Saffron pasta with tender chunks of lobster poached in butter, rich and mildly exotic, has a whiff of distinction, enough to eclipse another pasta, an extraordinarily bland dish of orecchiette with fresh peas and fromage blanc.
Maybe the distiller of pisang ambon has not yet got the whiff of "exotic spices" out of its system.
Star Buy: Josmeyer Alsace Pinot Gris Le Fromenteau 2012 (£23, Marks & Spencer) All the hallmarks of top Alsace Pinot Gris are present and correct in this spicy, mouthfilling off-dry white: ripe quince, pear and a touch of peach, subtle pepper and exotic spices, and a whiff of the baker's shop.
The coins in my palms brought to life history and exotic geography and the whiff of fantastic riches.
Even 20 years ago the crossing still had a whiff of the exotic.
Thanks to that secret doqqa spice mix, you get a heady whiff of something exotic each time you exhale.
In 1987, it was a bustling place, with a whiff of the exotic: you checked your shoes at the door, sat at sunken tables and ordered the grilled, skewered street food called yakitori from a big central bar.
But, last week, among his peers, they were many who, fondly and wistfully, recalled his talk and his tales and his humor; the whiff of the exotic; the gregarious New Yorker who breezed into Africa, laden with anecdotes and adjectives, seeking adventures and news.
For me, it was Coca-Cola bottle caps with a whiff of the exotic.
