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Mabuhay! I'm an Asian American writer (Back Kicks And Broken Promises, Abbott Press, 2012), martial artist and teacher who was born in The Philippines, raised in Hong Kong and ended up in New Jersey.

01 March, 2011

Simple Pleasures

The last couple of weeks I'd been having a food craving but, up until last Wednesday, I didn't know what I wanted. My taste buds were calling for some sweet satisfaction (how's that for alliteration, fellow writers? haha) but I didn't know for what exactly. Then, out of the blue, when my wife was heading out to the store and asked if I wanted anything, it hit me. I wanted a bun from the bakery at the Asian supermarket; a bun I used to enjoy as a child in Hong Kong that I would get from Maxim's and other bakeries around the city.

A few days later, we headed to the Asian market, after taking our son to see an early showing of Gnomeo And Juliet, to buy Japanese mayonnaise and grab some lunch. After sharing a couple of double rice combo lunches three ways, we bought the mayo and some other groceries then headed for the bakery where I satisfied my sweet tooth. The bun that did it for me is oval with a slit/trench cut down the middle lengthtwise. That trench is filled with a sweet white cream and the top of the bun is sprinkled with sweet desiccated coconut. My entire childhood, I thought that filling was some kind of cream. Only now did I discover it's butter; not a thick lard-like kind of butter but a light, smooth and ungreasy kind. Well, for the rest of the day, and maybe even the remainder of the weekend, that butter bun was the tastiest, most delicious thing I'd eaten.

It's funny how things make your day. I'd been having - and am still having - a stressful time of things. There's a lot going on. Maybe, subconsciously, I wanted that bun because it's a reminder of my childhood when things were light and easy; a contrast to what's happening these days. Or, maybe, my taste buds just wanted something they'd missed. Either way, that butter bun did it for me.

What does it for you?

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