Dumplings

As I stepped off my 14 hour flight into the Sydney airport I couldn't help but smile. I was almost there, just another 1 1/2 hour flight to Melbourne and my journey would be complete. I couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sense of home. I was coming home.

I boarded the plane to Melbourne at 8:05am. There we sat, on the tarmac. There I sat in my chair, waiting for take off. There my brain and my blood started pumping. My heart started to pound. My hands shook. I started to panic. Anxiety took me over.

I had called Melbourne home for almost a year and a half. It was the place where I had literally found myself. In just that short year and a half I had discovered who I was and what I wanted. I discovered my drive to succeed in finding work. I discovered a social life with new friends. I had discovered my passion for food. I had discovered love. 

And all those memories from that year and a half came flooding back. Distracted by the restaurant and working all summer, my brain had dammed those memories. There they sat pooling and building pressure against the walls in my head. When the plane left the ground, my levees burst. A drowning timeline came rushing up all around me. From start to finish, emotions, senses and images choked me from oxygen. I was immersed. By the end of it all, when the water slowly receded and the plane landed, all that was left with was a question: Why had I come back?   

DUMPLINGS. That's the answer to my question. 

Deep down in the heart of Melbourne's Chinatown there exists a food so great, yet so small, and most of all, so simple, that you can't help but put a smile on your face while ingesting 30 of them. Dumplings. Not the dumplings us "Kraut" Wisconsinites are so fond of, but Asian dumplings. These tiny flour steamed or fried pouches of meat and or veggies are one of my favorite foods. They also so happen to be the best bang for your buck in Melbourne. So on a travelers dime, this is gooooooood. Delivered to you in quantities of 8, 12, or 18, these little MSG soaked balls of amazingness(amaze balls?) are the best, especially when dunked into the DIY of mixing your own soy and sriracha. Dumplings are so "yum" that even after you burp them up 2 hours later, it still tastes like you are eating them!

And wait there's more! My favorite thing about dumplings, is the act of getting dumplings. Dumplings are best shared in large amounts, drinking BYO wine and beer, with your closest friends. Its all about the experience.

So maybe dumplings aren't the real reason I came back, but sharing in past experiences and new experiences with the people I love, that's the reason I came back. It was so simple. Whether it be dinner with my mates, an emotional reunion with a girlfriend, or a booze filled romp around the city, I am ready to continue these experiences with these people that I love.