Loathe the taste of Smelly Tofu. As to Smelly Tofu’s special brand of ‘fragrant’ scent - even if the hawker’s stall selling them is at one end of the street, the other end of it also reeks with their odor. That pungent odor saturating the air will have me instantly turn on my heels fleeing the scene. In no way am I disparaging Smelly Tofu, it is just a matter of personal taste. Many of my friends who like Smelly Tofu told me that it is actually not smelly at all, on the contrary, it is quite fragrantly crisp to the taste. They tried to sweet-talk me to sample it. I refused to open my mouth. Instead I pinched my nose tight and begged them to please take it away, or else I would die of suffocation. A bit of hyperbolizing here, but my loathing for that particular odor is no joke! Until that one particular get-together of new and old friends sharing a meal, having fun chitchatting happily away.
Then the doorbell rang. Another friend had just arrived. I opened the door, and immediately saw the package of Smelly Tofu in his hand. An ‘aroma’ rushed up at me. And I thought to myself, “Oh God! (Tin ya!) Never mind that you did not buy a visitation gift, but do you have to bring along that “thing”? At that moment, I was so tempted to lock that friend out. But as a host, such discourtesy would be inappropriate, and so I grudgingly let him in.
The moment he sat down, he immediately shared his goodies with good friends, which upon savoring prompted exclamations of “Delicious!” (hou mei!), “Great!”(zheng ya!). I cautiously sat myself at the very far end, watching them devouring the goodies. Suddenly, a lady friend asked me why I was not partaking. I said I did not like fried food. My good friends instantaneously hooted and eagerly divulged that I was actually scared of the “stink” not the “fried”. Upon hearing that, the lady friend snickered and uttered, “Useless” (mo guai yung!) “What?” How did disliking Smelly Tofu become associated with being useless? I was a bit peeved, but could only keep mum.
Later, a group of good brothers (hou hing dai) deliberately taunted me with this speared piece of Smelly Tofu dangling before my face. Since my manly ego was clearly being challenged, I took a piece, promptly popped it into my mouth, and chewed determinedly. Yee? It’s not smelly! Not bad tasting, either! All my friends cheered and taking turns, teased, “There you go, you ate it! What’s there to be scared of?”
True! Actually what I previously thought of as scary, including tasks and things, they were really no big deal. If one is daring enough to try them out, or willing enough to take the first step out, the real situation might indeed turn out quite differently. Although to this day I still dislike eating Smelly Tofu, I do, however, want to thank my friends for opening up my mind.
Then the doorbell rang. Another friend had just arrived. I opened the door, and immediately saw the package of Smelly Tofu in his hand. An ‘aroma’ rushed up at me. And I thought to myself, “Oh God! (Tin ya!) Never mind that you did not buy a visitation gift, but do you have to bring along that “thing”? At that moment, I was so tempted to lock that friend out. But as a host, such discourtesy would be inappropriate, and so I grudgingly let him in.
The moment he sat down, he immediately shared his goodies with good friends, which upon savoring prompted exclamations of “Delicious!” (hou mei!), “Great!”(zheng ya!). I cautiously sat myself at the very far end, watching them devouring the goodies. Suddenly, a lady friend asked me why I was not partaking. I said I did not like fried food. My good friends instantaneously hooted and eagerly divulged that I was actually scared of the “stink” not the “fried”. Upon hearing that, the lady friend snickered and uttered, “Useless” (mo guai yung!) “What?” How did disliking Smelly Tofu become associated with being useless? I was a bit peeved, but could only keep mum.
Later, a group of good brothers (hou hing dai) deliberately taunted me with this speared piece of Smelly Tofu dangling before my face. Since my manly ego was clearly being challenged, I took a piece, promptly popped it into my mouth, and chewed determinedly. Yee? It’s not smelly! Not bad tasting, either! All my friends cheered and taking turns, teased, “There you go, you ate it! What’s there to be scared of?”
True! Actually what I previously thought of as scary, including tasks and things, they were really no big deal. If one is daring enough to try them out, or willing enough to take the first step out, the real situation might indeed turn out quite differently. Although to this day I still dislike eating Smelly Tofu, I do, however, want to thank my friends for opening up my mind.
source: 圖文並謬 pp 42-43
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