all prying eyes. Wondering for the umpteenth time as to why I get myself into these scraps, I tentatively took my first bite. Thankfully the dish was quite good and I let out a sigh of relief. Stuck with ten pounds of unappetizing fish especially when one is starving is a horror no person should undergo. I was able to finish a quarter of the fish when I laid down my chopsticks and gestured for the bill. The sole now impossibly fitted in a carry away box was on the table along with the bill. I took a look and for the second time in the space of one hour I nearly screamed out "What the f***!!" The fish cost 28 freaking dollars!!! I had somehow like the unerring nose of a Rottwieler sniffed out probably the costliest item in the menu. Calling myself all sorts of names, with my pocket lighter of 35 dollars I strode out of the restaurant with the rest of the sole in tow.

It was pouring now and after getting the groceries from the Kashmir Store, I came home. As for the sole, maybe I should just freeze and preserve it so that the next time I get any bright ideas I can take peek at it and regain my sanity.