Shakespeare Bollywood Style and Other Unusual Things

So this is kind of a late review, but better late than never I suppose.  On the 11th of October I had the chance to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Much Ado About Nothing.  This has long been one of my top 5 favorite Shakespeare plays, so I was really excited to see yet another interpretation.  The last time I saw it performed (in Arizona), it was set in 1930s Argentina.  I thought this change actually worked pretty well and gave the play new meaning.  So what was the requisite added twist here in London to make the play more interesting?  It was set in modern Delhi, India, and the whole cast were, well, Indians.

It was like a Bollywood film had come to life.

Particularly awesome were these 3 scenes: the ball where the Prince woos Hero in the name of Claudio, the 1st [unsuccessful] wedding, and Hero's [supposed] funeral.  The ball and the wedding were full of colorful costumes and Bollywood-style group dances.  Hero's wedding dress was particularly awe-inspiring.  I had never seen a Hindu-style wedding costume in person before, but wow are they the most intricate, pleasingly gaudy confections I have ever seen.  It almost made me wish I had a reason to wear one of those red, sparkly masterpieces one day...

But I digress.  The funeral was also fascinating.  They had an already 'used' but smoldering funeral pyre center stage as is Hindu burial custom, and during the whole scene it rained onstage to exemplify the sorrow and remorse Claudio felt.  The production and cast definitely gave a well-worn script a new life.  I'd definitely recommend this production...but it closes at the end of the month so unless you are in London in the next week, I guess you'll just have to watch the Emma Thompson / Kenneth Branagh version (but I'd highly recommend that as well).  :)

Regressing now to a topic of a past post, I must confess a new favorite chip flavor: 'lime curry pickle.'  It sounds strange but the flavor was pretty much strong hints of lime, chili, and the teeniest bit of curry powder.  I'm not really sure where the pickle came in.  However, it was pure junk food bliss.  I think it's only available at the chain cafe/bakery called Pret-A-Manger.  Hopefully it is not limited edition...I'll have to check because if so, I'll definitely have to stock up.  Honestly, I can't even express how good it is.  You'll just have to try it yourself.

43% Chicken

Ever have one of those moments when you bite into something and it just doesn't taste like you expect it to?

Yeah.

So I'll admit...it's hard to cook here.  The main reason is probably due to the fact that my flat doesn't have full refrigerators--we just have a few mini ones in the kitchen to share between 7 people.  There's no real freezer space either.  If I want to buy lots of separate ingredients, there is simply no place to put them.

This means I eat lots of prepackaged meals.  It's not my ideal eating situation, but I manage.

However.

I'm finding that the prepackaged meals with meat are...how to say this...not...so...delicious?

For last Sunday I bought a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding meal.  This is the quintessential Sunday dinner in England, and the meal looked pretty good.  Not only did it have roast beef, gravy, and a Yorkshire pudding, but it also had roast potato chunks and peas with carrots.  I decided to try it out.

The vegetables and the Yorkshire pudding were great.  It reminded me very much of the stuff my mother makes for Sunday dinner.  But the 'roast beef'?  It turned out to be rather rubbery and had a rather unpleasant taste...it didn't really taste like beef to be honest.  To be fair though, it could have just been that meal, right?

Well, tonight I had some 'southern style chicken sticks' (as the label proclaimed).  I cooked them, and low and behold on my first bite I think, hmm, that isn't precisely bad, but it doesn't really taste like chicken.  What do you know.  I noticed the 'chicken' inside the breading was kind of purplish colored.  Suspicious!

I look on the packaging and discovered the filling was only 43% chicken.  What?!  What was the other stuff?  Apparently flour, mustard powder, onion, potato, and beet root (hence the purple coloring I imagine).

Um.  Okay.  I never really got it why packaging in the U.S. always exclaimed proudly on the front '100% real meat'.  Now I know.

I think I'll cook my own meat from now on.

P.S.--Lindsay, I tried the 'Prawn Cocktail' potato chips.  They were actually surprisingly good.  They didn't really taste like shrimp though--more like cocktail sauce.  They had a nice tang to them.  :)