An Unforgettable Sushi Experience

There is always a first time experience. There is that moment of the very first time of making love. Bluntly put, the first time to have sex. It remains preserved in some choice corners in the brain, with vivid accuracy. Such an experience, best describes this romantic affair with Sushi.

In Berlin, Germany, (precisely along Stresemannstrase), was where for the very first time, I met Sushi. It was an appointment we had at a Vietnamese Restaurant, sometime in July. Indeed, romance may be a more urbane word to compliment the nostalgic feeling that went through my mouth, down to my throat. The caressing feeling on my tongue, was one I could never forget.

But before your imaginations run too wild, Sushi, as you probably thought, is the famous Japanese dish, prepared from vinegarded rice. 

Yes! That's the Sushi I'm actually referring to. It's that special Asian meal that is usually topped with fermented fish, such as salmon, or any other seafood, all delicately made into rolls. 

Call it an adventure and you would definitely be nearer the truth than you thought or imagined. The plate of Sushi looked curiously fascinating. Served in a plate shaped like the popular tilapia fish, you sense that this should be a meal of fish. Yet, the two chopsticks that come along with it, make the first-timer the more curious. It took the solicited efforts of Avie Olarte, my friend from the Philippines, to get accustomed to holding the chopsticks.

A plate of Sushi is served with wasabi a green paste made from the grated root of the Wasabia japonica plant, along with small plates containing soy sauce. You use the chopsticks to first of all put some wasabi in the sauce. The wasabi gives a piquant flavour to the sauce.

With amateurish expertise, I then used the chopsticks to delicately pick a roll, dipped it into the mixture of soy sauce and wasabi en route my salivating tongue, obviously without a thought of what to expect. 

The roll in my mouth made me cringe, like Bathsheba Everdene would have cringed to the tender words of Gabriel Oak, in Thomas Hardy's classic - Far From the Madding Crowd. The cringe was such that your my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. The feeling is better experienced than imagined. 

For my Asian pals, Sushi is a great delicacy. No doubt it is. It is highly nutritious. The wasabi reduces the risk of food poisoning and has anti-microbial properties. But for myself, and indeed, an Afrian pal, Sushi comes across as a friendly stranger you probably wouldn't want to meet again. 

- Your Pal

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• How to Eat Sushi
• Types of Sushi
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