Cover the Plate.
Earlier this year I waged a bet with a kind gentleman from Canada.
The contest was a head to head battle at the Grand Prix of Gloucester in the Men’s B Race and to the victor went a hefty supply of Pure Maple Syrup from the loser’s region.
Long story short, I won the bet and received my winnings at the NBX Warwick Race in early December.
That weekend, Christian Heule stayed with Todd and me at my Mother-in-Law’s apartment. Christian expressed some interest in the maple syrup before Saturday’s race when he asked to pour a small amount in his water bottle before the race.
He asked to pour a little in his water bottle after the race.
As we left the race, I noticed the container of maple syrup in his bags.
Saturday evening, back at the apartment, he poured a little maple syrup in his water bottle before dinner.
Sunday morning, he poured a little maple syrup in his water bottle before breakfast. As he finished the pour, he licked the rim of the container and closed it up.
I gasped at this and asked, “Did you really just lick the rim?”
His reply was as concise as one would expect from a Swissman, “It’s mine now.”
I had had the privilege of a small taste of the syrup upon receipt. Beyond that, I had none.
This morning at 7:01 am I received a message from Christian asking if I was ready for the breakfast buffet at the hotel in Tokyo. Knowing breakfast began one minute earlier, I obliged.
As we walked down the corridor to the hotel restaurant, neither of us knew what to expect, except for the standard courtesy and politesse that we have encountered with every single person we have met on this trip. Even from as far away as I was in the next image, the pleasantries of the greeting Christian received are obvious.
We were very pleased with what we saw around the corner. Food. Lots of food. And of all types. And coffee. Good coffee. There were waffles, pancakes, omelets, scrambled eggs, croissants, chocolate crossaints, cereals, rice, baked salmon, mango, bananas, mixed fruit, pasta, bacon, breads, soups, and more.
Christian and I filled a few plates and returned to our table.
They had real maple syrup. As a New Englander, I have accepted real maple syrup to be a rarity when traveling outside the region that is the awesomest.
Christian was also excited, obviously. So excited, he poured some all over my plate for me.
Having learned nothing from the maple syrup incident, I asked Christian to sit in front of my plate because I was having some lighting issues for photographing. Yeah, I’m serious about this photography now. Knowing I have to offload content to Todd each time I shoot so he can edit it, I need to cover my ass.
Whilst Christian sat in the good light, he began eating my food and saying things like, “I like that.”
Lucky for him, this was an all-you-can-eat buffet.
I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos, but everything is small. Small pancakes. Small waffles. Even the bananas are small. I will take some scaled photos tomorrow, because it is exciting.
Speaking of bananas.
After Christian finished sampling my plate, we each filled another four or five plates and ate until we could eat not more.
Then I took some photos of the views from the restaurant of the notorious Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower.
The best part is, we get to repeat this morning ritual for the next five days. I’ve never had baked salmon for breakfast. It might be time.
