I had dinner last night with Cha Xiu Bao - the man, not the pork bun.
For those of you who haven’t seen the footage of Hong Kong’s most beloved food blogger getting bitched out by the lady at the fish ball stand in Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations”, you’re missing out. Go ahead and Google-stalk him.
The first time I met Cha Xiu Bao, he was polite and asked to not give out his full name so he could retain a somewhat anonymous profile about his food-crazed double life. Assuming he still feels the same, I’ll refer to him as Mr. Bao for the rest of this story. I’d shorten it to Cha Xiu, but that’s the name of his dog. (A pug. Fat. So cute.)
But, oh, how times have changed. I now know his full name as well as his diabolical alter ego who laughs at all manner of offensive shit. On that point alone, I always try to make it out for these dinner events.
Along the way, Mr. Bao has taught me a few golden rules about dining with extreme foodies like himself:
Rule #1: Never be late.
Foodies, it appears, never are. Call it an extended form of table manners, if you will. And they will never start eating first since watching food turn cold while waiting for guests to arrive is especially heartbreaking. I was late by 20 minutes, and felt like a complete loo-hooser.
