Do you remember the first time you tried Sushi? I remember it all to well.
Some friends and I were out one evening celebrating a birthday at the Babylonia.
As Sushi was the new craze at that time, lots of them ordered similarly. Though I'd never tired Sushi before, I was a bit intrigued, and after some playful coercion was up for the experience.
While they suggested I not stray to far off the reservation by getting Sashimi, I did order the Maki Maki, feeling a bit like Indiana Jones on an adventure out of my comfort zone.
Sashimi
Maki Maki
Our meals eventually came adorned in an assortment colourful garnishes , and I was happy to try every single one.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing to a light green paste. "Oh, that's Wasabi" one of them said. My state of mind after that immediately fell to those Wasabi nuts I tried a couple times at the supermarket. "They tasted good" I thought, kind of like Pistachios (I love Pistachios) so I put a large heaping of the paste on a piece of my Sushi without anyone truly noticing, (or did they?)
Wasabi
Let me tell you something.... Never, try Wasabi with your sushi like that, you hear?
When that first aromatic jolt surged through, my face lit up like a Christmas Tree, I started sputtering and jerking around like and old Bedford truck in need of servicing, and trying wash it down with alcohol was like trowing water on a grease fire.
I had to maul the rest of my dinner like a bear, quickly rushing to dessert to get the taste out of my mouth.
We all had a proper laugh about it afterward. Luckily we're all good friends or the whole ordeal could have been much more embarrassing.