TRAVEL DIARY - #FOOD # CONJEE @THE VENETIAN RESORT, MACAU
Thats Kanjee at my house @Chennai
Thats CONJEE @ The Venetian, Macau
After a full round of Gambling at the Casino , and the related hangover, we settled for the dinner at say 5 a.m in the morning in a hall full of exhausted and tired gamblers and amidst a huge seven star spread of buffet. I was staggerred by the variety of food on display at that morning twilight hours . Very thoughtful of the hotel guys, for ,they have offered a good selection of food for anyone who come soooo late for dinner as well as for early break fast , but most of the people present there were like us - gamblers and have settled for dinner, they were either satisfied losers and unsatisfied gainers .
I was so lost in the whole range of food at display - well!.... there must be around 100 varieties of food and confused of what to eat at that time. I was not hungry, yet something have to be eaten, so that I can comfortably crash for the rest of the yet to be started day. I saw my friend Sandeep pouring a soup like dish from a couldren and recommended me of this ."CONJEE" he said ........."is chinese and its safe and healthy to eat at this time ☺・. So I just helped myself with a Porringer of CONJEE* and selected some of the condiments- believe me -there were atleast 20 of them, to be added .
Conjee is neither a soup nor a porridge nor a gruel , it is viscous than a soup, it is thinner than a gruel ,its different than a porridge and its tasteless than anything unless added with add ons .
Tastewise, lookwise, I can relate it to the southIndian dish called "Kanjee", but the grandeur way it was displayed in a traditional Chinese cauldron,with its wide spread of ingredients , it gave an international feel . Of cource its an international dish and it is eaten in all parts of the asian countries in different names like, Chok in Thailand, Chao( in Vietnam), Okayu in Japan ,Juk in China etc , but doestnt enjoy the privilege as a pizza/burger or a sushi.
I googled and found to my shock and surprise that though this dish is in existence in alsmost all the Asian countries for donkey's years , CONJEE has got its name from the Tamil Word ' KANJEE '* .It looks like the British , when they leased Hongkong from China after the Opium wars wayback in 1841 , have identified and related the same dish in the southern part of India and named it and branded it as CONJEE and populariesed in the rest of the world .
well!...Kanjee is common food at my home too , it has its own form and names in my house ,like paal (milk)kanji, payaru(green grams) kanji, uzhundhu (black gram) kanji, but I never thought I will interface this simple food served as a lazy sunday morning breakfast - an austerity food during war and famine and a healing food for the sick * in an international destination and served it in style.
Had my stomach full with CONJEE , tasted with different add-ons, and crashed in the bed , and got up afresh for a fresh round of Gambiling ....Now from hereon !, whereever I go , my stomach followed by my tongue will crave for this simple homely YET international delicacy ...
*The Conjee is tastless, it developes taste only if you add ingredients , like soya sauce, Tofu, or dried shrimp or chicken cubes , coriander chives , salted shivered duck egg etc .
* Like their cousins in Tamilnadu/ kerala in the southern parts of India , Conjee is offered to the sick and considered healthy and halmless all accross Asia.
* It is also the poormen's food all accross the world .
+ Kanjee in Tamilnadu has its regional cousines like koozh and Kazhi , and they have their own stories and international relations as well.
- Observed and felt at The Venetian Resort Hotel , Macau on the 12th of January 2009.
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