japanese pub
sometimes i hate it when i come to realizations that involve my mother being right.. or my very clearly understanding my mother... as much as i love her, i think there is still quite a bit of the immature teen in me that would like to rebel (against the evil forces of my benign mom???)
well, i realized that I cannot depend on time I do not have. it wasn't a desperately negative realization like "omg i can die any minute" or "shit guys! there is no way i can get zees zings done... fire ze missiles!!" so i'm gonna write a short blurb about the pub and be done with it - i don't think i can rely on having time later on to write extensively on it.
So, by the time Dr. Mori said that we should all go to a Japanese pub I was exhausted (it was about 4am tx time) but ofcourse I said yes - he added that it was very traditional - and i had just begun to make friends with everyone.
the place doesn't really pop out at you from the outside except for a red lantern. it's pronounced something like "fishi baum" which can mean either fish sauce or fish root... *shrug* The place was full, not crowded, just comfortably, cozily full and just kinda grooving along this great vibe of activity - i know very 60s of me but that's how it felt.
the table was long, dark, worn wood, and so were the 'benches' [side note: I can understand why japanese aren't known for their butts - the so called 'cushions' don't offer much help after more than 30 mins of sitting time]
the walls were covered from wall to wall with a collage of these odd fish-prints... that are actually fish "prints". The fish that you catch, you stamp on a paper with some ink ergo a very awesomely artistic record that 'you da man' - really this is much better than taking a picture b/c there's no discussion as to how 'big' the fish was. The lamps were very cool, they looked like a piece paper pinned together in a non-symmetrical conical form - very understated.
the atmosphere was loud, happy and chill at the same time. The food was awesome, it was the first taste of slightly higher class sushi that i'd ever had. I must've eaten 4-6 different types of fish, 2 types of shrimp, oysters, eggplant, seaweed salad, onigiri (rice ball in seaweed wrap), squid, some sort of shellfish, and one type of pan-fried fish (all else raw baby yeah!). I should add that I haven't been sick yet. I had a nice tall mug of good beer, stronger taste than in US (boo on keystone light) ; distilled, chilled sake (much better than at kyoto's in c.s.) packs quite a taste but goes down smooth as silk, milk, a bedspread or a kilt...sry; and plum sake - which is one of my favorite alcohols now!!! ooooh sooooooooooo yummy.. i had it on the 'rokus', way wayyy too easy to drink. We talked about how Colombians and Americans eat their fish vs. Japanese... and that yes i had indeed eaten raw fish before, but that htere is no comparison to the quality or variety of sushi offered in Japanese restaurants (or even a pub).
I learned through observation that when in a setting where there is more than one person drinking, you never pour yuour own drink - be it beer from your own bottle, sake, juice from your own juice bottle (one of the guys has a mutation in that enzyme whose name I forget that impedes breaking down alcoholic drinks - he gets headaches, sick etc.. with little alcohol)... it is not a "golden" rule per se that can never be broken... but it is good table manners to offer to pour the other person's drink... i've never noticed anyone 'asking' theirs to be poured... and i've seen some pour their own.. still, i find it a cute 'rule'
i also found out that Oguchi san (one of the new grad students) has a "strong" alcohol tolerance, as does Mori sensei - good ole Dr. Mori can handle his drinks quite well and everyone seemed to be a happy drunk :D I'm sure the outting must've cost a great deal of money, but whatever it was, Dr. Mori spent his money wisely b/c everyone was so much closer, and everyone left so much happier and oh it was general wonderful feeling. I began to feel less and less 'foreign' - if that's at all possible.
i totally crashed on my bed that night- mos def. and the next day i was supposed to 'start' at the lab.
--ooh suspense--??
well, i realized that I cannot depend on time I do not have. it wasn't a desperately negative realization like "omg i can die any minute" or "shit guys! there is no way i can get zees zings done... fire ze missiles!!" so i'm gonna write a short blurb about the pub and be done with it - i don't think i can rely on having time later on to write extensively on it.
So, by the time Dr. Mori said that we should all go to a Japanese pub I was exhausted (it was about 4am tx time) but ofcourse I said yes - he added that it was very traditional - and i had just begun to make friends with everyone.
the place doesn't really pop out at you from the outside except for a red lantern. it's pronounced something like "fishi baum" which can mean either fish sauce or fish root... *shrug* The place was full, not crowded, just comfortably, cozily full and just kinda grooving along this great vibe of activity - i know very 60s of me but that's how it felt.
the table was long, dark, worn wood, and so were the 'benches' [side note: I can understand why japanese aren't known for their butts - the so called 'cushions' don't offer much help after more than 30 mins of sitting time]
the walls were covered from wall to wall with a collage of these odd fish-prints... that are actually fish "prints". The fish that you catch, you stamp on a paper with some ink ergo a very awesomely artistic record that 'you da man' - really this is much better than taking a picture b/c there's no discussion as to how 'big' the fish was. The lamps were very cool, they looked like a piece paper pinned together in a non-symmetrical conical form - very understated.
the atmosphere was loud, happy and chill at the same time. The food was awesome, it was the first taste of slightly higher class sushi that i'd ever had. I must've eaten 4-6 different types of fish, 2 types of shrimp, oysters, eggplant, seaweed salad, onigiri (rice ball in seaweed wrap), squid, some sort of shellfish, and one type of pan-fried fish (all else raw baby yeah!). I should add that I haven't been sick yet. I had a nice tall mug of good beer, stronger taste than in US (boo on keystone light) ; distilled, chilled sake (much better than at kyoto's in c.s.) packs quite a taste but goes down smooth as silk, milk, a bedspread or a kilt...sry; and plum sake - which is one of my favorite alcohols now!!! ooooh sooooooooooo yummy.. i had it on the 'rokus', way wayyy too easy to drink. We talked about how Colombians and Americans eat their fish vs. Japanese... and that yes i had indeed eaten raw fish before, but that htere is no comparison to the quality or variety of sushi offered in Japanese restaurants (or even a pub).
I learned through observation that when in a setting where there is more than one person drinking, you never pour yuour own drink - be it beer from your own bottle, sake, juice from your own juice bottle (one of the guys has a mutation in that enzyme whose name I forget that impedes breaking down alcoholic drinks - he gets headaches, sick etc.. with little alcohol)... it is not a "golden" rule per se that can never be broken... but it is good table manners to offer to pour the other person's drink... i've never noticed anyone 'asking' theirs to be poured... and i've seen some pour their own.. still, i find it a cute 'rule'
i also found out that Oguchi san (one of the new grad students) has a "strong" alcohol tolerance, as does Mori sensei - good ole Dr. Mori can handle his drinks quite well and everyone seemed to be a happy drunk :D I'm sure the outting must've cost a great deal of money, but whatever it was, Dr. Mori spent his money wisely b/c everyone was so much closer, and everyone left so much happier and oh it was general wonderful feeling. I began to feel less and less 'foreign' - if that's at all possible.
i totally crashed on my bed that night- mos def. and the next day i was supposed to 'start' at the lab.
--ooh suspense--??
posted by acidbytez at 8:30 AM
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