As regards knowing what things are, and trying things out - in the 1970s I bought a mystery item - what I can only call a "soup mix" from an Asian supermarket after asking the assistant "what is really delicious but has no fish or meat". I wrote down the simple steps about cooking it in lots of water and adding the (?) mushrooms at intervals.
It was interesting.
Years later I bought some bitter gourd (Karela) after quizzing a lady who was buying it. She told me how to prepare it, cook it, the spices to use and explained about the skin. I'm afraid I couldn't eat it. I like bitter tastes so a couple of years later a friend at work explained to me how she cooked it according to her family recipe so I tried it again (but didn't cook so much this time 
) and again it wasn't very nice.
Years later I found a recipe online which had good reviews so tried that. Another fail.
What am I doing wrong? I SO want to enjoy this vegetable.
On the other hand, all the delicious success stories far outweigh my peculiar soup/karela problems.
Slightly off topic, we had the most fantastic Asian pharmacist where I used to live had been going to his pharmacy for over 30 years, he was better than the doctor, nothing was too much trouble, would always offer to take blood pressure etc. Like so many of his customers we were on first name terms with him and likewise he with us. Since we've moved the nearest dispensing pharmacy to the doctor is a very small Boots close by. They love keeping people waiting outside the shop, generally quite unhelpful. Someone on a local website posted how she went in there to buy some Fenjal, but in her words "the jobsworth said can't sell it to you don't have a dispensing chemist here at the moment" Maybe she should have said in a much louder voice "I said Fenjal not Fentanyl" 
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