at addy's last night choonping produced "a charming little dinner" of grilled portabello mushrooms, kebabs, and what he calls moroccan couscous, which is to say that it resembled a pot of gumbo, to which comment he was pleased to point out was exactly his intention - he was much taken by the example of fortune reading in witches abroad. the meal was excellent in every way except for its incredible lateness. (su-lin sent word on the quiet that i should bring her some food. i arrived with takopachi but choonping when he noticed roared that i was trying to zao4 fan3. admittedly feeding people before he was due to serve his grand repast was rather traitorous, but for su-lin i go to any length etc) also all those engaged to assist choonping in the kitchen were fairly traumatised by the process, i am told, with the exception of su-lin, who is perhaps more used to him than the rest of us, having lived for three years with him in york, and myself, who with foresight refused to be one of his kitchen minions. oh but, chaos! exults choonping. cooking, he says, should be creation out of chaos. be that as it may, addy retorts, quelling the cosmogonic overtones of his remarks with a vision of doomsday instead, cooking should not induce terror of the world ending. and then su-lin emerges from the kitchen with 8 servings of "molten chocolate baby cakes," which is souffle by any other name but thrice as good. my mother commands that i present myself for dinner now so i leave you. to be continued...