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Most of you are familiar with dipping cookies into a glass of milk, right? Well, have you ever tried dipping crackers or “tasteless” biscuits into a hot cup of tea? A colleague from the Central Province recounts those days in the village when he found this rather “new” and at the time what he calls a “bizarre” way of munching on Paradise biscuits.
“I was a city girl for most of my childhood life but every now and then my parents would take me to visit my grandparents in the village. The village was in the Central Province just over an hour’s drive from Port Moresby and in wet weather conditions like we’re experiencing, the trip was a nightmare.
“I loved village life very much – it was so simple and to visit my grandparents, it was extra special. To them, items like tea, sugar, milk, rice and all that stuff we consume regularly was more a luxury then as most of their diet was based on fish, bananas, taro and all that kind of food. They had a healthy diet, something which I’ve made a resolution of following but….
“Anyway, my grandparents had this interesting way of eating biscuits, particularly the Paradise Nambawan biscuit. They didn’t call it Paradise Nambawan biscuit but “Hardman” biscuit. Now, I don’t exactly know how they came up with this name but I suspect it was a little more tougher on the teeth than the other biscuits. My favorite was the Kokonas biscuit because of its sweetness and that unique coconut after taste. The “Hardman” biscuit was a little dry both in look and taste. It wasn’t really sweet too.
“My grandparents loved tea, unsweetened and no milk.
“The most bizarre thing I saw about how my grandparents ate Paradise Nambawan biscuit was this. They would dip the Hardman biscuit into the hot cup of tea. It wouldn’t take long before the biscuit turned fluffy (something like that) and soft. My grandpa would then scoop the soaking biscuit out of the cup and place it on the plate. Anchor butter was then spread over the Hardman biscuit and within seconds it would melt drizzling over the biscuit and onto the plate.
“At first, I didn’t like soggy biscuits or anything that looks soggy. I prefer the crunch!
“My grandma convinced me to try it and after some hesitation, I gave it a go. Since then, I’ve been devoted to eating the Paradise Nambawan biscuit this way particularly on wet cold nights like we’ve been experiencing lately.
“I found some interesting ways of eating food in the village, the experience I always cherish. Another bizarre one was slicing the mangoes and dipping them into Worcestershire sauce. This one I never hesitated. The friends in the village didn’t called the sauce “Whiskey Sauce”. I have no idea why they called it that, to be honest, and never asked.
Do you have any interesting village experiences? Share it with us on info@skerahpng.com
