First Time

(I apologize in advance for any misspellings, grammatical errors, odd punctuation, ect. I admit writing does not come easy!!!)

I am so thrilled to receive a lunch invitation to eat at the popular Kyoto Japanese restaurant for my birthday. The ‘Big Day’ finally arrives and the excitement is about to begin. This means trying sushi for the first time (no worries, my sweet friend Dawn knows all about sushi).

We enter the restaurant and choose to sit at a table instead of the hibachi grill (I did not want to embarrass anybody).

“The big decision - What To Order”

The menu is actual easy to comprehend. It has an assortment of rolls and a listing of ingredients. After deliberating, the final choice is the Curly Sue rolls (crab, cream cheese, and shrimp) the rice is on the outside, and the nori is on the inside. We also order shrimp fried rice.

“What the waiter brings/tips on how to eat sushi”


When eating sushi the most basic thing needed to know is how to use chopsticks (good already know how to use them). We pull the chopsticks apart and the meal is about to get underway (okay here we go…).

First, we prepare our condiments. We receive a little dish. We pour soy sauce into the little dish. The sushi rolls arrive! There is a funny small clump of green stuff on the plate. It is wasabi, Japanese horseradish; it is very hot. Also included on the plate is thin pink slices of pickled ginger, they are there to eat between pieces of sushi (did not choose to eat the ginger) .We mix a small amount of wasabi into the soy sauce.

Next, pick up sushi roll with chopsticks and dip the roll into the soy sauce. Finally, flip it back over, pop it into your mouth, and eat it. There is no well-mannered way to eat them! I receive this explanation after trying to bite one in half, and rice is flying everywhere. Some of the sushi rolls are very big! This means putting the entire thing in my mouth (now this is challenging…trying to eat a mouth full of sushi roll and trying to keep your mouth closed while chewing)!

I did it! The first sushi experienced, is without any sushi faux pas (thanks Dawn for the etiquette)!

In February, I am sending a Kyoto lunch invite to my sweet friend for her birthday. I already have in mind which sushi rolls to order next.