I wish there was a picture to show. The moment when a logical expectation clashed with reality. How can one think of clicking a picture while shell-shocked? But that Coriander Salmon remains lodged in the mind.
Ending up at a restaurant while all others in the vicinity had closed early on a Sunday night, I was looking for something fulfilling. Sunday being my ok-to-eat-seafood day—don’t we all have these absurd what-when-how-why-I-can-eat-and-not-eat rules?!—I was elated to see Coriander Salmon on the menu. Somehow it hooked me. Coriander rang closer to its nature than cilantro and Coriander Salmon sounded too delicious to miss. Then it arrived.
I was aghast but had no energy to fume. Although the description didn’t elaborate on what role coriander was playing in the dish, I expected it to be seeped, marinated, coated, basically salmon to be singing a duet with coriander. Instead, what I saw did not appeal to the senses. Technically it was as introduced; it had coriander. That means no chance of suing them. Only a tiny sprig of coriander served as garnish on the salmon. It felt like a thrilling film was promised, but what was delivered was a clichéd drama. The salmon filet filled the plate, not the palate.
That got me thinking about moments when the brain conjures images without consulting the eyes. One can argue that the greatest inventions happened that way. Agreed! These also do not include natural wonders. They always exceed expectations despite an overload of social media posts. No sophisticated camera or the latest smartphone can truly capture the beauty of nature. Even architectural marvels are best seen with naked eyes. It’s actually the mundane things in life that we hype up in our mind, which oftentimes leave us depleted.
Online purchases anyone? I have a small side table purchased online that perfectly matched with the rare pattern on the headboard of one of the beds. Every time I see it, I question my sense and sensibilities. A side table could be so fragile that it can only host a Kleenex box and nothing else.
Travels come with their own stories. Not everything makes it to the public domain. All those countless wait times everywhere do not translate well into conversations. Imaginary screenshots of happy gatherings, joyous occasions, momentous meetings fizzle out when you discover that you are not always part of people’s plans, whether by choice or circumstances. And when included, sometimes they fall short of expectations testing our resilience. Just leaving us plain bored in other words.
The best thing to do is get over it and make some plans: your own “coriander salmon,” to put it spicily. There definitely won’t be any disappointment that way. If it doesn’t come out great, it can still be mighty fulfilling. Pictures or no pictures!
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