Your note about adding saffron at the end reminds me of a similar breakthrough I had with a Thai green curry. In my experience, it was toasting the cumin seeds separately that finally unlocked the street food taste from Bangkok. That first bite took me right back to a humid evening by the Chao Phraya River, complete with the memory of tuk-tuk exhaust mixing with the aroma. It's funny how one specific technique can act as a time machine for your taste buds, but your mileage may vary with different palates. I've found that those culinary echoes of travel often hinge on such tiny, almost ritualistic steps. For me, it's never about replicating the dish perfectly, but capturing the feeling, which it sounds like you've done.

Remember reading that case study from the Coastal Engineering Journal last year? In my experience, they highlighted how permeable concrete in coastal areas resisted salt damage better than traditional slabs, but only with precise aggregate selection. Your mileage may vary, but I've seen similar results on projects where the mix was tailored to local conditions, like using crushed granite instead of limestone. Take this with a grain of salt, but skipping that customization step is where many crews run into issues, blaming the material instead of the specification. It's not just about subbase prep, the aggregate quality and gradation play huge roles in long-term performance, something that study emphasized repeatedly.