How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I suspect my destiny was written from the very start, for my first sensation of life was the smell of machli ka salan, a spicy fish curry, rising through the floorboards to the cot in my parent's room above the restaurant. (1.1)
Hassan basically tells us here that he was born to be a chef. This guy is born smelling food, so it's kind of like he's never known anything different; learning to cook is as natural to him as learning to breathe.
Quote #2
The entire experience of leaving Bombay rather resembled a certain technique for catching octopus found in the Portuguese villages living off the rough waters of the Atlantic. (3.1)
Hassan describes his family moving from Bombay to the spearing of an octopus. It's a graphic description, and we wouldn't want to be the octopus. The Hajis unfortunately are the octopus in this deal, being speared by unfortunate changes off the cold Atlantic.
Quote #3
When we got home that day, Umar told my sister Mehtab that I was in love, and then added unkindly, "Hot body, but face… face like an onion bhaji." (3.11)
Hassan thinks this is mean, though he also agrees with his brother's opinion of his first love. Ouch. But we've noticed that he seems to use appealing and gross food references together without necessarily implying positive or negative connotations.