Culprits and Gifts

So in the suitcases, I've lugged along groceries. One mainly held bottles of belachan, kaya and packs of instant coffee and wolfberries. Didn't bother with pineapple tarts this round. No space.

It's just for fun that I brought along kopi-o. Not that this city lacks coffee. But there's something about Singapore-style kopi-o that tickles the friends and they don't mind it once in a while.

Seattle isn't as bad as Oslo (Norway, not midwest Minnesota) where one could get nothing much at the one Asian supermarket in town, not even instant packs of Milo. It's got a ton of spicy instant tom-yam noodles, fresh chilli padi, banana and pandan leaves, and coconut milk though. Here, if you do lots of Asian cooking, it's easy to find the necessary spices and ingredients. Your trusty grocer will be Uwajimaya which has everything under the sun, with the cutest tote bags to boot.

There are 30 bottles of kaya in one suitcase, among other things (bottles are down to 10 now). I'm really good at packing glass jars and perishables. I have no love for kaya. The loved ones do. It is an effort lugging it for the friends and family. Nobody asked me to do so. I do it because I want to and it's kinda fun. This suitcase was filled with groceries, and that must have been why it was opened. It couldn't have been so random as to have TSA simply pounce on it right? There must have been an incredible amount of fluids and emulsified things showing up on the X-ray screen prior. Grrrr.