these are a few of my favorite things

44) Ribs. When I think of Ribs, I think of Tony Romas. I had these tasty slabs of meat for the first time on my eight birthday. When my brothers and I were young, birthdays were special occasions celebrated at restaurants with the whole family in attendance. Being a meat-lover, My dad ordered for himself a rack of baby black ribs (Tony Romas' speciality). My brothers and I who had initially gone for the safer "fried" options were smitten by the sight of the golden glaze upon juicy meat and dived in for a bite, clearing his plate before he even knew it. This was how good real meat tasted.

Later on, my mother discovered an interest in cooking and she would grace many of our family dinners with a rack of delicious orange zest or coffee-flavored ribs.

http://hikaru-allez-cuisine.blogspot.com/2010/08/tony-roma-singapore.html

43) Octopus. Whatever the Japanese eat, I think I can safely say that I will eat it too! Well, with the exception of hot soba, of which I'm extremely fearful and ill-disposed towards (due to an incident that took place in Hakone, Japan) (but that is for another story!)

Tako Sushi is Octopus on a Sushi and I can wolf down a couple of these at one go! They are so delicious when freshly sliced, served a top fragment Japanese rice and one bite will send you into other realms!

42) Durian. This is one of my favorite fruit! Be it meshed into a tasty puff, baked into a cake, frozen into ice-cream, fried and stuffed into pancake or eaten on its own, this is truly the king of all fruits. The best durian that is in existence is the Mao Shang Wang Durian.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/backpackfoodie/4036979544/sizes/z/

Known as the King of the Mountain Cats these durians have a flesh so creamy and divine that one seed is never enough.

41) Mango

"Very Heaty! Not Good for you!" my mother bellowed whenever we asked if we could have Mangos for desert.

So Mango (like Durian) became a coveted fruit in our household.

And on the rare occasion mother returns from the supermarket with sweet delicious pieces of this covet fruit, the whole family goes crazy with delight. It is one of those childhood rituals to watch her (as we salivate) place the mango on a chopping board and slice it into three parts with two swift cuts. We will stare beady-eyed, as two of its fat fleshy cheeks fall flat onto the board with aplomb, leaving a delicious puddle of faint orange-colored juice-stains on the board.

http://thisfoodthing.com/2009/03/16/fresh-fruit-salsa-with-cinnamon-apple-chips/

Mother would then distribute each side to whichever two of her children were by her side, before sitting down to enjoy the centerpiece. We use to think that her choice of centerpiece was a huge sacrifice! Weren't they the most cumbersome to eat? But we grew older, we realized that the cetrepiece was truly the most gorgeous part of a Mango. It was thick with flesh and the process of devouring each bite with sticky juice running through your fingers and down your elbows was capable of putting all affliction at rest. No wonder she went for seconds!