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| An Unexpected Feast by Cairistiona | 18 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2009 |
| Autres pays, autres moeurs indeed, if I remember my french correctly. Or, when in Rome...But poor Thorongil. I couldn't have eaten the delicacies either. How kind of the host to sympathize and have a simpler dish prepared. Author Reply: Thanks, Raksha! (and I'm glad you provided the translation because my French doesn't go beyond "bonjour" LOL) Thorongil definitely is trying here to do the "when in Rome thing" and definitely doing his best not to offend. He knows, after all, how important it is as a diplomat--even an accidental one--not to cause his host to lose face, to borrow an Asian term. And the host's response was very much with what I encountered... very gracious and understanding. I do think Thorongil will have to repay the kindness some day. :) Thanks for the review! | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2009 |
| *snort* I know that other people have already said this, but I too was reminded of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This was such a lovely encapsulation of, I fear, most Westerners' reactions to food from such different cultures (it took me years to get the hang of chopsticks!). Best of all was that all the foods were real (extra points for the bird's nest soup!). Though I wonder how different the fertilized egg is from old European delicacies such as the ortolan, which is supposed to be eaten whole, bones, organs, and all! I fear that if I were plotholed into Middle-earth I'd have similar problems with some the food of all cultures except perhaps the much more modern Shire. And I did like how once Aragorn was recognized as a foreigner, he was given a much more palatable dish. That graciousness really made a difference as the scene was no longer just about the squick-fest that was in, say, the Indy movie. Author Reply: Thank you, Celeritas! I'm glad you enjoyed the story... squickyness and all! Yes, I had no intention of having this be a copy of Indiana Jones but more a reflection of a Westerner trying to do his best while wildly out of his element (which does make it similar to that Indy Jones classic). The graciousness of the host was something that I experienced myself, as was the sort of "stiff upper lip" try at everything (fortunately, I didn't have to try the fertilized egg--I might not have been able to have gotten through that). I learned to eat with chopsticks a bit like Thorongil... sort of thrown into the deep end and make do or starve (or suffer the embarrassment of asking for a fork). Fortunately, none of my food rolled away from me like it did poor Thorongil. Thanks for the review! | |
| Elflingimp | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2009 |
| This was really too funny! It reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie, the one where Indiana was being served frozen monkey brains and eyeballs in soup all sorts of things, live snakes! Ugh! Hugs The Imp Author Reply: Thank, Imp! Yes, it was a teeny bit reminiscent of that, although I wasn't consciously trying for it. I'm glad you enjoyed this and thanks for the review! | |
| Fantasia | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2009 |
| Ay Cairistiona, you are priceless...you make me laugh so hard that I was crying, let me tell you, I'm at work, so everybody was looking at me, Oh well!. The first time that I have wasabi, I didn't know what it was, like Aragorn I thought that was avocado, to clarify this, I'm from a tropical island, Cuba, so no sushi or wasabi or hot foods, then I moved to USA, Ohio, in a very American-traditional town, so not wasabi there either, but a lot of hot food...anyway, I went to this Japanese restaurant in Cincinnati, and have my sushi (love it!) but took a big piece of wasabi and almost screamed, it was so dammed hot! Now, I live in California, have all wonderful different cultures around and eat almost everything, but I think that I will never eat the bird nets and fertilized eggs, I have a friend that did it in his visit to China and he said that he has nightmares after that. We don't eat shrimps with head and legs, but it is very common all around the word, so I can do that...In Cuba we have a dish with the cow's brain and it is delicious, so we all have our strange dishes. This also remind me Indiana Jones movie, the one in the Temple of Doom, when he was sitting in the Indian palace, hilarious... Thanks again, I really enjoy your stories... Fantasia Author Reply: Thank you, Fantasia! I've been amazed at how everyone has some experience with weird food that lets them really relate to poor Aragorn... I guess we've all had our encounters with food outside our normal experience. And yes, wasabi can just about kill you if you eat too much without realizing what it is! Ouch. I'm glad you survived, and thanks for the review! (and yeah, that scene with the eyeball soup came to mind while I was writing, but I decide to spare poor Thorongil and let him have some simple egg drop soup. *grin*) | |
| Eliza | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2009 |
| Oh Cairistiona, What a funny, lovely story. Poor Thorongil. My extent of Asian Cuisine is usually General Tso's chicken I have had the pleasure of traveling to Africa. Talk about strange dishes. Snakes, cricketts and bugs for appertizers. I think I was never so happy to see Mcdonalds then after a night of fried red ants. Author Reply: Thank you, Eliza! Glad you enjoyed this. Isn't it amazing what people will eat? I have had snake before, but never any insects! And I remember how glad we were the first chance we had to order Pizza Hut delivered to our hotel room in China. Good old familiar fast food never tasted so good. Thanks for the review! | |
| Silivren Tinu | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2009 |
| LOL! Oh, poor Thorongil! I think it showed remarkable self-restraint that he did *not* kiss the hand of the server who brought him roasted chicken at the end. *g* I'm afraid I could never be as noble as Thorongil, too. While China fascinates me, máodàn would certainly qualify as the kind of food I never want to try... ever. ;-) A great story, Cairistiona! Congrats on winning the first place in the Teitho contest! :) Almut Author Reply: Thank you, Almut! It really was a bit of a silly story but it fit the topic, and was one of those "write what you know" moments that I couldn't resist trying. I'm glad it brought you a laugh. :) And yeah, I think I might have kissed the hand of the server as well! Thanks for the review! | |
| Ainu Laire | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/14/2009 |
| As I said in my LJ, this story so reminded me of my own experience in China and with the sushi that is ridiculously common in my area. We have a lot of Asians where I live, and so the cuisine can be... interesting. I once ordered a small crab-like thing that stared back at me. I ate it, though left the eyes untouched XD And Guangzhou, wonderful place... I still remember the eels and alligator for sale at the fish market. You do realize that you need some sort of sequel, right? :P Aragorn as King eating this... and a friend or family member being disgusted (or absolutely loving it...) Hah, that would be awesome. Author Reply: I'm glad you enjoyed this so much, Laire. Yes, Guangzhou markeplace is, well, interesting, to say the least. I remember our guide offering me a scorpion. A *live* scorpion. I politely declined. LOL Hmm, a sequel might be fun to try one of these days! Thanks for the review! | |
| Calenlass | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/14/2009 |
| Ah, I knew you write this. CONGRATS ON WINNING!!! Yep, Asians eat weird things. It’s official. *silly grin* I have to protest that wasabi is delicious. Really, with soy sauce and sashimi...even though in Japan they only put a small amount. But it’s an acquired taste. :P Eyeballs…they’re also an acquired taste. I remember grossing out the class when I was in sixth/seventh grade when I told them I ate fish eyeballs. That was fun. The chick-in-the-egg—guh, I’ve heard of them. Never wanted to see them. *shudder* A lovely, entertaining fic that deserved first, through and through. :) Thanks for writing it! ~Cal Author Reply: Thanks, Cal! :) I'm glad you liked this... and I've actually had wasabi (thankfully not in the vast amount poor Thorongil unwittingly stuffed in his mouth) and it's not too bad. But yes, in a small amount! Thanks again for the review and kind words. :) | |