Changing tastes

Over the past few years, I’ve definitely noticed that my palate has changed and matured by leaps and bounds. I really love it and although I’m pretty adventerous with my food, I’m excited for the day when my taste buds rival those of Andrew Zimmern.

Things that I used to dislike, but now like or even love:

Indian food. This is completely thanks to Alex. I had always been afraid that Indian food was too spicy for me. A lot of it is, but there are so many delicious mild(er) options and I can’t believe I waited so long to try them. Some of my favorite things: biryani, paneer, tikka masala, rogan josh, puri, and NAAN!! Warm flatbread is definitely on my list of Most Favorite Things in the Whole Wide World.

Mexican food. A lot of Mexican food seems to be made for the same handful of ingredients (rice, beans, cheese, meat, tortilla) , but that doesn’t stop them from being utterly delicious. I had the freshest fish tacos ever at a roadside stand in Mexico a few months ago (everything was made and assembled before my eyes, even the torillas) and I still drool at the memory.

Sushi. This is a fairly recent development and I’ve come  to realise that the main reason why I didn’t like sushi before was that I had only been eating crappy sushi (i.e. Sushiland, Blue C). Too bad the good stuff is so freaking expensive.

Things that I still don’t like, but I’m working on:

Korean food.  I like bulgogi and jajangmyeon, but that’s about it. The few times that I’ve tried bibimbap have been disappointing and I don’t care for kimchi at all. The last couple times I’ve had Korean barbacue, I got sick (also, I just don’t like the idea of cooking your own food at a restaurant. KBBQ is way too expensive for a few plates of raw meat). I’m very much open to suggestions, but my hopes are not high.

Spicy food. I’m actively working on building up my pain spicy tolerance and I think it’s working! I’ve worked my way up to two stars now and have recently caught myself thinking “Hmm…this dish would be better if there was a little spice to it!” It has opened up a whole new world of food possibilities for me. I’ll know when I’ve reached my goal when the only tears I cry from spicy foods are tears of joy.

Shellfish. I like shrimp and crab, but really dislike clams and mussels and mollusks in general. Anything with a clam-like shell, and most things that need to be sucked or poked out. Again, way too much work and the taste just doesn’t appeal to me. The one time that I actually liked mussels was at Andaluca when it was simmered in a really flavorful broth and I could barely taste the mussels at all. :P

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