Charmless Man

I dined with my nephew Max and his family on Saturday.

"I've never eaten at this restaurant. [pause] Are those shark fins encased in glass?"

Dinner was an extravagant taste of the sea – giant clams, shark fin soup, abalone, lobster, shrimp flavoured chips…

I wish someone would genetically engineer a cross between a lobster and a crab. Crab meat doesn't justify the effort, but lobster meat is sickeningly sweet.


Max grew restless, so I took him for a walk inside the neighbouring Asian supermarket.

A sign in the seafood department caught my eye:

"Live hard-shell turtles! $5.99 (as advertised)!"

Underneath the sign was a basin filled with lethargic turtles.

Three thoughts:

1. Turtles are surprisingly cheap.

2. How do you transport a live turtle home from a supermarket? Do you put it in a plastic bag like produce? Bag it with your other groceries?

3. Some Asian supermarkets will deep-fry fresh seafood for you. I should've checked.


Max and his family depart today for a fortnight in Hawaii.

"Again?"
"We're visiting two islands we missed last year."

I've never been to Hawaii.

Max is three.

4 Comments

  1. Alex 08 Feb 09 at 09:04

    well that's bullshit. I say take his ticket and try and pass for a three year old. If you get lucky, you'll travel for cheap!

    Reply
  2. John 08 Feb 09 at 22:32

    How is shark fin soup?

    Reply
    1. Jon 08 Feb 09 at 22:40

      Delicious.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *