Saturday, November 3, 2012

Seasonal and Anger (This week's Photo Hunt themes)


Finally, fall is here!  And yes, I know the Chinese calendar's Mid-Autumn Festival fell on September 29-30 this year but in sub-tropical Hong Kong, it's only recently turned seasonably cool.  
 
When I lived in England and the USA, I associated the fall primarily with autumn leaves that were beautiful on trees and fun to walk through piles of after they had fallen down to the ground.  In Hong Kong though, my seasonal thoughts tend to turn to food -- specifically, Shanghai (AKA hairy) crab, for autumn is the peak time to imbibe this seasonal delicacy (whose meat isn't much to shout about but whose "roe" (sperm, really) is amazingly delicious)!
 
And when the temperature drops further, I'll have another taste treat to look forward to: namely, Mont d'or cheese -- which, like Shanghai crab, is available only at particular times of the year. Ideally eaten warmed up and eaten straight from its round wooden box, it's lovely as a dip for such as apples and sweet potatoes -- or just plain toasty bread -- and really good to share with a friend (with the accent on "a" as the portion served at Classified -- my "go to" place for this cheese (thanks to a tip from Jason Bon Vivant!) -- is just right for two people to feast on).

So far, no anger -- and people who've read this far might be wondering how I'm going to go about combining Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunt themes for this week  Well, the answer is that the anger comes in when I think of how limited are my chances to eat these two delicious foods that I really do find delightful!

More specifically, Shanghai crab is on the expensive side -- and very messy to eat. Believe it or not, as much as I love the taste of its roe/sperm, I just can't bring myself to eat it in restaurant because it embarrasses me so that I make such a terrible mess when attempting to pick these actually quite small crabs apart to get at their edible parts!  Consequently my ideal conditions for eating Shanghai crab include eating it in the home and company of people who I feel comfortable eating messily in front of -- or even better, with individuals who are happy to open up the crab for me, as was the case the last time I had this delicacy!!
 
Then there's the fact of it -- and the Mont d'or cheese -- being available for only a limited time each year.  And in the case of the Mont d'or, so rich is a meal in which it forms the center piece that I feel unable to eat it more than once a month (if that); with the result being that -- grrrrr -- I only got to have it twice last year as it no longer was on the menu when I wanted to eat it for a third time that season! ;( 

21 comments:

magiceye said...

Unique combo of the 2 themes!

Trekcapri said...

Hi YTSL, great photos and a wonderful post and take for the dual themes. I had to smile about preferring to eat the crab at home versus a restaurant where you can comfortably eat your messy crabs. So funny. Being limited on when I can eat my favorite seasonal foods would anger me too. :)

Have a great weekend!

MaR said...

Well done! I only came up with seasonal...
I avoid eating with my fingers, unless it is finger-food :) "Roe": a delicacy I never heard of, interesting, to say the least. Happy weekend.

eastcoastlife said...

Ahhh.... hairy crab season! It's here in Singapore too and each tiny crab costs S$50 (HK$300, is ours more expensive?). :(

I have not heard of that cheese but I am going to look for it in SG. :P

You are living in HK and near to Shenzhen, you should try acupunture in either of these places where the physician are supposed to be better trained. :)

YTSL said...

Hi magiceye --

Well, to be fair, others did come up with food-themed posts too this week... ;b

Hi Trekcapri --

Glad you enjoyed the post and that it made you smile. Re the middle photo: I've to confess that I've used it before -- but had to use it again for this week's Photo Hunt entry! :)

Hi Mar --

It's all relative what's finger food... and re roe: yes, I do love so many types of it. ;)

Hi EastCoastLife --

I confess that I haven't looked at the price in years. No doubt it would shock me -- like the price of oysters in Hong Kong can horrify me! ;b

Unknown said...

Lovely Crab !!! sorry I am a lactose intolerant vegetarian.

Vane M. said...

Puxa, o mais interessante é conhecer as histórias que vão além do tema! Caranguejos são animais muito interessantes. Um abraço!

O mirante da imagem

Anonymous said...

YUM - love seasonal food! I went in that direction this week as well.

Have a super weekend.

Susan Demeter said...

I can get angry too when I have a craving set up and I just can't get the yummy food I'm dreaming about :) I'm like you too I try to eat the messy fun foods at home.

my Photo Hunt blog entry!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

I can really appreciate seasonal food!
The anticipation makes it that much better :)
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Carver said...

Great take on the themes. I don't like eating certain foods in public myself. There isn't any way to be neat at times when eating.

fredamans said...

Yeah I could go for some of that crab right about now.... yummy!

YTSL said...

Hi Ranu --

Yikes re your not being able to eat cheese and/or crab! And I hope seeing photos of things you can't eat won't anger you!! ;S

Hi Bia Hain --

Thank you for reading as well as looking. I wonder -- did you use Google Translate like I did with your comments? :b

Hi JDeQ --

Food shots saved the day for many of us this week, I think! :)

Hi Sue --

Sounds that we are quite similar in certain ways... :)

Hi Sandi --

Seasonality makes the food more interesting, right? ;b

Hi Carver --

Long ago, I used to be afraid of ordering soup in public for fear that I'd slurp too loudly when drinking it. These days though, I no longer worry so much about that! ;D

Hi fredamans --

Yummy is right! ;D

A Tonl said...

Hrm, we kitties have never been allowed to TRY Mont D'Or cheese...we think that could make US angry too!

Ours is up too - Fall Colors from the Sky

Anne said...

LOL, very creative tie-in of the two themes!

Gattina said...

In my opinion the Shanghai crab on the first picture really looks angry probably because he doesn't want to be eaten !

smalltownme said...

Mmmmmmm. I love crab.

YTSL said...

Hi Rykers Boyz and Allie --

I wonder whether you kitties would like the cheese... but reckon your humans would! :)

Hi Anne --

Thanks! :)

Hi Gattina --

Er... if he's angry, he's angry in death... because he's already on a plate and about to be eaten! ;b

Hi smalltownme --

I love crab too -- and seafood in general! :)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

yum, but I prefer Singapore chilli style. Been in South East asia too long, no chilli, can't eat.

Vicki said...

Wonderful reasons to be looking forward to a season.

My seasonal is at http://hindmarsh-island.com/?p=919

YTSL said...

Hi Ann --

I like a whole variety of cooking styles for crabs -- and a whole variety of crabs. I think my favorite crab actually is Japanese crab -- not least because they have such long and meaty legs! :)

Hi Vicki --

I associate lots of holidays as well as seasons with food too. And yes, I admit it: I'm a foodie! :b