Food Poisoning

I am the kind of person who believes in the longevity of food in the fridge and the power of tupperware to keep something fresh for a bit longer than it should. I use the sniff test for leftovers of questionable provenance, and nothing's ever really gone wrong. So previously when I heard about people with food poisoning, I scoffed a bit. Oh ye of weak stomachs... so evolutionarily inferior.

Until this past weekend.

It was the first really gorgeous spring day in London, and the Irishman's friend Mike came up from Portsmouth to hang out and celebrate his birthday with us. We walked along the canal to Broadway Market and sat in London Fields watching the hipsters congregate, and sampled many find foodie wares, all in preparation for an evening of gorging ourselves at my newest favorite - a BYOB Vietnamese restaurant in Dalston. Editors note: I still really love this place, so I am hesitant to publicly shame. But if anyone wants to know, I'll tell you offline.

We went prepared: we brought champagne and 2 bottles of white in a cooler bag, and prepared to order pretty much everything on the menu. It was all delicious, and we raved about every course. As we finished our wine at the end of the meal, I started to feel not so great. So I went to get some air while the gents settled the bill, and before we could decide on taxi vs bus, the meal was on its way out of me. Ew.

I spent the majority of that night in the bathroom, every hour on the hour, and my stomach felt like 100 knives were being stuck into it. By morning, I'd pretty much exhausted my body of everything that was in it, and then I spent what looked like a gorgeous sunny Sunday in bed aching and sleeping. Today I'm on the sofa, slowly building my energy back - I've eaten 2.5 English muffins today - the last one I upgraded with peanut butter. I am going to try a banana next.

So now I am shamed. All of you who have ever experienced what I'm talking about... I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I am now going to be a convert to food hygiene and will think twice about eating anything questionable. But I am worried... can I still eat street food? It will be fine, right? And shrimp (prawns)... I really don't want to see or smell them anytime soon.