Bird Flu the Coop

There used to be a place in Santa Fe called “Fish & Pasta” but the ampersand fell off, so it was just “Fish Pasta” until it closed shortly thereafter.

Dim Sum Duck (also known as Dim Sum & Duck) in King’s Cross is one of my friend Caitlin’s favorite spots, and she is my longtime guiding light for restaurants in London. 

I met her there for a late lunch after a visit to the Timorous Beasties showroom. We went at a weird hour (3pm) to avoid the three-hour waits at normal times.

BBQ roast duck. Duck is the only form of poultry where the breast is like a hundred times fattier than the leg, and therefore more delicious. Previously I’d only ever had Peking duck or duck along the lines of “aromatic crispy roast duck”- the type that comes with the skin on the side, and is often served with pancakes and scallions and cucumbers and hoisin sauce so you don’t notice how dry the meat is. 

This Cantonese style is much more succulent. I loved it.

Cheung fun

Clay pot rice with steamed ribs and chicken feet.

This was my first experience with chicken feet.

The tendons fell apart like buttered linguine, but then the odd toenail or metatarsal gets in the way and reminds you that there’s a foot in your mouth. 

Shu mai

Har gow of impossibly crisp prawns wrapped in translucent “crystal” dumpling skins. 

 The texture of the prawns was like biting into an apple. 

Xiao Long Bao with a broth so slick with collagen it was like seasoned Vaseline.

Stir-fried morning glory (water spinach) with a stunning preserved bean curd and chile sauce. 

My favorite dish of the afternoon.  

With all this, we drank sparkling water and jasmine tea, but the best beverage pairing would have been a 32oz Diet Sprite. 

In 1998 I read an article in People Magazine where Matt Damon talked about developing ED-adjacent neuroses while losing 51 lbs in 100 days for Saving Private Ryan. He said it got so bad that he couldn’t kiss his girlfriend anymore because he could taste the fat on her lips from whatever she’d eaten. I thought of that today as I scrubbed my face with rubbing alcohol and still couldn’t wash away the feeling that I had moisturized with Crisco. A luxurious but very animal-fatty meal, an indulgence which will no doubt keep my stomach from letting me sleep properly tonight.