We went out for a small team lunch today together with our commanding officer who was taking a voluntary redundancy and finishing up at the end of next week. Chris has been at Treasury for donkey’s years – something that I remind him of at every opportunity cause I’m a cheeky bugger. We went to one of his favourite Chinese restaurants situated in the Belconnen Markets where he began to order a selection of dishes in his native language. There was a schezuan beef, a couple of hot pots, a mixed roast and a vegetarian plate. All of which were delicious.

We got to the end and decided to round it off with a good dessert. I was feeling for something cold and refreshing as it was about 30C but felt even hotter with the chillis from the schezuan dish. I’m starting to think that I’m only partly Asian cause I can’t seem to take too much chilli before I start beading up with sweat. Anyway, the group decided on a sweet black seed sesame soup but all I heard from the commotion and excitement was “blah blah blah ice cream with sesame seeds blah blah” so I agreed and was eagerly looking forward to it like a 5 yr old on Christmas Eve.  What came out was this:

A bowl of warm, grainy, thick, dark liquid. To be honest, it looked more like tar, or perhaps a mineral rich substance for a purpose other than consumption. I’m always bold when it comes to food so I tackled the first spoon. It was warm and thick and very rich and textury and quite sweet (it came with a sachet of sugar if it wasn’t sweet enough). I should also note that the sesame seed soup is not listed on the menu and that Chris had to order it specially with the owner.

Following Andrew Zimmerman’s advice on always trying something twice before giving in, I gave it another spoonful but all it did was amplify the distinctive flavour and texture and I knew it was enough and left it there indicating politely that I was waiting for my mango pudding.

It was a fun experience (particularly as we laughed at each other with resulting black teeth – a side effect of eating the soup) and I’m glad I did it among present company but next time, let the dessert connoisseur decide ok? 🙂  Haha, yes I am kidding.