Eating extremely fresh fish
As mentioned, after the ballet we went to eat at a place that Maya’s mom works. She brought one of the electronic ordering devices to our table, the kind only a waiter or waitress would normally have. She bossed the employees around a bit. When her friend asked why, she said because she wasn’t working; she was a customer on this evening. The roles make such a huge difference in Japanese speech, even when the people don’t change.
We had so many courses I can’t remember them all. They included tuna pot stickers (鮪餃子), salad, a half dozen kinds of yakiniku, squid with mayonnaise, a hot pot chicken soup of sorts, raw beef, and udon in the remains of the soup. But the highlight of the meal had to be when Ellie was told to go downstairs to check out the fish tank.
She was given a net and instructed to fish out a couple of sea bream (I think that is what they were, 鯛 or タイ). She did, as you can see in the above photo. Back at the table, upstairs, a mere two minutes later, the fish were in front of us, meatless, but still seemingly alive. The filleted fish were twitching like crazy and only the harpooning stick kept them from jumping out of the bowl as first Ellie, and then I, ate their sashimied remains while they looked on.
The above video is of part of my dinner. It isn’t often that your dinner waves at you as you eat it.
And here is Ellie eating her sashimi.
Ellie experienced no adverse affects as the above picture taken later that night illustrates. My stomach felt a little weird, but that could have been from a number of things I consumed on this wonderful evening.
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:16 pm
hmm it makes me hungry
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:40 am
They don’t get any fresher than that!
January 14th, 2010 at 3:40 am
hey acase,
I am traveling back to japan again and would like to ask you where exactly is the extremely fresh fish location and also is it pricey? Thanks again! also last time I remember your post about the Shabu Shabu for a decent price by Waseda University but I had no luck finding it. Any help from you is greatly appreciated.
Ben
January 14th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Let me check to see if any of my photos show what the name of the place was. It was in Kodaira City. A cab took us there and I didn’t give directions so I don’t think I could find it again if I tried.
My apologizes for not providing better directions to the Shabu Shabu / Sukiyaki place. I have been back for the sukiyaki (1,700 yen) and was not disappointed. Service was fantastic each time too. Here is the name, address, and phone number:
歌千代さらしな
東京都新宿区西早稲田2-18-23
03-3208-4848
March 7th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Hi Ben,
I had Maya and her mom over our house for lunch today, and I asked her the name of the place. It is called さかなや道場. You can search for the closest one here: http://www.chimney.co.jp/shop/search/index.html The above photos are from the one located here: 東京都小平市花小金井１－１０－８石川ビル２Ｆ・３Ｆ Here is the menu: http://www.chimney.co.jp/shop/information/sakana/index.html
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Love the video of Ellie eating the sashimi with the fish tail still wiggling! That would put most of my friends in Canada to shame. And thanks for sharing the address and website of the restaurant — one more great suggestion for the next time I pass by Tokyo.