Sweet Torture

After watching a travel-show on Thailand last Saturday, we decided to head to a Thai-resto for dinner.

Under a year, the missus has become a converted lover of tomyam. She classifies it as something of "sweet torture," much like the Japanese wasabe. The latter, when taken in above-normal portions, hits the nose's path going up your brains as if fumigating your nostrils. The feeling is overwhelmingly hot (and embarassingly stupid) while you try to quench it with green tea. Stupid because after a sip of green tea you realize that the drink is hot. So it was like trying to douse a bonfire with gasoline. Ahhghhh should've ordered a Coke!

Tomyam has the similar effect, especially when you sip it wrongly. I, for one, have been a victim to this. I would take a sip, then I feel something building up at the back of my throat, like hot magma about to flow to my lungs. I have no other recourse but to cough, to the weird smiles of the waiters and other guests of the resto.

The missus has found a way to sip the spicy concoction without coughing. She says the idea is to stop breathing while you sip the tomyam. Easy right? Unfortunately I couldn't get it right. I always had to cough. Anghang kasi eh!

Of course, there's no need to mention that I sweat heavily when I have tomyam. I could feel the sweat accumulating at my shirt collar. It's like going to a sauna, only you feel a slight guilt of the additional calories that you need to burn on the next badminton session.

As we walked out of the resto, I could feel the tomyam spice palpitating on my lips. Hmmm...this must be how lip-enhancement surgery feels. There's no other way to tone down the spice-level but to grab a cup of Baskin n Robbins and use it as a lip-icepack.

All in all it was like crossing the Sahara and then ending up at the Antartic.

Ahhhh....relief!