Of China food and Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows

I just got back from Singapore yesterday evening. That explains the long silence, I hope

It was a fruitful trip, in a manner of speaking, and in the literal sense. If there’s one thing I love about going down to Singapore is the variety of fruits found there. Price wise it might not be any cheaper than the same fruits here, but for the same price, the fruits are bigger, sweeter and better - or so it seems. I will prove for one that they are bigger once I get my pictures uploaded hehe…

I took the Airebus down and a review will follow soon.

While I was in Singapore, there was a discussion in their local newspapers about the food scares from China - Have you sworn off China food?

Honestly, I haven’t been following the drama surrounding food from China very closely. But I have been hearing the stories and have been warned off tinned food from China for a while now. The picture collage is an assortment of images of familiar tinned food from China that I extracted off the net and is only a visual representation.

I don’t usually eat century eggs except in pei tan chok - century egg congee - so that is ok. As for canned button mushrooms, I haven’t bought or eaten those in ages because the last time I opened a can, I was horrified at the bright yellow colour of the mushrooms inside and the odd chemical smell. Pork luncheon meat is always a temptation for me, as is fried dace with black beans, both of which go very well with plain rice porridge. However, I try to stay away from eating them now, because honestly, you don’t know what goes into those cans at all.

The question asked of the readers of the Straits Times was - Have you sworn off China food? And the answer seems to be a mixed bag of yes and no. My question to you is:

Have you sworn off China food?

My answer is: Partly yes. I’m sorry that China is having a lot of bad rap now, but I’m not hanging around to see if its true or a cover up as conspiracy theorists would like to believe. Where I can, I will try to opt for compatible food and seasonings from other countries but where I can’t, I will have to buy the China brand and hope for the best. The stories surrounding the unhealthiness of China tinned food has been around for a long time, which is why I don’t believe that its just some recent scare mongering going on. Unfortunately for China, it is now known more for its fake items and food scares than for anything else.

I have and will continue to avoid the 4 foods I have pictured above though, no matter how tempting it might be. How about you?

And while I was in Singapore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was launched. Being the skinflint I am, I am refusing to pay for the hardcover version and will wait for the paperback to come out before I think about buying it. I don’t like this cover unfortunately. It is too chaotic and too reminiscent of the Terry Pratchett Discworld series, of which I’m afraid JK Rowling is not in the same league. I much prefer the adult cover as it reflects the serious mood better.

But no matter. I went into the nearest bookstore I could find, picked up the book and read my fill of spoilers. I’m quite happy to do that to satisfy myself till the book reaches my hands. I still don’t know what Deathly Hallows are and who dies or not and I’m quite content to leave it at that.

And with this choppy post I crawl back to the reality of the workplace.

Some other Related posts: