Out to lunch

I ate lunch with two co-workers today at a traditional “healthy” soup joint – it’s kind of a combination of a diner and a Walgreen’s. The soup, like everything in Chinese cuisine, has medicinal properties to help manage your ying or yang or cheese or something. Signs on the shop’s wall offer guidance about which ingredients go together, what one should eat to prevent various maladies, effects of different herbs and so on. There was a lot about “heating” and “cooling” foods, a concept I still don’t understand. (My co-workers translated some of it for me.)

My soup was rather bland, and had slabs of conch and pieces of melon in it. There was a rice dish with chicken (delicious) and then little plates of cucumber (a “cooling” food) and pineapple (a “heating” food.) I don’t think I’m feeling more balanced or invigorated. Maybe it takes awhile – like Xanax.

I try not to engage in hoary Western culinary prejudices but I did notice a dog on one of the signs. I tried to play it cool (Not: “HAR! HAR! Look Ma! They eat dog here! GROSS!!!), so I simply asked, “What does this mean?”

My co-worker explained that the poster listed various foods that shouldn’t be eaten together because they create “poisons” in your body. If you did make this mistake, you had to take a specific herb to put your body back in balance. According to this little diagram you’re not supposed to eat dog with garlic. (I’m not sure if I understood correctly, but this is what I remember.)

“Have you ever tried it?” One of my co-workers nodded, “It’s good to eat in winter.”

I don’t know that I find dog any less appetizing than, say, eating at Arby’s. I’m sure it’s stringy and oily and tastes kind of gamey. It would be mixed with vegetables and oils and spices rather than served up whole on a spit with a frisbee in its mouth. If I try it I’ll let everyone know.

(Hey David, can you translate this for me? I want to know if I understood correctly. Sorry for the crappy camera-phone pic!)