The Muddy-Pants Diaries

6 June 2005 (Monday) – Buenos Aires, Argentina

I woke up to an extremely foggy Buenos Aires. The fog hung so low that buildings taller than 10 storeys were already enshrouded in the clouds. Incredible.

Another incredible thing was that my only meal yesterday – choripan with chimichurri lasted til, what, noon today. I lazed around at home as I am on a holiday, as you know, and I only bothered to head out at 1pm to hunt for food.

Gosh, rainy rainy rainy… I was famished by the time I reached Av. Corrientes. I need food but where? I peered into a cafe at the corner of Talcahuano, crossed the street to an attractive-looking pizza place, then from there, spotted a sign back across the street for ‘Tenedor Libre – parrillada – comida china’ (barbecued meat – Chinese food) and I dashed back in a second like Flash Gordon.

Tenedor Libre literally means ‘Free Fork’. Not that you can keep a fork for a souvenir after the meal. This is just ‘Argentine’ for all-you-can-eat-buffet. I totally forgot about the parrilla and just gobbled down the other dishes of what-looked-like Chinese food. I had had too much meat for a while. So, at least in Chinese food, one can still find small pieces of vegetables somewhere in the stir-fry. This restaurant is actually quite good, with amazingly beautiful dessert as well. I think I am coming back again in a few days’ time.

Gosh, rainy rainy rainy… I did not do much actually, just wandered down to San Telmo and discovered that everything was closed and wandered back to town.

By night, I passed by La Giralda on Av. Corrientes 1400+ and remembered that Pablo had told me this is THE PLACE to drink hot chocolate and eat churros (a crispy sweet snack with a cross-section of a star of sorts, about the length of a palm). So, why not? Now is THE TIME to try it. La Giralda is another of those traditional charming cafe, with waiters in white uniform and the black bow-tie. Ah, I just love hanging out in cafes here.

Well, the Argentines have this drink called – submarino, literally, it means ‘submarine’. That is hot milk with a bar of chocolate submerged inside. The chocolate then melts away, making a variant of hot chocolate with minuscule pieces of chocolate floating around. And it is SUPERB! It is so simple to prepare and so so so delicious.

And the churros… Well, the waiter recommended the churros with dulce de leche inside. Yes, there can be no other type of churros. Again, I nearly passed out when I sunk my teeth into them. Unbelievable.

That evening, I chatted with Claudia about the eating habits of Argentines. What is it with the flaco (thin) Argentines? How do they do it?

She explained that indeed one of this country’s problems (amongst the many assorted ones) is the over-emphasis on beauty. Everyone is obsessed with being beautiful and slim. So, while I see people eating very late and all the time, she explained that many of the flacos eat like a bird on certain days and gorge themselves another. She claimed that this country has the second highest number of people who undergo plastic surgery, after United States of America. (I would later hear the same comment from my Brazilian host about Brazil and considering the population sizes of both countries, I think I believe my Brazilian host.) Indeed, there are also many bulimics. Wow. I am surprised by myself. So, my theory 2 days ago about bulimia and liposuction was not so far off afterall. I have seen a couple of advertisements stuck on bus-stops or whatever from numerous psychologists in Buenos Aires (a ratio of 1-to-3, can you beat that?) offering various consultation on eating habits.

Well, take a look at what other Argentine cuisine has to offer! Gosh, I came on this trip hoping to shed some weight. But instead, I already feel myself putting on weight with all the great food around here – asado, milanesa (breaded chicken or beef filet), all-you-can-eat buffet, dulce de leche everything, etc… I am walking 6km – 10km daily but these exercises seemed to have no effect at all on me. The worst is, I am also tuning my dining hours to that of the Argentines as both Claudia and Pablo only start preparing dinner at around 10:30pm-11:30pm or so, and we only complete the meal at, what, 1:30am.

Hmm… go bulimic or liposuction?

5 June 2005 (Sunday) – Buenos Aires, Argentina

At the outskirts of the District Federal, there is a feria (fair) with a gaucho (Argentine cow-boys) theme – the Feria de Mataderos. I thought it would be interesting to see this other side of Buenos Aires and Pablo and I took bus 92 there.

This neighbourhood is an area of abattoirs that slaughter the cows that we have been eating. Oh yeah, indeed, I have only seen sizzling asados and bifes but someone must slice up the cows into bite-size for us. When we neared the area, we could smell a rancid odour, which is the smell of blood and innards or whatever.

I observed the faces of the people mingling in the feria and found distinct facial features. These people are mostly people from the north. There was a group of dancers snapping their fingers and swirling around to the traditional music of chamame, gato, chacarera, zamba, etc… These are not professional dancers, mind you. From Monday to Friday, their professions could range from bakers to bankers but here and now, at the feria, they are all dancers, their faces are full of concentration and expression as they dance and hop, wave their handkerchiefs and spin around with all their heart and soul.

I was very amused with a little elderly gaucho who obviously had difficulties walking as he seemed to be suffering from arthritis. But there he was, right on the floor, snapping his fingers and moving around as best as he could. Another lady had so much love in her face as she smiled and gazed into the eyes of her partner that she actually brought minute tears to my eyes. Wow.

The feria sold things that were a little different, a lot of gaucho-related items like boleadores (trio of balls linked by a rope), belts, bombachas de campo (a kind of baggy pants with a button each at the bottom of the leg-portions, usually worn by gauchos), ponchos, mate, knives, etc… Also, as usual, a lot of kitsch things like figurines such as fairies made from dough, Barbie dolls in tiny crochet dresses and table-top water-fountain gardens in the name of feng shui (Chinese geomancy).

When it came to food, there was only 1 thought in my head – choripan! That is delicious barbecued chorizo (thick sausage) set inside some buns. We ordered it in a restaurant and I slathered it with chimichurri (a galicky sauce that tastes great but no one is allowed anywhere near you for at least 24 hours). Ohhh… lovely. That’s all I need for food today.

We dropped by the apartment of Pablo’s parents for a short visit. They were really delighted to see me and likewise for me, it was superb to see them again!! I presented the present I had gotten for them. It is 2 Oriental-looking serving plates, red in colour of course, with the Chinese words for Fortune, Success, Longevity (Fu Lu Shou) done in calligraphy style. They just love such things. His mother placed them on the display cabinet and muttered many thanks to me for taking the trouble to bring presents here, all the way from Singapore. Well, it was no problem. I didn’t carry them here. Poor Rodrigo did.

Recently, their grand-daughter had her 15th birthday coming-of-age party and they showed me some of the photos. Here in South America, all girls of this age would have a spectacular PARTY to have them presented to society. This kind of party is not a cozy party, held at home with some cakes that mom bought on her way home from work. It has the preparation and the expenditure not unlike that of a wedding!

They would rent a function room, invite all their family members (even those from other cities) and friends, get all dressed up in smart suits and evening gowns; there would be a host for the evening, video guys to record everything and lots of food and booze. The girl has her first dance with her father. Then, all the male relatives that are important to the family, the grandfather, the uncle, the cousins, etc… get to dance with her. Thereafter, everyone gets to the floor and formally waltzes around with various dance partners. When more and more people get more drunk, the dancing becomes crazier, with them putting on funny masks and gross party hats. Basically, everyone parties until, what, 7am in the morning or when they collapse.

At the end, everyone gets a little souvenir for the event. This souvenir is something really ‘cute and sweet’ like a flower, or a little item for display on the table – a fairy, a bell, a swan, etc… usually pastel in colour. Yes, you can almost taste the words coming out of my mouth – it is KITSCH to the infinity. If you do not know what I mean, and if you ever come by Buenos Aires, go to the area around Once (pronounced On-say) Train Station and meander around the trashy shops there. You would see many samples of 15th birthday cake and trays of these little kitsch souvenirs. Hmmm… which reminds me, I ought to pay a visit to Once just to gross myself out again.

Gosh, there are so many things to do in Buenos Aires. When can I leave? How can I leave?

4 June 2005 (Saturday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina I have an idea to look out for necklaces, earrings and rings here in South America to, hopefully, sell them back in my country. But they must be something special, not like all ... [Continue reading this entry]

3 June 2005 (Friday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina I learnt that yesterday, it was 27ºC. That is like the temperature in Singapore but gosh, here in Buenos Aires... in winter?? It is mad! In fact, it was the highest winter temperature ... [Continue reading this entry]

2 June 2005 (Thursday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina Every visitor to Buenos Aires must walk down Av. Corrientes at least once. For one, there are a few theatres down the avenue and one just has to check out the posters of ... [Continue reading this entry]

1 June 2005 (Wednesday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Claudia has exams tomorrow. She is studying Geology and this is one of the most important exams. Hence, she has taken leave from work to stay at home to study.

For me, I just ... [Continue reading this entry]

31 May 2005 (Tuesday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina What would I do today? Wander around again, I supposed. Yes, after all, wandering around was how I had grown to know and love the city. My 2 months here in 2002 were ... [Continue reading this entry]

30 May 2005 (Monday) - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Despite the weather report of 8-15ºC temperature today, the sky was cloudless and blue and the day looked wonderful. Quite unlike the rainy day of yesterday.

I had no idea what I would do ... [Continue reading this entry]

28 May 2005 (Saturday) - 29 May 2005 (Sunday) - Singapore to Buenos Aires, Argentina My first 2 days of travels were quite a blur for me. I only started laying out everything to be packed at 2pm in the afternoon of ... [Continue reading this entry]