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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Tokyo Dining - Sushi & Sake or Thank The Gods It Isn't California Roll

Well this was my last day at Epcot and I hadn't planned for a sit down lunch since I was having dinner at Victoria & Alberts at 8:30pm. However it was POURING rain so I decided I would check out Tokyo Dining. I figured they might be able to get me in without a ressie since the rain was keeping people away.  


They sat me right away, gave me a window seat and were sooo polite! I didn't bring Bun with me due to the excessive rain however I had a very good time none the less.  


First let me clarify a few things about sushi. This will save you from looking like a dork in a real sushi bar: 
* California Roll is NOT real sushi! That isn't even real crab in there. It is crab flavored white fish. It was invented to help Americans with their "weird food fear". 
* Wasabi is NOT to be heaped into the bowl of soy sauce and stirred until it is a muddy paste! STOP IT!!!! It is insulting to the sushi Chef. Both the wasabi and soy are to lightly accent the fish. When you do the sludge thing, you are saying you want to taste wasabi and not the FISH. 
* Some pieces of sushi (that come with their own sauce) are NOT to be drug in soy sauce. 
* NEVER stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice. That indicates an offering to the dead. Either use a chop stick rest or place them sideways across the bowl of rice. 
* If you are dipping sushi in soy, pick the piece up with your chop sticks and touch them to the soy "upside down" so the top of the fish touches the sauce and not the rice. If you place it in the soy rice end first, it will tend to fall apart. 
* You will receive a warm washcloth before eating. This is for wiping your hands NOT for taking a BATH!!  


I also must say that I eat many things white people don't eat. I eat organs (like brains and sweetbreads), I eat live things, I eat things that move, I eat things that smell so rank it makes Mickey cry (like Durian). Doesn't mean I would eat Durian again but I try it. One of my favorite sushi offerings is Ama Ebi. They did not have any but they are raw sweet shrimp with the heads deep fried. one sushi chef I know calls the heads "Japanese French Fries". They are WONDERFUL!!!! One Chef also took the brain out after chopping their little heads off and gave it to me with a thin slice of lemon. It was still pulsing. YUMMY!  


Anyway, I ordered some hot sake (for such a cold day) and the following sushi dishes Maguro (Tuna) - they didn't have Toro which is a higher grade of tuna belly, Sake (Salmon), Unagi (Eel) and Ika (squid). They were out of Conch (you know those big shells Hawaiians blow) and Octopus. :sad1


This was very decent sushi. Not as good as the places in San Francisco but it was on par with your average sushi place. Some of the cuts of fish were a little on the thin side but the prices were a little lower than I have seen in sushi bars so I guess it evens out. Sushi can be an addicting and pricy enterprise. I have been known to eat $75 worth of sushi by myself. I also love Uni (Sea Urchin Gonads, which they didn't have) which is pretty pricey. This is a definite return for me even if they have "dumbed down US food" like California Roll and that abomination Philidelphia Roll on the menu. That Philly roll is GROSS! Cooked salmon, cream cheese and rice in a roll. BLECH! Had it at a place in Oakland (a friend ordered it) and I think it was near as bad as Durian and that is bad. Here if you are not a true Japanese sushi person or not an adventurous eater they have tempura, teriyaki and *shudder* California Roll. Have at, more conch for me however, please try one thing for me. Use chopsticks, not a fork. Really it isn't that hard, I learned when I was 8. Just try for me. Promise?

3 comments:

  1. Why was this removed from the disboards?

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  2. It was? I haven't been on since yesterday. Perhaps a moderator has no sense of humor or got annoyed that I pointed out manners? Well I guess it's a good thing that this is my sandbox. I love the DIS but sometimes I think people can get a little too sensitive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ha! This DOES still exist! They might've taken it down from the Dis-Boards... but they can't stop the message!!

    ReplyDelete