Trekuriously Tested: The Lagoon Kitchen Hunger Games
It was high noon and the Trekurious Team decided to divide ranks and wage a culinary war against each other. It was prawn curry VS pineapple curry VS bean curry. The stakes were higher than usual; not only would we have to eat what we’ve cooked, but gloating privileges were up for grabs as well. The latter obviously being the most important.
While Talia, being guided by Dilmani, struggled to get the beans well-cooked yet slightly crisp, she came to the realization that maybe she should have spent less time playing the Sims 2 and more time helping her mum make beans. Who would have thought something like that would actually be a downfall? Deepak and Janith already had the upper hand- between Deepak being a home cook and Janith being a self professed culinary artist, Talia was clearly out of her league.
Next up was Deepak, 6”1, expert coconut scraper and thirsty to win. He chopped those green chillies and onions in the rhythm of the theme music from Jaws- this was somewhat harrowing as he was completely off-key. As the last ingredient was added into the pineapple curry and Dilmani clapped him on the back in congratulations, Janith stepped up to the plate.
Much to his chagrin, Janith had everyone jump in to help make the prawn curry. This included the driver. Dilmani led the way, instructing him on which ingredients to use and how to use it while everyone else added their two cents. However, much like the karate kid, Janith concentrated on just Dilmani’s voice and the bubbling prawn curry till the lid was placed over the pot marking the end of his fight. The food was, as far as everyone was concerned, cooked to perfection.
It was now time for the taste off. Weapons of cutlery were drawn, belts were loosened and the steaming curries were brought forward with rice and other condiments. We greedily filled up every ceramic inch of our plates and rubbed our hands together in anticipation. It was now win or die (of shame, mostly).
A battle cry was heard; Deepak yelled yummy in an aggressive tone and instantly proclaimed himself the winner. Sure the pineapple curry was delightfully nectarous and packed a spicy zing, but it was a biased decision and the afternoon was still young.
A bugle stilled forks and knives for a moment; Talia’s mmmm hummed steadily and persistently across the table. It was unanimously agreed that her bean curry was not just good, it was ‘3rd servingly’ good.
However, it was the silence that was most heard. Everyone was tucking into the prawns rather quietly. They were juicy, succulent and so fresh it just burst in your mouth halfway through a bite. Janith decided to serve us more of these god-like prawns and we were ‘served’ indeed. Each helping felt like a passive aggressive taunt. We shifted uncomfortably as our plates were piled high with his annoyingly tasty masterpiece. Every bite was a reminder of our defeat. It was painful. Deliciously painful. We avoided eye contact with him but felt his gloat-filled grin on us. The victor needed no official announcement.
After lunch, we patted our bellies and sauntered into the garden to relax by the pool. We wanted to push Janith in, but the effort it’ll take to do that would have required a plate or 2 less. So we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon lazily chatting about lagoon fishing and how the prawns lacked a teaspoon of salt. It was a good day.