Fun with Japanese Food
posted by Michèle Sharik
This morning I went to breakfast with Patti (new Sonosian & my room-mate!). We went to one of the restaurants here in the Hotel Hanshin where they have a nice breakfast buffet.
At the buffet table, Patti picked up a small paper cup and asked me, "What is this?" I replied, "I think it's natto." She said, "What's that?" I said, "Just try it and see." At that point, the Japanese waittress who was helping us snickered.
We went back to our table & Patti added the mustard and syrup that was included in little packets to the natto and dug in.
So, I'm sure you're asking now, "What the heck is natto?!?" Well, it's fermented soybeans. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? Well, the Japanese have a sort of game - it's called "Make the Gaijin Eat the Natto" in which they convince a hapless Westerner to eat the stuff and then laugh while the Westerner gags on the stuff. Seriously, I am given to understand that 99% of Westerners seriously do NOT like this stuff!
Well, Patti tried it. Not only did she try it, she actually liked it! In fact, she said that it "needs wasabi"!! (This despite the fact that she described it as "beans with snot".)
When the waitress came by to check on us I pointed at Patti and said, "Natto wa suki desu!" [She likes it!] The waitress was suitably impress and talked to us a bit about the smell of it - comparing it to some of the "stinkier" European cheeses.
I don't have a picture of Patti eating natto but we do have a picture of Tess trying it later - when *we* played "Make the Gaijin Eat the Natto" with her!
Today was also the first day that Tess & Patti got to try the "Japanese-style" toilets - it's all they have backstage at the hall in which we rehearsed today (and where we have a concert tomorrow night). I'm sure one (or both) of them will post pictures of those toilets soon enough - this seems to be turning into a "toilet blog"....
Off to bed now - I'm not jet-lagged (thanks to the "No Jet-Lag" homeopathic stuff that Missy recommended I buy - it really works!), but I can feel myself fighting off a cold & don't want to succumb to it!!
At the buffet table, Patti picked up a small paper cup and asked me, "What is this?" I replied, "I think it's natto." She said, "What's that?" I said, "Just try it and see." At that point, the Japanese waittress who was helping us snickered.
We went back to our table & Patti added the mustard and syrup that was included in little packets to the natto and dug in.
So, I'm sure you're asking now, "What the heck is natto?!?" Well, it's fermented soybeans. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? Well, the Japanese have a sort of game - it's called "Make the Gaijin Eat the Natto" in which they convince a hapless Westerner to eat the stuff and then laugh while the Westerner gags on the stuff. Seriously, I am given to understand that 99% of Westerners seriously do NOT like this stuff!
Well, Patti tried it. Not only did she try it, she actually liked it! In fact, she said that it "needs wasabi"!! (This despite the fact that she described it as "beans with snot".)
When the waitress came by to check on us I pointed at Patti and said, "Natto wa suki desu!" [She likes it!] The waitress was suitably impress and talked to us a bit about the smell of it - comparing it to some of the "stinkier" European cheeses.
I don't have a picture of Patti eating natto but we do have a picture of Tess trying it later - when *we* played "Make the Gaijin Eat the Natto" with her!
Today was also the first day that Tess & Patti got to try the "Japanese-style" toilets - it's all they have backstage at the hall in which we rehearsed today (and where we have a concert tomorrow night). I'm sure one (or both) of them will post pictures of those toilets soon enough - this seems to be turning into a "toilet blog"....
Off to bed now - I'm not jet-lagged (thanks to the "No Jet-Lag" homeopathic stuff that Missy recommended I buy - it really works!), but I can feel myself fighting off a cold & don't want to succumb to it!!
posted by Michèle Sharik at 5:33 AM
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