Sushi!
I'm not as fussy an eater as I was in my childhood, I will eat and even enjoy most types of food, but I will not eat seafood. (I can't even look at a fish, dead, alive or otherwise, without feeling physically uncomfortable. I don't really understand why, something deep and psychological, no doubt)

Now a few years ago, went to visit my aunt and uncle in Hong Kong. Had a great time, seeing all the sights, and spending the evenings at places that seemed to cater exclusively to the visiting families of well-off white businessmen.

Until, that is, my uncle decided we were all going to Kyoto Joe's, one of Hong Kong's most well known sushi restaurants.

Oh dear.

I spent most of my time huddled in the corner, drinking water and trying to work out if there was anything available that had dry-land origins and was cooked to my levels of satisfaction (i.e. at all) Asking my uncle, who ate there regularly with his business chums, which of the dishes was salmon resulted in him chuckling and saying "Don't worry, I'll order for all of us!" before snatching away the menus and delivering a stream of indecipherable words to the waiter.

The rest of the evening passed in horror as my uncle sat there with a massive grin on his face, refusing to tell us what anything was until we'd tried some, and chuckling at the expressions on our faces. I forced down about three mouthfuls of something that tasted like spicy cream-cheese salmon and then sat feeling very unwell until we got back to their apartment, where my aunt took pity on me and defrosted a pizza so I wouldn't starve.

My mum (who visited at a later date) was also taken to Kyoto Joe's, where she was convinced to eat a small chunk of what turned out to be octopus innards. (my uncle told her when she had her mouth full of it, then fell about laughing at her look of disgust) She said it was like 'eating an inner tube' and that no ammount of chewing seemed to have an effect on this morsel, which remained too big to swallow. After twenty minutes and two glasses of water, she finally managed to force it down, and has since resolved never to go near a sushi restaurant again.

This may be my first ever post (pop! and all that), but I make no apologies for length, and never will.
(Uncle Comrade, Thu 27 Apr 2006, 15:57, Reply)