I am a contrarian. All of this unpopular opining of mine may look like critical thinking, heroic truth-seeking.  But don’t be fooled; it’s just knee-jerk doggerel.  My world-view is permanently controlled by the assumption that “those millions of people talking around me can’t possibly be right”. My brain rails against whatever prevails. Remember that, especially when you catch me writing about Chinese medicine.  Remember where I am writing from. Here or there. Remember whose those surrounding millions of voices are.  If I am in my native UK, stifled by familiarity, you will find me warmly...

From my days selling tea in the UK, some moments stand out in my memory. In one, a lady comes into our shop (a national chain) and takes from the shelf her usual packet of cheap Darjeeling. The season is Spring. Coincidentally, we have just received a consignment of First Flush Darjeeling from Margaret’s Hope in West Bengal. I’ve only just sampled this new “premium” version for myself. The experience is an epiphany to me (as one who prizes Chinese tea above all others!) The difference between this and the...

“It’s just like sending gifts to myself!” It’s often said that the charm of Taobao is in the 4-day-long narrative it establishes. You order the products distractedly on your phone, return your full attention to work or family… and then, just when you have forgotten all about it, there’s a surprise knock at the door! Well, I guess I’m too materialistic for any of that forgetting. The childish excitement of Christmas Eve still dances in me for all 4 days. There’s also the nagging awareness that I may need to send...

I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. There they both were. And it was my wife who’d put them there. Strewth. It wasn’t even that one of these dishes was left-overs from the previous day; no, she had consciously cooked both of them, set them there for the family to actually eat. Okay, it was a long time ago that she’d delivered the warning. Maybe she’s forgotten it by now. Or maybe I’m the one who misremembered. Anyway, here goes. Fish is not to be paired with sweet potato. Harmless individually, these two...