5/11/2010

Hawaii Happenings: Part Five

With only a couple of more updates on the docket (I promised myself I would not drag this out and would do my best to complete it before Hope’s tan fades), in this installment I want to discuss food. My brother and I enjoy eating sushi (our stated goal for the week was to never eat anything that was cooked; we failed but we went down kicking and screaming--or at least with a good pout). My brother’s M.O. is to inform the waiter/waitress that he wants to give the sushi chef carte blanche (is it kosher to use French words when discussing Japanese food?) to prepare anything he/she wants--be creative--and Kyle always lets them know, “We aren’t afraid of anything.” Depending on the mood of the chef, this can be a delightful culinary adventure or a mediocre roll through... well, rolls. We were pretty lucky during our week on the Big Island. We had the opportunity to eat sushi three times (which was a pretty good average over seven days). We enjoyed one spot so much that we made a return trip for our farewell dinner before boarding a plane and flying for 11 hours. (Risky? Probably, but, really, it’s not like any of the dishes can be undercooked.) The following pictures show off some of the dishes we enjoyed (and I wish I could remember what they were but I can’t so you just have to be entertained by the visuals and not gain any raw seafood knowledge in the process). And to all the sushi chefs we tormented with that awful phrase, “yes, we want some more,” I salute you and raise my chopsticks in honor of your creativity and willingness to play along. Bon appetit! (Eh, there I go again...)

Brothers, preparing for battle.

A "sweet shrimp" which was blue and
"tasted like the ocean." I am referring to the piece lying 
across the seaweed, not the fried shrimp head.

Uni (pureed sea urchin) and a quail egg
being introduced to Mr. Shrimp Head.

Goose foie gras sushi.
Yeah, surprised us too...

A smorgasbord of sea life, dead.

A variety of raw stuff, including uni and octopus.

Salmon roe with a quail egg which, when bitten,
shot the eggs all over the inside of your mouth. Incoming!

I am not sure about the type of fish but our instructions
from the chef were to "roll toward the center and grab some eggs."
Okay.

Tuna, chipotle dressing and tempura crumbles
(i.e. chef gettin' crazy!)

Shannon
Wasabi headache (amateur!)

1 comment:

Paige said...

You are a brave man.