Dim Sum Sunday

I went out for Dim Sum on Sunday morning, and my friend wanted me to try dishes I hadn’t tried before.

This is how I found out I am very western in my Dim Sum ordering: shu mai, hai gow, custard tarts, chicken buns, pork buns, Chinese broccoli, sesame balls, lotus balls, fried tofu – all good.

Though lately, my “strange” western palate has been pointed out by different Chinese friends. For example, people have chastened me for happening to like chili oil with my pork buns, and no amount of explaining will convince friends that a dash of soy sauce brings out the sweetness of sesame balls.

Anyway, growing up I was never a fan of kidney, liver or tripe. This really hasn’t changed. Which brings me to Sunday morning Dim Sum and my friend saying that I just had to try “nu zha”. I would have been fine doing that, but then he had to go and give me the ingredient list – with a literal translation.

“It’s made from pig’s intestine, pig’s liver, tripe, and then the soup is made with pig’s blood. Try it, it’s good.”

After that, going round and round in my head was “intestine, blood, tripe, liver, pig’s blood, intestine, blood, tripe, pig’s blood”.

I wish I’d just been told “it’s pork”. I don’t need to know where on the animal it comes from. If I know that, it just leads to thinking that has me joining Peta and becoming vegetarian with tofurky becoming a household staple.

I was eating the other dishes that arrived via hot steamy steel carts, but hadn’t yet got stuck into “nu zha”.

“You’re avoiding that, aren’t you?”

Well, yes, I was. But I picked up a piece of tripe anyway, and asked if I should add chili oil to it. The flat stare back was answer enough. I stuck it in my mouth and chewed. The taste was actually quite good, it was the texture that got me.

Like chewing gum, but without the gum.

Then with each mastication I could only think “pig’s blood, intestine, tripe, pig’s blood” like some strange voodoo ritual just inside my head.

I tried it – I ate it – I won’t order it again.