6 Month Anniversary Sushi Dinner

It's hard to believe, but Mathew and I have only been dating for 6 months. As of this week. So for our six month anniversary, we decided to have sushi. It was what we had on our first date, and it's our favorite food, so we figured, "Why not?" We have only had sushi once here, in the mall, and this time we did some research before selecting a spot to eat. We picked a place in Suntec City (a convention center) but it was given rave reviews in all the blogs and newspapers we read about it in. It was a weird food court style restaurant but with wait staff. They were again very attentive - barely left us alone for two minutes to read the menu. When they saw we were a little overwhelmed with selections, they offered that the sushi chef could make us a platter of sashimi at his whim. We agreed. The following is what appeared:



It should be noted that that is a fish head on the left, actually, the entire skeleton of a fish. He has fins, bones, everything. And his meat is right behind those cucumbers. They gave us a whole fish. It was quite good. Once we were done with it, they asked us what we wanted done with the bones - soup, or frying them up. We opted for soup. It was a miso soup, but it contained the rest of the meat and the skin and the bones of the fish - which flavored the soup and also the fish meat both really nicely.

But wait - you saw those little crab guys, right? Freakin' cutest things you've ever seen. About the size of a quarter, maybe. And yes, they're real. And edible. And fried (somehow). Pop it in your mouth, nice and crunchy and that's it!

Close ups:


My baby crab


Mathew's baby crab

We continued by having the Shiok! Maki, which is their famous specialty. It is lightly seared salmon, and some mayonnaise based sauce topped with tobiko on the outside of an eel-based maki roll. Somehow, a blowtorch is also involved. It was unusual for sushi, because it was partially cooked and smothered in sauce, but it was tasty.



After that, we tried to order some pieces of sushi. We were again offered to let the sushi chef drive if we did not order the two pieces we had ordered and instead let him feed us. We consented, and he sent out pairs of sushi one after another - one remarkable piece was (possibly) mackerel belly. Holy cow. I've had tuna belly, but this is beyond that. Again, it was lightly seared. It was one of the most amazing pieces of sushi I've ever had. Slippery and meaty and fatty but just perfect. I would have loved more of that.

He also sent us some clam or something, but neither one of us was a fan. Then he came out to ask how he was doing and then said that he would like to make us something special, but it was shared, and non-traditional, and would we consent? So, being good sports, we agreed. It arrived. A small bowl covered with lightly seared salmon, ikura (salmon eggs) on top, and two spoons. We were a little confused at how to eat it so he showed up again and told us what to do. When we started to dig in, there was chirashi rice (seasoned sushi rice) underneath, and in between the salmon and the rice - uni (sea urchin)!!! It was the best uni I've ever had. Mathew didn't want to try it but he finally acquiesced and tasted it. Even he didn't think it was bad.

We were stuffed by the end. Beyond stuffed. But you have no idea how much it costs when you let the chef drive. I won't get into numbers, but let's say it was probably the most expensive no-liquor meal either one of us has ever eaten.