yet more eating adventures
I've been riding by this restaurant on the edge of my neighborhood every day enough that it was finally time to eat there. We knew they served fish (given the large sign with the fish) but beyond that, our illiteracy provided no clue.
Following our new semi-suicidal policy, we pointed randomly at the menu (which only had four choices any way) and waited for our destiny to arrive.
Today it was: raw tuna cheek, raw swordfish (which was completely new to the two of us and not even something I knew was eaten), and tuna belly. It was all sliced thick and served so cold it could bring on an ice cream headache if you ate it.
Letting it warm up a bit (it arrived on a tray of cold pebbles that did help radiate warmth over time, it helped too that we were sitting on a heated floor) made it very delicious. We finished a tray and, to our astonishment, they brought about twice as much out. We finished this tray slower and were then shocked to be given yet another. Other items served in an almost unstoppable cascade of food (we finally begged them to stop bringing it) were fish/pickle/pickled radish/roe/and peanut butter abominations on a cabbage leaf, frozen wasabi in some kind of whipped tofu, and "contents of tuna stomach," according to the chef, who had the same little handheld electronic translator that 100% of my students use. (Clearly I need this-- "Contents of tuna stomach" was not in my dictionary.)
Neither was "shots of goldschlager," which the chef brought us midway through the meal. He told us it was "tuna belly tea" but it was quite clearly goldschlager. The gold flakes give it away.
Given the continual arrival of more rounds of tuna cheek and goldschlager we became concerned that we had unwittingly indicated to someone that we wanted multiple orders (we have been down this particular road to financial ruin before.) We feared the result at the end.
However, this restaurant clearly being designed for the budget traveler, we have emerged unscathed and ready to return, on the off chance we ever need to eat again.
Following our new semi-suicidal policy, we pointed randomly at the menu (which only had four choices any way) and waited for our destiny to arrive.
Today it was: raw tuna cheek, raw swordfish (which was completely new to the two of us and not even something I knew was eaten), and tuna belly. It was all sliced thick and served so cold it could bring on an ice cream headache if you ate it.
Letting it warm up a bit (it arrived on a tray of cold pebbles that did help radiate warmth over time, it helped too that we were sitting on a heated floor) made it very delicious. We finished a tray and, to our astonishment, they brought about twice as much out. We finished this tray slower and were then shocked to be given yet another. Other items served in an almost unstoppable cascade of food (we finally begged them to stop bringing it) were fish/pickle/pickled radish/roe/and peanut butter abominations on a cabbage leaf, frozen wasabi in some kind of whipped tofu, and "contents of tuna stomach," according to the chef, who had the same little handheld electronic translator that 100% of my students use. (Clearly I need this-- "Contents of tuna stomach" was not in my dictionary.)
Neither was "shots of goldschlager," which the chef brought us midway through the meal. He told us it was "tuna belly tea" but it was quite clearly goldschlager. The gold flakes give it away.
Given the continual arrival of more rounds of tuna cheek and goldschlager we became concerned that we had unwittingly indicated to someone that we wanted multiple orders (we have been down this particular road to financial ruin before.) We feared the result at the end.
However, this restaurant clearly being designed for the budget traveler, we have emerged unscathed and ready to return, on the off chance we ever need to eat again.
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