Food Challenges

I have always been quite adventurous when it comes to food .. well maybe not as adventurous as my husband .. but I'm usually willing to try most foods.  Thus, I've been surprised that getting used to the different foods (and smells) has been more of a challenge than I expected.  

For example, many grocery stores sell fruit called durian which I find to have an incredibly disgusting smell. The smell permeates the entire store and even the parking garage.  To me, it is nauseating. Some establishments agree, and have signs up indicating that durian are not allowed on their premises.  Shopping in stores that allow the sale of durian is miserable for me. I only breathe through my mouth and attempt to leave as quickly as possible. However, I have been told that I have to try it.  Maybe some day, but not yet.  Could I get away with eating a durian-filled donut?  

A table in a grocery store displaying freshly cut durian.

We have found a store that is quite close that only allows the sale of durian outside the store.  Although it takes longer to get there, for me it is worth it.

Seafood is plentiful in Malaysia, which is wonderful.  I guess it helps that we're surrounded by water.  But, with the sale of so much fish, comes another odor that I've had a hard time dealing with.  Also, I'm usually not keen on eating snacks that are fish-flavored, which seem to be a favorite among the people here. A couple of weeks ago I purchased some fish-shaped crackers thinking that they'd be similar to Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish crackers.  But I was wrong! I sampled one when we got home and just as quickly as I popped one in my mouth, I was spitting it out in the sink.  Although I've never sampled a can of sardines, I could only imagine that they taste just like that cracker.  I shot the photo below on my shopping trip last week.  These are shrimp-flavored crackers.  I have actually eaten some that are not too bad, but I would never buy these with that creepy looking thing displayed on the package.

The food isn't all bad, however.  The fruit is wonderful. We eat fresh fruit almost every day - mangoes, bananas, dragonfruit, papaya, and pineapples are plentiful and inexpensive. Additionally, the seafood is fresh, curry puffs are delightful and the local cuisine isn't bad (it's a big bonus that many local meals cost only 1-2 U.S. dollars).  We are also surrounded by Western food.  We have Chili's, T.G.I.Fridays, Tony Roma's, and many more all within a one mile radius of where we live.  So, when we're craving flavors that we are used to, we definitely have that option.  But, we have had a hard time finding good Mexican food. Although I've coped by making my own salsa, I'll apologize in advance for making everyone eat Mexican food with us when we're back in the U.S.

I can't end this post without including a photo of at least one of our kids.  So, in celebration of food, here's of photo of Ezra eating a slice of watermelon at dinner tonight: