SnackTAYku International: The First Thing You do in Trinidad

Welcome to the island of Trinidad in the West Indies.  It's here after a five hour red-eye flight from New York that upon leaving the airport doors, the heat might hit you something fierce.  If you're lucky, there's a trade wind blowing your way.  You may be met by the sun taking to the skies and giving life to the day.  Family and friends will greet you with all their love and genuine happiness melted into the warmest hugs and hellos you could find any where.  And after all that, your first stop is right across the street for breakfast from the cart selling "Doubles".

Trinidad...

First, let us discuss our as per usual, frantic on the fly trip as a whole and all the shart we ate while there.

We got to Trinidad last week Thursday in the afternoon, and ! Boohead came with us! and managed to stuff Royal Castle in his mouth before I did..., then we proceeded to eat Aunty P.'s awesome times pelau then went out with CLee to stock up on stuff:







Dinner was the KFC we quickly ate before tuning in to the Burn Notice season premiere but really we tuned out because there were too many distractions around for us to pay attention. I feel as though TD5 somehow, distracted me on purpose even though he wasn't around.

We awoke on Friday and while H1 was at home secretly eating Hops and Cheese like an ass without me, I was out with TD5 getting doubles to feed her.

H1: 1
Or 2: 0

Before going into the details of Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning I would like to do a wrap up of Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday morning.

Sunday afternoon brought us family that once more invaded Aunty P.'s and Uncle P.'s house. Heh, we're very grateful for letting them converge like that.

It was a little bit strange seeing everyone. I've not seen many for a long time, not for about 13 or so years and it was a bit sad too as it was a reminder that we truly are getting older (I still don't feel it myself). Still, it was also a very good thing to see everyone. We miss them.

Monday turned out quite relaxed.

Aunty P. made salted fish with tomatoes etc. and boiled some sikia figs. Mmmm, it was the first time I had the figs like that (not quite ripe, not quite fully green) and I knew it'd be awesome but sometimes when you got that one fig that was sweeter than it should have been..oh yeah. That's what you call good times, my frenemies.



We also ate chicken puffs that morning, followed by TD5, Luuuuuuiiiiiissss and I going to see awesome B Movie times Drag Me To Hell.

I. Love. Sam Raimi.

The movie was everything a Sam Raimi movie of the horror movie genre should be - fun, ridiculous, gross, cheesey and with at least one dancing candarian demon. Bruce Campbell is forgiven for not being there due to the fact that he's off doing awesome Burn Notice related things but he was missed.

I also missed Ted Raimi's cameo but not for a lack of trying. It was off-screen! Clever, Sam R. Clever indeed.

Dinner was in two parts though I ate only a litle the first time - a little bit of buss up shot and curried goat with pigeon peas that Aunty P. made for us from the day before.

Oh, that's right? Did I forget to mention that the day before we ate like amazing times? Curried goat with pigeon peas, dahlpuri AND buss up shot, curried mango (yum!), stewed chicken and channa and alloo?

2nd Dinner was Royal Castle. I really missed that place. Their chicken is great and their crinkle cut fries are still hella' awesome. CLee, I might have to abandon the KFC but not the zingers.



A little near 1 AM, we boarded our flight to NY and was met with drama on the plane. Some asshole got to his seat and scoffed at the woman and baby sitting in the row by proclaiming that he did not want to sit near "no effin' baby" (I cleaned up the language because it's horrifying to repeat as is).

Security came and kicked him off the plane after the woman rightly made a stink (and came over to sit next to my empty seat) but then they stupidly let him back on the plane citing that 'two wrongs don't make a right". Their logic was that if the woman also used obscenities then she should be kicked off the plane.

Now. How idiotic was that? She did not curse him, she cursed at the general situation and so what? She was reacting to a horrible mess of a man!

So, they let the stupid back on the plane because it was only fair in their eyes that he should be allowed to fly too.

I'm often pissed off at Trinis stupidity.

But the same applies to racist, power tripping customs officials in the US.

When we got to the U.S., and got in line for the first customs official...I knew we were in for some shit. I watched the man get up, not acknowledge he had a line of people waiting for him (ie us), go to the bathroom and disappear for 10 minutes, saunter back to his post still without acknowleding us and when he finally called us over...he was a dick.

He insulted the intelligence of flight attendants and the respectability of their jobs (you know, as if he's the shit at the airport that has the most important damned job there) and then with an assholish attitude asked Luuuiiissss if he'd ever been in the back before ie the Interrogation room because that's where he sent Luuuuiiiisssss.

It still boils my blood thinking about it.

Anyway, as mentioned, there's a bit of a gap on the details between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Friday afternoon we got on another plane for a 12-20 minute flight to the Sister Island.

Memorable Conversations:

H1 and TD5 are discussing work, and my favourite parrot Billy: ::steups::
TD5: Billy, stop steupsing.

Or 2: Ugh, do I really have to get up to go brush my teeth?
TD5: You are lazy.
Billy: ::extreme laughing::

Can you believe that parrot was laughing at me because I was called lazy?

Or 2: Did you hear what Billy does? He imitates the sound of fruit falling from the trees and hitting the ground... 'buddup'.
Mk: Umm..ookkkaaaay...
Or 2: Yeah because then the dogs go searching frantically for the 'fruit'.
Mk: ::extreme laughing::

Currently listening to: "The Pot" by Tool.

Doubles, Omlette de Poissons, Pernil and Scones

I just realised but the HOchieS went through a bit of a cooking spree these past 3 or so weeks.

We made our first attempt at doubles a little over a week ago and came out with crispy bara. It tasted pretty good though. We've wanted to try this for months and months now but got a final push when we came home with tamarind sauce from ordering Indian food from Minar one week.

Yeah, that's all it takes sometimes.



We tried for a second time yesterday and came out with less crispy bara but it still has not been perfected. We'll try again sometime!



I never figured it out until yesterday but I really love Sardine Omlettes and Papa HOchie makes them best!



2 weeks ago H1 made some pernil. I ate lots of that, so much so the pork ended up tasting better going down than coming up. Never before did my favourite meat cause me to burp but I have no regrets.



The Sunday of that week, she made some good time cranberry scones that she swears is the easiest thing ever. I was not present to witness but I was present to eat. As Mom and/or Boobey-Head would say, "MMMM, GOOOOOOD!!!!"





Currently listening to: "Spiderwebs" by No Doubt.

The H1 Or 2

Went to sea,
In a beautiful, not pea green boat
They took some US and a whole lot of nothing else
wrapped up in a 60 pound note

They flew away for .5 and 4 days
To the land where the samaan grows

And there in the wood,
They became piggy-wigs where they stood
And ate every bullshart they could find off the damned island of Trinidad

Starting with Thursday's dinner

Mario's Pizza, which turned out to be a disappointment. The crust recipe has gone horribly wrong and the copious amounts of meatage have been cut back:



At least the pepper sauce remains phenomenal



In addition to pizza, elevensies pmsies came around for Round 2 and a belly full of KFC zingers were had. Sadly, there are no pictures of that to share.

Friday dawned, with a trip to the market in search of doubles but none were to be found (the early bird gets the worm and apparently the doubles).



The only way to cure a lack of doubles, is to nap away the depression, so napped we did and awoke to hear an MC - the sound of which made us go back to nap for another half an hour.

The nap failed to cure us of said MC but the watered down green sands he brought (no fault of his) helped us forget our woes some



but as you can see, we needed spees and a pastelle to recover as well.





Nothing can be right with the world, until Aunty P.'s chocolate cake is made and devoured first at 8 PM and then again at 2 AM on

Saturday morning

where our previous misfortune was rectified with a bag of the good stuff not attained on Friday



With limited time and not even half of the edible things on the island in Or 2's stomach, a trip to Maracas was in order for bake and shark.



OMG. GOO'D TIMES! Gaze upon the beauty of one of the greatest things on earth. And people wonder why I love me a shark. Tch. What's to question, people?

Also, what's not to love about a chow, shrimp wontons and Trinidadian KFC?







Sunday came after waking every hour to find out if TD5 had made it home safely, and brought the best damned breakfast one could have.



Or 2 hearts her some blood pudding, Kerrygold butter, hops, pawpaws, portugal and Scrambled Eggs.

An X & M Wedding Later (no pictures taken of the food - that'd just be kind of rude. Pictures of boobs can be taken but food, no), Monday arrived and the last day for eating had come with it.

::sniff::

Ramsaram's Peanut Punch,



beef pies,



cream soda of the good solo variety,



milk pennacools,



cheese, chicken and tuna puffs,



and of course, the favourite coloured popcorn were all had,



but was not met without some passing judgment upon thee.

More eats followed that night but no pictures are present for proof.
Rest assured it involved curried chicken, fried okra, melongene choka, tomato choka and roti.

The festivities only ended today even after being in NY for officially a week now. Why? Because like every good Trinidadian, we were made to bring food back with us by the peeps and thank goodness.

Duck, roti, curried mango, fudge, non-eaten zoomers (curse you, Frass! J/K), and pelau made from freshly shelled pigeon peas (thanks Uncle P.!) were all consumed within the last week.

Thank you to TD5, Pandy, Chrissy Lee and Aunty P. for putting up with my demands and pain in the asshattery and for acquiring most things of my list.

It is greatly appreciated and another list will be forthcoming.

Har Har.

Love you all and miss you terribly,

H1 and Or 2.

Part II of the Trinidad Adventures will be posted soon enough. Excuse the craziness of this one. I'm practically asleep on myself hya.

Memorable Memories & Quotes of the Trip:

The good times, the laughs and antics were plentiful and I cannot possibly remember it all to lay in print and that's what pictures are for but a few notes -

"What the eff! Stop putting shit on our bodies David Blaine!"

Or 2: I was judged for getting coloured popcorn!! Isn't that wrong?!
Georg: I'm kind of judging you myself right now.
Dar: One day, people in this world will not be judged by the colour of their popcorn.

Currently listening to: "Viva Rock" by Orange Range

Edit: A list of things eaten but not photographed/pictured are as follows - curried chicken, bussupshot, fried okra, bake and New Zealand cheddar.