Practicing

*official disclaimer: sorry the photos are bad, I took them on my cell!*

My daughter's flower girl dress came in and I went to pick it up at Alfred Angelo over in Altamonte Springs.  On my way home the traffic was awful, and after an hour on 436 I accepted that fact that I probably wouldn't make it home by the dinner hour.  So I started to look around for a McDonald's or something along those lines, and I saw this:

One of the things that's made me the most nervous since getting into the JFMF program has been the knowledge that I'm going to have to try some Japanese cuisine, and enjoying that cuisine involves the ability to eat raw fish. I did not want to go to Japan and get sick the first time I tried raw fish, so I had to practice. I called my wife and told her was no possible way I could make it home for dinner before 7 pm and that I'd be dining on raw fish, to which she said "BWAHAHAHAHA MORON!"

I walked into Hatsuhana and sat down at the Sushi Bar.  The server put some type of order form in front of me where I would have to choose my own pieces of Sushi.  I couldn't make heads or tails of the thing so I finally told her that I had no idea what I wanted.  I explained that I was going to Japan in June and that I wanted to try some real Sushi before my trip, and asked what she would recommend.  She told the Sushi chef across the bar, who recommended (in Japanese) the Sushi and Sashimi combo platter.  It was eight California rolls (cooked, which I've had before), five pieces of Sushi (RAW, which I've wanted to try but never had the nerve to), and eight pieces of Sashimi (RAW pieces of fish, which I've never dreamed of trying.)  Looking at the chef sharpening his knife across the bar, I swallowed my fears and said, "Let's do it!"

As the chef began preparing the dish, I felt the fears that I had swallowed begin to kick the insides of my stomach.  I wanted to run for the door!  No way, I had to stay.  My stomach started to hurt.  Would I be able to eat raw fish?  I thought I would throw up right on the Sushi Bar.  But I didn't.  And before I knew it, this was staring me in the face:

There was no turning back now. The chefs were looking on to see what piece the rookie would try first.  I'll bet they expected me to go for the California Roll.  I carefully studied the platter and chose a tasty looking piece of salmon Sushi. I dipped it into some soy sauce and gobbled it down in one bite.  It was really good.  Immediately my fears vanished and the world started turning again.  The chef spoke directly to me for the first time.  "Raw fish for the first time?  You're brave, man." I've got to eat the real deal, I told him, I have to get ready. 

 

I told him that I really liked the salmon, and dug into the shrimp.  He asked why I was going to Japan in June.

"I'm a teacher, and I just got accepted into a program to go over there for three weeks."

"JET program?" he asked.

"No, the Fulbright Memorial Fund," I replied.  The chef stopped and thought for a moment. 

"That's the one run by the government, right?"

"That's right!" I said, picking up my first piece of tuna Sashimi.  

"What prefecture are you going to?" 

I told him that I hadn't been assigned to any area yet.  He told me that he was from Kyoto and that I should go there and check out the architecture and the temples, that I'd see things built  hundreds and in some cases over a thousand years ago. 

"One of the places people like to visit the most is the Gold Temple," he told me.  I said I would make a point to go to Kyoto and see it.  I'll add that to things I'd like to do on my day off, which I'd like to spend traveling and doing some drawing.  

As the chef continued preparing dishes for other customers, our conversation turned back to Sushi.  He said that what I try in Japan will be different than what I was dining on, that some would be more chewy, other piece would be crunchy, and that in any case I should expect a more classical style of Sushi on my trip.  I got a little nervous, but he said that if was able to eat raw fish tonight, I would enjoy it in June as well. 

My chopsticks hit bare wood.  I looked down and saw this welcome sight:

I did it!  I actually ate real raw Sushi and Sashimi, and here I am, two hours later, without even the slightest hint of a sour stomach.  And it was GREAT!  I highly recommend Hatsuhana to anyone in Orlando, it's worth the drive!  

As I got up to leave, the chef said, "In case I don't see you again, enjoy your trip to Japan."

"You'll see me again, my friend.  I have to keep practicing."

The chef laughed.  "Practicing! Alright, see you later!"

You bet he will!