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 My favorite food story happened in Japan.  My very first experience with Thai food, with no consideration for my bland midwestern palate from the chef, was painful.  I had a delicious cucumber salad, with carrots cut into flower petals around the outside and luscious vegetation within!  Alas!  About five bites in my taste buds imploded, and five bites more had me weeping, my nose running, attracting stares... it was all together an epiphany.  I went home, and began working for a Thai restaurant.  I trained to develop my pain tolerance abilities or, possibly, just destroyed so many taste buds the chili could no longer affect me.  Whatever I managed to accomplish, Thai food is now (to me) by far the most awesome food on the planet.  Green curry... green curry.... pad thai... kao pad... 

...green curry.