... If you eat too much curry you can get high....
And it can be mildly (okay, sometimes not so mildly) addictive. The body's reaction to the capsaicinoids causes the heart rate to speed up and endorphins to be released ...mmmmm endorphins
.When we lived in Kuala Lumpur a friend of ours, no matter what he was eating, would always heap mountains of chili peppers on top. Within minutes he would be sweating profusely and shoveling still more chili peppers in. Hilarious, and kinda gross, to watch. I never even tried to keep pace - it would have been no contest since I suspect he'd seared off his taste buds years ago.
In KL the thing for a snack is roti canai. It's a light flaky bread, a bit like naan but lighter and ... uh flakier. And it comes with a bowl of curry for dipping. You can usually choose between chicken, fish, or lentil curry. It costs about $0.25 and is unbelievably good.
Even better is the combination of fiery hot and tanging numbing of huājiāo (Sichaun peppercorns). Lazi ji though not a curry takes my top spot for spicy deliciousness. It's basically a mountain of chili peppers and Sichaun peppercorns with chicken pieces buried underneath. It lights your mouth on fire and then shows a little mercy by numbing your tongue a wee bit, just enough to convince you to take another flaming mouthful. Awesome but oh so addictive!
mace
