A couple of days ago I wrote about an emergency. A soup emergency. Two weeks in Auckland and I was missing the Khmer Noodle House’s seafood deluxe noodle soup (no bean sprouts no spring onions). I eat one every day. I needed a substitute and I needed it quick.
I turned to social media. I was desperate. I had nowhere else to go. Kate had left a good suggestion on my website, but that was all.
My two favorite tweeters (for God’s sake follow them) are Philip Mathews and Jolisa Gracewood and low-and-behold it was one of them who set my rescue in motion. Philip banged out my problem to his followers and suddenly things started to happen. I began to feel something I hadn’t felt in days, something that Auckland traffic had near choked out of me. I felt hope.
First came the ever-sharp Steve Braunias who came through with Kung Foo Noodles on Dominion Road. Say what you like about Braunias, God knows I have, but he has a keen eye for an emergency. And he responded.
Then along came John Campbell. A Hurricanes supporter, John has spent much of his life empathising with lost men. He also has a keen eye for restaurants with Formica tables. An absolute must in the search for a great Asian eatery.
Campbell started rattling off names. Tweet after tweet. Each ended with a single word. More. And more came. A cascade of Laksa possibility. Other suggestions started flooding in too.
Simon Pound recommended Laksa House in New Market by describing it as a “smelly carpark food court. Amazing.” Others agreed. It was enough for me. That was lunch. The Curry Laksa was incredible. And the carpark was incredibly smelly.
By this time, work had gone off the agenda. It was really just a matter of waiting for dinner and the Sri Pinang on K Road. The place had glass tables. A bit bloody bourgeois.
It was just before 7pm as I prepared to eat and Campbell was still tweeting advice. Focusing on his telly program might ordinarily take all of his attention, but the man knows a soup emergency when he sees one.
POW! Two from two. Sri Pinang really delivered. And the owner Angie told me stories of Campbell coming to the place since before he was famous (he was always very polite apparently and believably). I asked if they used to have Formica tables. She looked confused.
Don’t get me wrong, neither of these places offered the seafood deluxe noodle soup (no bean sprouts no spring onions) but both Laksas were excellent. Furthermore, I now have a plethora of options. Unfortunately, I’m leaving for Cambridge this afternoon, though I leave Auckland not just with a lovely sense of virtual community but also having had a powerful epiphany.
When I have minor issues I know where to go. Keeping my business accounts in order, my accountant. Legal problems, my lawyer. If my kidneys give out, I’ll pop in and see my doctor.
But for the really important stuff, I’ll go to Twitter.
I turned to social media. I was desperate. I had nowhere else to go. Kate had left a good suggestion on my website, but that was all.
My two favorite tweeters (for God’s sake follow them) are Philip Mathews and Jolisa Gracewood and low-and-behold it was one of them who set my rescue in motion. Philip banged out my problem to his followers and suddenly things started to happen. I began to feel something I hadn’t felt in days, something that Auckland traffic had near choked out of me. I felt hope.
First came the ever-sharp Steve Braunias who came through with Kung Foo Noodles on Dominion Road. Say what you like about Braunias, God knows I have, but he has a keen eye for an emergency. And he responded.
Then along came John Campbell. A Hurricanes supporter, John has spent much of his life empathising with lost men. He also has a keen eye for restaurants with Formica tables. An absolute must in the search for a great Asian eatery.
Campbell started rattling off names. Tweet after tweet. Each ended with a single word. More. And more came. A cascade of Laksa possibility. Other suggestions started flooding in too.
Simon Pound recommended Laksa House in New Market by describing it as a “smelly carpark food court. Amazing.” Others agreed. It was enough for me. That was lunch. The Curry Laksa was incredible. And the carpark was incredibly smelly.
By this time, work had gone off the agenda. It was really just a matter of waiting for dinner and the Sri Pinang on K Road. The place had glass tables. A bit bloody bourgeois.
It was just before 7pm as I prepared to eat and Campbell was still tweeting advice. Focusing on his telly program might ordinarily take all of his attention, but the man knows a soup emergency when he sees one.
POW! Two from two. Sri Pinang really delivered. And the owner Angie told me stories of Campbell coming to the place since before he was famous (he was always very polite apparently and believably). I asked if they used to have Formica tables. She looked confused.
Don’t get me wrong, neither of these places offered the seafood deluxe noodle soup (no bean sprouts no spring onions) but both Laksas were excellent. Furthermore, I now have a plethora of options. Unfortunately, I’m leaving for Cambridge this afternoon, though I leave Auckland not just with a lovely sense of virtual community but also having had a powerful epiphany.
When I have minor issues I know where to go. Keeping my business accounts in order, my accountant. Legal problems, my lawyer. If my kidneys give out, I’ll pop in and see my doctor.
But for the really important stuff, I’ll go to Twitter.
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