The Pau and I.

Perhaps it was the cloudy, deliciously drowsy weather. Perhaps it was me being imbued by a wave of deep retrospection. Or perhaps it was the weather that caused the wave of profound retrospection.

But either way, the fact remains - just for today, I am entirely in love with steamy, spongy, ambrosial paus, smothered with heaps of hearty red bean paste. (I know, it's an overuse of food-licious adjectives but I just HAD to. Check this out to create your own string of food adjectives!) Eating that fluffy round ball of goodness was not so much of a hunger-satisfying experience. It went much deeper than that. It was almost - philosophical!

I shivered as a gust of wind swept past me. The rain was pouring down in sheets and the leaves hung on the boughs, trembling. Mr. Pau Seller smiled amiably as I exchanged the money in my hand for the pau. I clutched it tightly, cupping it in my hands as I contentedly made my way to my seat, scrumptious images playing in my mind. I smiled rather stupidly at the pau and I believe it grinned right back at me. Ironic actually - since it was about to be eaten. But then again, maybe it was honoured to be of service to me ;)

I slowly and deliberately peeled off the white layer around the pau and simultaneously, I felt the troubles of the day fade away into obscurity and I was drawn higher and higher, past the clouds to my own little unburstable bubble of Pau and I.

I've always believed that la nourriture vrai has never existed for the superficial purpose of filling one's tummy. It nourishes one's soul. As I sank my teeth into the luscious spread of nectarous red bean, it dawns upon me that the common passion most people have for food is quite justified. You see, good food is something that leaves you with an aftertaste so divine, something which warms you, thawing the sleets which envelop your soul on particularly bad days - freeing you to love again.

And that is the story of the magical moment my Pau and I shared. Maybe someday I'll write a book on The Philosophy of Perfectly Perfect Paus.