In an attempt to make a major sacrifice last year, I gave up meat, sweets, and alcohol. It was at times unsuccessful---I was handling food reviews for the magazine I used to work for, and during a trip to Beijing, a visit to Da Dong for its famous Peking duck left me weak in the knees. I succumbed to the gluttony of the evening and ate the best duck I've ever encountered so far.
It still haunts my dreams, waddling along my taste buds with a trail of bamboo steam in its wake.
No, not that duck.
Crisp and airy, the skin of the duck was conspicuously absent of the white layer of fat seen in most Peking duck preparations, but every bite was pure fat. You could feel the warm grease coating your tongue, brightened by the sauce and scallions.
There were other things, too: orange soup served inside a hollowed-out fruit, tender greens, fish. But the things I remember most were the items I took photos of. That should say something about having a camera at hand all the time, which I ironically stopped doing when I went to grad school and had to shoot with DSLRs constantly. Hey, camera fatigue happens sometimes. I regret that now, but I'm making up for lost time.
The things we ate at Da Dong (aside from double portions of Peking duck):
1. A beautifully arranged century egg appetizer
2. Grilled unagi (probably the fattiest I'd eaten, but I prefer mine done Japanese-style).
So here I am, reminiscing about sumptuous dinners from the past, while snacking on veggie chips and garlic hummus from Trader Joe's. I might have slipped up a couple of times last Lent, but I'm determined to stick it out this year and not have meat, sweets, alcohol.. and sleeping in on weekdays. It's going to be a tough couple of months ahead, but for me, Lent this year is about giving thanks for a whole lot of things. And living in New York (and being lucky enough to be doing a lot of things, hence the lack of Forkplay updates on my part) is right on top of that list.
