this is a menu from a brat restaurant in hong kong.

notice how their are no mustards under "condiments,"

but rather they are in an elite little group

under a separate title.

oh boy this really cheers a girl up on a drizzly day.

...

i have been lacking in the mustard department of my life.

which is not as bad as, say, lacking in the family or the work

department. but everyone needs balance, you know?

my 94% vegetarianism has made a comeback since returning

from hk, and the 6% is strictly devoted to taste testing

soup dumplings for a story i am writing about them.

{i know, i lied when i said i was never going to eat dumplings

again. i am a dirty liar. there are 30 freshly made dumplings

in my kitchen right now.} and i'll be the first to admit that

dumplings and my lunches of brown rice and veggies are not

a mustard's best friend, unless it's the spicy chinese one.

...

and even before that, i found myself continuously returning

to the same mustard. i felt bad, like i was choosing a favorite

child. but it became a comfort mustard and i stuck with it.

i wonder what it means.

i think your girl needs mustard therapy.

-yeh