Last night, Mr. Top Gun and I went to dinner at one of our favorite places here in Okinawa- Yoshi's!! There is actually a HUGE story behind Yoshi Hachi and why he is so famous here, so I shall give y'all the short version of it: You know that little ol' sushi roll called the CALIFORNIA ROLL? Well, Yoshi INVENTED that! Yes, he actually invented it. He apparently started out in LA, way before the sushi craze began in the U.S., and quickly realized that americans did not have a taste for raw fish- just yet, so he invented the California Roll and the rest is history. Seriously, he is a HUGE celebrity and after living in LA for about 12 years, he moved back to Okinawa and opened his restaurant which has become the place to "Be seen," on island. All the celebrities who visit the bases here, from Tiger Woods to Danny Glover to the various NFL cheerleaders- they have all signed his walls and their pictures are hung all over the place. Very cool!
Mr. and I arrive after making reservations (because if you are in the 'know' here, you know you do not just walk into Yoshi's... you CALL hours ahead of time to get a seat.) We order our usual Teriyaki dinners and sushi rolls, and then Mr. Top Gun orders this:
FUGU. Yep, that's right. We ate the deadly BlowFish.
The good news? We survived! The odd and interesting news? Here ya go: Mr. Top Gun ordered it and as soon as it arrived at our table, he wasted no time in consuming it. He delicately drizzled the lemon over it and popped it into his mouth, while I looked at him like he was nuts (and all the while hoping nothing horrible happened to him...) I asked him what it tasted like and when he told me it tasted like the really good O-Toro (fatty tuna) that we love, I popped it into my mouth too! It was GOOD! Really, really mild and delicate in flavor and not fishy at all. The lemon and scallions were a fantastic complement to the deadly fish ;) We continued on our feasting, devouring the Alaskan roll (salmon and cream cheese) and our Teriyaki dinners complete with: Miso soup, rice, assorted tempura, Japanese salad and beef for Mr. and chicken for me. *Yes, we do enjoy Japanese food!*
It's Yoshi!
Japanese sushi bar= Perfection! Can you find Yoshi?
And then comes the funny part... After about 15 minutes, Mr. and I started feeling a bit odd. Our tongues, cheeks, mouth, and lips were numb and I swear I got a headache almost instantly. It was a warm sensation, then it just became annoying and felt like we had just gone to the Dentist and had our mouths numbed up with Novocaine! This lasted for a good 45-50 minutes, in which time Mr. decided to google 'Fugu' and discovered some interesting facts (AFTER WE ATE IT!)
1.Fugu (Blowfish) is the second most deadliest thing you can eat. Great!
2. Fugu contains a neurotoxin, so it paralyzes it's victim. Meaning that you eat it and you don't feel pain- you just become paralyzed and die from asphyxiation. Nice huh?
3. The fugu apprentice needs a two- or three-year apprenticeship before being allowed to take an official test. The test consists of a written test, a fish-identification test, and a practical test of preparing fugu and then eating it. Only 35% of the chefs who take this test pass it...
4. Any establishment who serves Fugu must have the licences of the chefs certified by the Japanese Government on CLEAR DISPLAY, for all to see.
5. When you eat the fish, you are being poisoned. Removing the sac is what keeps you from dying- but the entire body of the fish is streaming with poison- you just won't die from eating it...
6. It is best to eat Fugu in the winter months, because they fatten up. This would explain why our Fugu tasted like the fatty tuna.
7.Fugu is also the only delicacy officially forbidden to the Emperor of Japan, for his own safety. *Peons may eat it, not the Emperor though.*
My attire for the evening... Courtesy of my awesome MIL!!
I am wearing Mr. Top Gun's flight glasses though ;)
Love it!!!
And the Top Gun's live another day ;)
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