[Culverin]

My grandpa was a drinker and kept around a couple bottles of really good cognac. I've got a taste for it too, SkinnyPupp, what you said is so true. It's mostly a face-saving drink, something more popular due to it's reputation than actually because the guests will appreciate it.


My other grandparents run a fishery and seem to have a habit of entertaining clients and bringing them to family dinners. So I've had everything from cheapy sharkfin and abalone to the really good stuff. I actually find things totally opposite.

The sharkfin itself isn't really good, but the soup can be a totally awesome broth, something just simply amazing that takes real skill to make. I just wish they would make the soup with something else, but I guess they couldn't charge that much.

I've never found abalone any good. It's always chewy and rubbery to me, the texture just doesn't seem to bring anything to the table, and the flavor, although distinctive, just doesn't seem very attractive to me at all.