Crème de la crème Photography/Gastronomy/Sociology

A spoonful of this bad boy and you'll be hooked on it for life.. The first time my tastebuds experienced the explosion of flavors from wacky Thai cuisine was years ago at a lunch date with one of my best friends.. We decided to indulge on sushi (this was long before sushi became a food trend) at this cute Asian restaurant accross the street from my ex-house.. This short, soft spoken, heavy accented Thai lady, who later became a friend and told us her whole life story, came to greet us at the door.. She sat us in this cozy tatami room and for some Godsent reason, this lady, who had came from Thailand a few months back to marry some American dude she hardly knew just to make her life easier, offered us The Soup as an appetizer.. I didn't care what was in it, I wanted it (I've always been an adventurer when it comes to food).. She brought it in an extra small bowl just in case we didn't like it, and I'm pretty sure she didn't charge us for it.. As soon as the taste of chicken, shrimp, lemon grass and coconut milk hit the tip of my tongue, I wished I was born in a little village in Thailand.. It was most defnitely magical.. We asked for another serving and completely forgot about our Sexy Sushi order..

A couple years ago I read ''Kitchen Confidential'' by Anthony Bourdain, and in this book he describes the exact moment of when he realizes that food is "something other than substance", after having his first bowl of Vichyssoise (the infamous cold French soup).. "I remember everything about the experience: the way our waiter ladled it from a silver tureen into my bowl; the crunch of the tiny chopped chives he spooned on as a garnish; the rich, creamy taste of leek and potato; the pleasurable shock, the surprise that it was cold."