My Taste Buds…..

I glanced at my silver plaited Gucci watch, a gift from my mother to mark my 40^th birthday and realised the time was far spent and hunger had set in. I arose from my office to begin a slow languid walk towards the restaurants scattered at the heights of Lead City University.  My office was on the ground floor and numbered as the first in the row.  It was a large space, with my wooden table edged towards the left and high bay windows atop.  At its side was a spilt air conditioning unit and in front and array of chairs to cater for the endless streams of visiting students.  

It had been a long hard day, with the searing heat of the sun refusing to abate in its intensity and the students relentless in their visits.  I needed a respite, the kind offered by food. Suddenly I developed a hankering for some fried rice prettied with carrots, laced with onions, embroidered with chunks of chicken and garnished with prawns.  As a suitable accompaniment I dreamt of a iced cold drink in the manner of a Chapman to refresh and cleanse my palette enabling the food to slither down my throat and into oblivion. 

I blame my mother who had attained the heights of culinary feats by being the first person to introduce the delights of fried rice into the Nigerian social scene in 1971. Hers was always crisp, and cooked, simmering to perfection and the ingredients readily recognisable and of cause rich in a variety of nutrients.  But with a budget of under N500 where and which caterer could rise to the height of my desires?  The few restaurants littered around were designed to cater for students and for those on a budget, they were not given to the luxury of the Michelin star quality.  It is with these thoughts I had to make do and navigate my discerning taste buds.