xmas dinner

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my family kept asking what i would be eating for xmas. my standard reply was "nothing special". this is an islamic country which doesn't celebrate it, nor do i for that matter. things change quickly and extensively.

i ended up at a japanese buffet that did not have any typical american holiday food. so i had to settle for:
seacucumber with mushrooms (i need to remember this so as to avoid it in the future),
chili crab,
various and numerous sushi/sashimi choices,
stewed lamb,
king mushroom with soft shelled crab,
plain fried soft shelled crab,
fried quail,
japanese pizza,
guayaki lamb,
an eggplant dish,
lamb burger with cheese (very tiny burger),
fried crab claw,
eel prepared a couple of different ways, and
baby octopus, to name a few. (had to stop writing and concentrate on eating as time was running out.)
spicy papaya and blueberry ice cream, with pineapple and orange slices topped it off.

i nearly didn't get to try all of this because at 1415 they told me last call. i made a dash for the tables and filled 3 plates. good thing too, because at 1430 the worker bees cleared the food tables in a flash!

nearly forgot: they did serve mashed potatoes and gravy from, get this, a dispenser. glad i didn't notice it till after i was FULL as i might (NOT) have been tempted to try it.

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