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| eggplant |
I agree.
This is not a dish that makes it to the cut of #foodporn or #foodgasm. This is not a dish that at first sight, you will want to grab your phone, set your camera, snap a picture and immediately upload it to Facebook or Instagram without the assistance of editing apps or filters. Neither is this a dish that millennials would feature in their "Dinner at Pasarbella" album for their friends to ooh and aah over the picture and then live-live-die-die want to have the very same thing for their next meal a la influencer marketing style.
True, it's not bright looking, it doesn't have the vibrancy of the chilies or the spark of the red and green peppers, it doesn't have the cuteness of basil or the twitchy move of bonito flakes when served hot, and what with it being mostly brown, black and purple, it doesn't even have the enticing colors of happy foods, like the yellows, the vermillions and the reds. Why, there's barely an inch of green in here.
Yet, it is for this dish that I make a beeline for the moment I enter the upmarket, happening, hipster food court in Suntec City, bypassing the beef pho, the tempting bucket of mussels, crabs and prawns, the sweet and savory crepes, the pork knuckles, the salads, the wagyu burger and the salted egg sweet potato fries.
Because I have a deep love for eggplant.
And I have an especial love for the benefits of sea salt.
Maybe it's because they're not just a healthy food place, but that they're serving cuisine from this region in the Middle East from a Land that possesses one half of the Dead Sea, they really are pretty generous with their portions of sea salt.
I was surprised by their generosity the first time. I mean, WOW, this is SALTY, man! But, I liked it. I liked the way it was infused into their grilled eggplant, making it mushy, tasty, salty and just a tad chewy at the same time. I liked the way the sea salt was immersed into their cheese-laden pizza topped with thinly sliced mushrooms, sliced black olives and some sort of veggies sprinkled all over. I liked the way my palate got used to the deep, blended flavors, and I liked the way that I didn't feel thirsty one bit at all. :)
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| for two or three |
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| sea salt galore |