CHAPTER 25

Original (Published in "Lun's World"): 2005-01-01

Rewritten: 2025-08-05

Lun has his own rules and methods for enjoying every type of food with a very personal style.

Lun has a unique palate and is quite picky about food, so he has his own set of rules for enjoying food. He's loved French fries since he was a child. Our weekend program involves taking him to fast food restaurants, and he specifically wants the ones fried with potato starch from McDonald's. Because of his sensitive mouth, he doesn't like to chew. He picks off the crispy ends of the fries and eats them, putting the middle section back in the bag for later. He only eats half a bag of fries. I take five long fries from a small bag and ten from a large bag as a form of taxation. I eat them as soon as I'm done, knowing when to stop, otherwise he'll be upset.

As for deep-frying whole potatoes, cut into strips and skin-on, his interest in eating them is diminished if the crispy flour coating is missing. Since last summer (2004), he's been making homemade snacks. He'd top a plate of frozen French fries with shredded cheese and put it in the oven. He instructed us, "Bake, bake." One time, he even experimented with a double-flavored plate of French fries: half with cheese and the other without.

Last summer, we went on vacation out of town. At our vacation home, we had a cheese grater that he couldn't put down. Since then, he's been eating cheese several times faster. We immediately bought him this “royal” tool upon returning home.

He also has a unique way of eating instant noodles. Whether eating them dry or with soup, he follows the steps below. He first beats or crushes the unopened packaged noodles, usually by hand on the table, occasionally stomping on them with his feet. Once finely ground, he tears the bag open, places the crushed noodles in his custom plastic bowl, adds MSG, and stirs thoroughly. For a snack, he eats them dry. For a meal, he instructs us to "doo, doo," meaning to cook them on the hotplate or microwave. He eats the noodles just as they soften; he refuses to eat them when they've become swollen and soft. He usually only eats one of every two packets of noodles he cooks.

He eats them while they're hot, but he doesn't leave the bowl on the table. Instead, he holds the hot bowl in his left hand, propping it up with his crossed legs, while he takes small portions with his right hand. He eats them intently, no slower than most people. We worry the most for the first five minutes of eating when he might tip the bowl over and get burned, but fortunately, that hasn't happened.

To protect the environment and avoid food waste, I occasionally recycle noodles, stir-frying them slowly until dry and adding chili oil. If Lun sees it, he might try it, so he always gets to eat some of the ingredients.

When making fried rice, Lun supervises the entire process to prevent us from cutting corners or not following the proper procedures. He personally watches us add the oil, eggs, minced luncheon meat, and curry powder. If he misses a beat, he'll make us do it again, which sometimes gets him furious. He likes fried rice that's rich and dry—he loves the taste, not the ingredients. So, any leftover ingredients from his meal can be used to make another stir-fry.

To help him absorb more nutrients, we occasionally blend the ingredients in a blender before using them in the fried rice, so he can't pick them out. I've tried mixing ground meat into flour to make noodles and meatballs, but my cooking skills aren't very good, and the dough is too hard, so he's not interested. As for the meatballs, I think that they taste good enough, but he sniffs and slinks back to his room.

Ever since Lun was little, we've observed something amusing: whenever I prepare a lunchbox or snack for myself, Lun, like a drug-sniffing dog, sniffs it out and, if it suits his taste, takes it for himself. This makes perfect sense; Lun knows his dad always makes something delicious. So, we played along, disguising the food I'd prepared for him as our own, to lure him in. It's been a consistent success.