What would you do II – At dinner with future In-Laws
Since Andrew is away in sunny Cali, leaving his family and I behind, his parents and I have been talking and bonding here and there. So for the Lunar New Year, I was invited over to his parents’ place for dinner along with Sean and Dawn who are Andrew’s second brother and wife. Andrew’s mom always cooks up a storm when any of her sons come home and understandably so if you have ever witnessed the aftermath of Justin, Sean and Andrew at the dinner table. It’s like watching starved lions feasting on antelope.
Anyhoo, being the dutiful fiancée that I am, I was determined to pace myself and try to keep up with the Kim’s while the dinner table groaned under the weight of the food. I wanted to make Andrew proud after all!
So the last time that I had dinner at the In Law’s house, Andrew’s mom found out that I love gheh-jang. Basically a Korean dish that is raw crab, marinated in a spicy sauce and shredded veggies. Delish! When she finds out your favourite dish, she makes it for you. That’s love n’est pas?
Lo and behold, there it was, on a dish placed strategically in front of me, in all it’s glory. Of course I dug in, cracking, gnawing, and sucking all the meat out of the shell of these crabs. Yum.
That’s when it happened.
After finishing the first piece of crab, I started to get this strange tingly feeling in my lips. I only get this feeling when I eat cantaloupe, and some other fruits. CRAP! I stopped before grabbing my second piece of crab and tried to eat something else. Could it be? Am I developing an allergy to this stuff? As I tried to tell myself that maybe it was another dish that I could easily live without, Andrew’s mom turns to me and says, “Doh mo-goh-rah”. Basically, “Eat more”, and then proceeded to push the plate towards me.
So what would you do? Explain to her, “Thank you for all your hard work and effort making this wonderful dish but I’m allergic to it and can’t eat it at all”? She made it for me, specifically for me! Dawn is a vegetarian, Andrew’s dad and Sean had the mountain of beef in front of them, and Andrew’s mom was all over the sashimi. That crab totally had my name on it and my name only. CRAP again!
I’m sure you know what happened next. I ate the next piece and the next piece and by the fourth piece, my lips had swollen to a ridiculous size, basically making Angelina Jolie’s lips look non-existent. I could barely talk properly and tried to bury my face in my bowl of rice so no one would notice! Not only that, but the inside of my mouth and throat were starting to itch like crazy. Why do these things happen at the worst times?
Finally, Andrew’s mom looked at me and did a double take. I could almost see her thinking, “Those lips didn’t look like that when she walked in here”. I caved and said, “Do my lips look swollen?” OF COURSE THEY LOOK SWOLLEN, YOU CAN FREAKIN’ SEE THEM FROM SPACE! She looked at me and nodded, suggesting that maybe it was a reaction to being tired. Very possible, but I know the crab triggered it. She also suggested that maybe I had cut my lip while eating the crab. Plausible but not the reason.
I’m happy to say that it did go away after an hour, but still, how embarrassing! I’ll have to test this allergic reaction out a bit more, but if I’m allergic to this raw crab stuff, I’m going to be very upset!
Anyhoo, being the dutiful fiancée that I am, I was determined to pace myself and try to keep up with the Kim’s while the dinner table groaned under the weight of the food. I wanted to make Andrew proud after all!
So the last time that I had dinner at the In Law’s house, Andrew’s mom found out that I love gheh-jang. Basically a Korean dish that is raw crab, marinated in a spicy sauce and shredded veggies. Delish! When she finds out your favourite dish, she makes it for you. That’s love n’est pas?
Lo and behold, there it was, on a dish placed strategically in front of me, in all it’s glory. Of course I dug in, cracking, gnawing, and sucking all the meat out of the shell of these crabs. Yum.
That’s when it happened.
After finishing the first piece of crab, I started to get this strange tingly feeling in my lips. I only get this feeling when I eat cantaloupe, and some other fruits. CRAP! I stopped before grabbing my second piece of crab and tried to eat something else. Could it be? Am I developing an allergy to this stuff? As I tried to tell myself that maybe it was another dish that I could easily live without, Andrew’s mom turns to me and says, “Doh mo-goh-rah”. Basically, “Eat more”, and then proceeded to push the plate towards me.
So what would you do? Explain to her, “Thank you for all your hard work and effort making this wonderful dish but I’m allergic to it and can’t eat it at all”? She made it for me, specifically for me! Dawn is a vegetarian, Andrew’s dad and Sean had the mountain of beef in front of them, and Andrew’s mom was all over the sashimi. That crab totally had my name on it and my name only. CRAP again!
I’m sure you know what happened next. I ate the next piece and the next piece and by the fourth piece, my lips had swollen to a ridiculous size, basically making Angelina Jolie’s lips look non-existent. I could barely talk properly and tried to bury my face in my bowl of rice so no one would notice! Not only that, but the inside of my mouth and throat were starting to itch like crazy. Why do these things happen at the worst times?
Finally, Andrew’s mom looked at me and did a double take. I could almost see her thinking, “Those lips didn’t look like that when she walked in here”. I caved and said, “Do my lips look swollen?” OF COURSE THEY LOOK SWOLLEN, YOU CAN FREAKIN’ SEE THEM FROM SPACE! She looked at me and nodded, suggesting that maybe it was a reaction to being tired. Very possible, but I know the crab triggered it. She also suggested that maybe I had cut my lip while eating the crab. Plausible but not the reason.
I’m happy to say that it did go away after an hour, but still, how embarrassing! I’ll have to test this allergic reaction out a bit more, but if I’m allergic to this raw crab stuff, I’m going to be very upset!
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