BEAUTIFUL ISLAND: 人生の意味と目的は何ですか

Saturday was very Japanese. It started with lunch at Akashi in Paragon.

I love sitting at the sushi bar, in front of chef Kaiser. He patiently answers ~~our~~ my random questions, he entertains us by pulling out raw exotic eats, he whets our appetite and see to our needs.

The first time i encountered these endamame (salt boiled peas), was with my friend's family when i was 15. I was very sua ku (ignorant) then, and i didn't know what they were, needless to say how to eat it. Being the guest, the family politely pushed the bowl towards me and gestured for me to try it first. I politely took one as they all stared at me wide eyed with toothy grins. I held the pea close to my mouth, paused for a second (thinking how am i supposed to eat this?), squeezed my eyes shut and pop the WHOLE endamame into my mouth. Shell, skin, everything. IT WAS TOUGH. No one said anything, and i struggled to chew but i eventually swallowed.

Still, no one said anything. I smiled weakly and said it was "nice". That gave the cue for the family to join in. My friend's sister took one and started squeezing out the peas within and only eating those things INSIDE!

I was horrified. No one said a thing. I elbowed my friend and asked why she didn't tell me so! She said it was also her first time eating >_<

I had the codfish sperm as well as tuna eyeball here in the heart of Orchard too. Adding on to the exotic eats list is baby Unagi. An Unagi is a live freshwater eel.

What we had was JUST-HATCHED eels. The moment these babies breathe, in my mouth they go.

Where Kaiser is pointing is it's head, the black dot is its eye.

It looks like kway tiao (flat rice noodles). You don't really chew, you pretty much swallow. I like how it feels on my tongue. It is smooth and it glides around. Strangely enough, as i am writing this, i feel a tingle. Just like how my friend described eating it, he asked "don't you somehow feel orgasmic eating this?" Weird i know, but mum always say not to play with food. This is one food we wanted to play with our mouths. As we bit into its tiny head, it bursts and a tiny bit of tasteless liquid fills our mouth.

This is my FAVOURITE dish. I usually balk at raw eggs, i cannot imagine body builders drinking a concoction of 5 raw eggs. The head chef sliced us some very fresh squid in strips and gave us a dip that is of soya sauce, some peices of Uni (sea urchin) and a raw egg yolk (stir it up)! You eat it like you would dip soba in cold sauce, it was DELICIOUS!

When Singaporeans think of sashimi and sushi, they think of Salmon. I had the raw beef sushi. It was marbled, and it melted in my mouth.

Then came the dish which was the reason for this adventure. More sperm.

Pufferfish sperm is in season!

That's uncooked sperm. The fish is naturally wet, so not much foreplay was needed.

They boil it a little before serving it to our table.

I actually quite like it. It tastes better than cod fish sperm (which smelt, was very thick and toufu-like). I didn't even know what i popped into my mouth, i thought it was some tasty chicken! It was meaty indeed, i hope i got some protein out of it.

Then i invited two of my best friends to Memoris of a Geisha at Orchard Scotts Residence

They had a sperm whale of a time.

All things Japanese.

Vernise, the hostess is a stickler for decoration. That's why i LOVE her parties.

My favourite bite sized ice cream! Once you pop, you can't stop. No, actually you can with these because of BRAIN FREEZE.

Choya, surprisingly tastes real good. My choice of alcohol from now. At least it's healthy, right?

The ever generous hosts. Wil takes his role play VERY SERIOUSLY, like every Japanese. His partner dutifully role played the French maid, cleaning up after him & dusting him after (maybe). Nice match!

The sushi chef whipped up an absolutely ooishi pancake packed with lots of liao (ham, cabbage, squid).

His "ang moh" apprentice helped out.

Fatty pork that dissolves in my mouth and reappears on the hips.

It's not Japanese if there isn't any mischief!

Good food, good beer.

Even some rock and roe.

Legs, legs, legs.

Then the drinking begins.

I was the official beer girl.

They drank,

and drank,

and drank.

Yes, i was the beer pot.

short and stout.

They like to 干杯 me too.

Being interviewed.

Thinking froth.

Good company, beautiful people.

It was a donation drive too. To Red Cross for its relief efforts in Japan. We raised some $7000, thanks to Sushi chef's company doubling what was collected at this party.