I'm Not Accustomed

When I was a missionary in Taiwan, we were taught that if we didn't like something, we might tell the people that we weren't "accustomed" to eating it. (bu xi quan) Another thing we learned was that if we didn't like it, to just leave it in our bowl. Throughout my time in Taiwan and China, I have eaten alot of weird things. Most I liked, but there were a few that I left in my bowl. One thing that I never really learned to like is Moon Cakes. Well, let me clarify, I do like moon cakes if they don't have preserved egg yolk in them, but most do. Try as I might, I have never developed a liking for the egg.

Yesterday I went to help a Chinese friend of mine. She is applying for citizenship, and needed to write an email to help speed up the process. To thank me for helping her, she gave me a huge box of moon cakes. I knew that my family wouldn't eat them, and I wouldn't eat them. I also knew that they are quite expensive. I was able to convince her to just give me two, instead of the entire box.

It's been a long time since I ate moon cakes, so I decided to try them again. It looked so pretty in the wrapping paper, and my mouth was starting to water looking at it. Tonight I decided to cut one in to pieces for everyone to try. Just as I feared, there wasn't a preserved egg yolk inside, there were SEVERAL! There really aren't too many parts that didn't have some egg in them. I encouraged my kids to try some, but they all resisted. I decided to lead the way and show them how good they are. I took one bite, and had to stop. Try as I might, I don't think I'll ever become accustomed to moon cakes with preserved egg.