Dream #119

After a tasty Street meal, which mainly consisted of a flat green leaf about the size of one's little finger, I was approached by the cook who offered to take me to the place where the leaf was prepared.

He led me through the oriental marketplace , past traders of many strange things, under awnings protecting their goods from the blistering midday sun that caught dust mites, kicked up from the bare earth.

We entered an old building, dimly lit through shuttered glassless windows.

It was explained to me that the product arrived in bundles, and to be cut up into short lengths in the traditional manner was costly and time-consuming.

So the owner came up with an ingenious plan – which was to use monkeys!

Using hyperthermic needles, the leaves were injected at various places with a fermented type of vinegar.

The monkeys loved the taste, and so by licking off the leaf, separated it. I was given a bottle of the concoction, which I was told was a fine wine, so I accepted it with good grace.

As I stepped out into the market once more, I decided that it would be my first and last meal of that particular dish.