PISCES... and other culinary impressions

Ok... now I am going to have to write some stuff about Barbados. It is too hard for me to fictionalize this part at present as I don't know what I want to happen in Barbados yet... but I don't want to forget the feelings or impressions, so for now, please let me write it as it is.

My first trip to Pisces Restaurant in St. Lawrence Gap was both magical and painful as I had been promising to go for 8 years... and never made it there until it was too late to see my brother, executive chef/partial owner in action. It was night when I arrived at Pisces by means of his Dodge Dakota (the most recent vehicular acquisition)... I had rather been hoping for the baby blue Mercedes convertible as I remember racing along the Island Highway on Vancouver Island in it. And it was because of this car and the duties being imposed on it that a trip to Taipei to visit me was cancelled.

The restaurant was nothing much to speak of from the road side (nor the beach side either)... But upon entering, well.... It was a mass of white lattice-work opening up to the sky. The terraces overhung the ocean and the lights reflected in the water showing all the gradations of turquoise and blue. The restaurant was lit by hanging lanterns clustered in groups of two, three, four - terracotta "gourds" with the light streaming out through punctured patterns - each cluster decorated with leafy creeping vines.

"Order whatever you want," invited my somewhat uncomfortable host, Dr. (owner of Brown Sugar and other past hotspots... not to mention the restaurants in Victoria and Vancouver). His partner challenged me to spot my brother's contributions to the menu... It was easy: Banana Galette and NY Cheesecake for starters. I will need a copy of that hardcover tome Restaurants of Barbados on my next visit as it includes his recipe for Banana Galette.

(Oh, by the way, the youngest chef at Pisces is a sweetheart... He never spoke to me, but I guess he had heard about my love for hot food... and one day, he cooked me up a special plate of pasta generously laced with all the chilis, sundried tomatos and other good stuff he could find in the kitchen. )

The other stories of Pisces cannot be told here, but I can mention that I also visited other favorite haunts in the neighborhood: Champers, that little place that serves pancakes with fresh lemon and sugar... etc etc... But none really left such an impression. I guess all my knowledge of Barbados being second-hand, I had used my imagination... and up until that point I suppose I had expected - don't be shocked by my ignorance - Trinidad. Where was the good roti and the doubles? What about shark and bake... and most importantly, pepper sauce? Sorry, but that stuff in Barbados has too much mustard in it and isn't nearly hot enough.

One night, we did go for roti though... at the drive-through at Chefette! Now I know you are thinking this is an absolutely ridiculous thing to do... Who in their right mind would expect real roti from Chefette? But this also had a special meaning. The brother of the guy who started Chefette was one of my brother's closest friends (as his family had kind of adopted him). I had wanted to go and visit them, but apparently, the friend was seriously ill. It was not the time. If anyone out there knows them, I would really like to know what how he is.

I also want to go back to Barbados again soon, but I must wait a little before I can manage this. I have a little black book full of names and addresses of people I feel I know... many of whom have written my family, but I was unable to contact any of them last time... Plus, although silly, I felt sorry to disappoint people who expected me to be more like my brother: my "brown" is buried deep under layers of Asia sunlessness. I also didn't do as my brother did and get a West Indian passport... nor accent! I might as well be Korean or Japanese. At least I can speak the language.

Making Money in Barbados

Well... I have written stories about fitness clubs in Taipei... and about English Teaching in Korea... now I am looking for stories about making money in Barbados! Of course anything, any story to do with money is fine, from the perspective of those who have it... those who don't etc... Got NO stories to start with... Will have to go do some research in Barbados (man that’s going to be tough), but I have a little background info from perspective of an ex-pat former resident (the “Guyanese Ambassador” himself):

You Are What You Drive: Yeah! I know him! He’s the blue Mercedes Convertible... X3–something, isn’t he? Yes... Take note of his license plate number too because now you know where he lives (or works)! X is a Christchurch plate... Cruise by the Gap to see if he isn’t sitting out on a patio somewhere.

Getting a Loan: Who do you know? Smile nice at Ms. Murrell and she can set you up just fine, skip the paperwork, get a loan... Find out how much is in someone else’s account... But whatever you do, do NOT get down to business when you first walk in the door... Keep it friendly at first.

Cruising for Property: So you want to buy a house in Barbados? You better be a Canadian oil tycoon, a British pop star, or some kind of millionaire ‘cause it’s going to cost you plenty! But hey, you already have some connections at the bank, right? So now you begin... Get in your convertible and start cruising. Prime properties are those on the West Coast, the South Coast or the East Coast... Well, that about covers it. The closer to a major hotel (preferable one featured in Conde Naste) the better. These properties are probably already taken and are not likely for sale by owner. However, every now and then some old guy dies without a will (or with a will) and the families feud for decades. If they can't work it out, the property goes up for sale! Get in there ASAP. Don’t just copy down the number from the sign posted on the property – remove it so no one else sees it. Other possibility – the property wasn’t fully paid off... Now you are really lucky because you have a connection at the bank. She will sell it to you super-cheap... The price of the outstanding loan (plus a little cut for her and a little cut for the bank).

Now that you have your place, be sure to rent it out for US$10,000 a week whenever you are away from Barbados... presumedly working to pay it off.

Crime: What crime? Bajans live well. No crime happening here – Go to Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad for that kind of intrigue!

Special Taxes: Beware of special taxes. Lots of things are hard to buy in Barbados (like your BMW SUV)... But don’t go thinking you can just bring it in... If customs has to know, you may find there are sudden special unlisted import taxes on your item... Again, knowing someone might help.

Better if it’s Brand Name: Talking about clothes here.

Tales of a Female Nomad

NOTE: This is an aside... a side-track...

The title of this entry is the name of a book... an autobiography (a travelogue?) written by a woman who is a writer of children's books. In her late 40's, she found herself facing divorce and decided to spend time on her own traveling. She lived in Mexico, Indonesia, New Zealand to name a few and learned Spanish and Indonesian. She lived with the communities in these countries and strived to be included in the social lives of these people... something she accomplished this by helping the women with their kitchen etc tasks. In each place she has her children come and visit. As we read on, we see how she views and experiences each of these places, but as for gaining any deep anthological insight into these countries, we fall short. I find the writing (and she is a writer!) flat and merely descriptive. We read about customs and things she clearly finds "exotic" which she contrasts with the realization that the emotions they (and she) share are the same. (I find this a bit trite somehow). She talks of crying with the locals re: their tragedies, but I am not moved to tears (and I tear easily... I can cry watching the "sad" parts in comedies). She participates in their joys, but I cannot realize them in any deep way. I was moved more by "Okubo Diary" the personal journal of an anthropologist who lived in a pottery village in Japan.

I am not sure why I am writing about this here on my Barbados blog, but I guess it is because I am wondering how it is that this writing that I find so flat was enjoyed by so many.... whereas I can write to entertain myself, but am not even sure my own mother will read it cover to cover. I guess I am wondering what makes a book readable.

I also wonder who reads a particular kind of book? Are the people who enjoyed this book other women who have dreamt of traveling and not followed through... or others who have traveled/lived abroad. Almost all of my friends are (or have been) ex-pats and travelers. They know what it is to have wanderlust... and have many tales to tell. How can we know which of those tales are really "tell-able"?

Long Time, No Write

Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything on this blog.... it isn't because I have given up, but I have been thinking and doing research. The first part of my research involved visiting the fortune teller. After visiting the fortune teller (see last entry), I realized that my starting point would have to be scrapped as the real point of the story was obscured.... perhaps I didn't really know where I was going with this. The truth is, the story is about two half-siblings who have never met, both (however) living quasi-parallel lives as ex-pats... both searching for identity and happiness and/or fulfillment (although their ideas about what would make them happy/fulfilled are very different). Although not apparent on the surface, they are both actually (like so many others) also seeking approval/seeking to prove their worth/seeking admiration of others.
These themes will unfold as we tell the story of the siblings looking for themselves in each other (each being quite literally a stranger to the other). The real reason I haven't really written so much is that I have been focused on Kamal (as the more interesting protagonist). In actuality, I feel the story should be about Kamal, but center more around Tara -- as Kamal will disappear part-way through the story. The story (unlike those of my hero-Salman Rushdie) is not allegorically related to anything larger than the story of two people's lives.

As I see it, there are 2 options for the starting point:

OPTION 1: The story will begin at the fortune teller. Kamal has disappeared and no one knows where he has gone to... the parts of Kamal and Tara's meeting are told with Tara as protagonist... or others (Lan etc)

OPTION 2: The story starts with Tara and Kamal's first meeting. She has taken a school vacation to visit Taiwan and meet him - the brother she never knew existed before.

As for other research, I have ordered a number of books on writing. I will be reading them over the winter vacation to learn how to write dialog and gain other insights into writing. I will also attempt to outline the whole story.