I'll keep this one short as the battery on my keitai is running low...
What? Cam... Short??? Impossible!!!
We walked to Nishi Honganji Temple, then another 30minutes to Sanjugendo Temple which houses 1001 buddha statues each representing 1000 arms... each arm representing 35 worlds... I wanted to bring Mia here as I have come many times with friends. It IS impressive.
Then we walked another hour to the Gion area looking for a bar... finally we found Shiba near the Kamogawara River.
So now we are enjoying great conversation with the owner who was the 1971 Japan Grand Prix F3 Champion! Very cool... he has also been running this tiny candlelit restaurant for 40 years and has changed almost nothing in that time!
So we are having horse sashimi (raw horse), okonomiyake, lamb shabushabu and probably whale tongue! It is all delicious! Sea Shepherd eat your fucking hearts out!
Kampai!
I love you!
Cam
I'm an avid supporter of Sea Shepherd so I'll keep this brief.
ReplyDeleteRaw horse sounds disgusting. I wait in anticipation for the time when Japan discovers "fire".
Huh. This post reminds me of how badly I just wanted a grilled steak by the time I left Japan.
ReplyDeleteThe horse was soft, succulent and delicious. The whale was also quite tasty dipped in a ponzu sauce.
ReplyDeleteAs for steak... Megumi brought back three steaks from Kobe and we had a kobe beef steak party at my place. Very tasty!
Deb - Why would horse sound disgusting? Why would it be any more or less distasteful than say... rangefed (i.e. smelly weed eating) shoeleather no fat australian cow?
Stefnee - Had pork lately?
I forgot to mention that shabushabu lamb means almost raw sheep. That was delish too!
And so was the bottle + wine.
I think most foods are tasty if prepared right...the rest is merely cultural.... We are raised to believe certain foods are good and others "yucky" and it sticks...
ReplyDeleteIf you didn't KNOW it was what it was, you might think about it a whole nother way....
I agree that there is no difference between eating horse or any other mammal. And I am an avid horse lover, and grew up with 11 of them that I rode and did barrel racing etc.. (and never contemplated eating). But I also understand that our food is gods to some (cows - Hindi), and our pets are food to some (dogs/cats -China) so I just respect others choices in hopes they respect mine.
ReplyDeleteI have had horse meat in Italy (not raw) but I have had steak tar tar in France and I suspect horse would be similar to raw beef.
On the other hand, whale is hard for me to swallow because they are an endangered animal... and I find the method of hunting them unsatisfactory, at best.
Sounds like you both had a wonderful evening, enjoying a traditional Japanese meal.
I guess eating horse raw is just one of those "culture" things you're waffling about all the time and as a person who doesn't like sucking on animal fat as a rule, I'm glad that our cows aren't "fat". I thought that eating a steak was about the MEAT part and not the fat bit but maybe that's another "culture" thing. As to the shoeleather? Perhaps you're just not cooking it right, as I've always cooked and been fed very tender meat.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why you jumped down my throat about this and attacked a poor innocent cow, when you must have known that telling us that you ate raw horse would cause some people to react the way I have. You're also aware of my support of Sea Shepherd - that's me going on the assumption that you read my blog, I could be wrong - so you came off as acting a bit of a dick.
I didn't attack your diet, you man-baby, I gave an opinion, so shove it.
With love,
Deb
Deb - I didnt read anything about Sea Shephard on your blog, sorry. Was that recent? So my comment was absolutely not pointed at you in any way shape or form.Though when I was writing it I recalled how you might one day challenge chicken sashimi. Today's blog was on raw deer but as Multiply was down today my keitai blog did not get posted when I sent it in.
ReplyDeleteBy now Im guessing you are starting to wonder about the quality of beef that Japan imports from Australia. I always talk about the smell... US beef doesnt smell like that. And if it smelled the same way for you guys I cant imagine it would be loved as much as it is. So we must be getting a different quality. Not to mention that the Japanese all seem to prefer about 5mm thick steaks which tKe about 3 seconds to fry... strange.
And yes I posted that last blog to push limits. Why shouldn't I? My JBOPPs are constantly pushed while living here, but it has allowed me to increase my peripheral vision on life outlooks in so many ways. It has blown the preconceived notions that I grew up with out of the water so many times and allowed me to see things differently. Had I spent my life in Canada I never would have had such chances to expand my horizons as I have. I am so grateful for these opportunities and would like to share them in memorable ways with others who may never have such a chance to do what I have done.
Eat whale, raw horse or chicken, dog stew, raw bear, insects... ? Canadians? No fucking way! What? Eggs DONT need to be kept refrigerated? You mean Im NOT going to get salmonella poisoning if I eat tender chicken that hasnt been cooked to shoeleather consistency??? Men CAN have long hair and not be discriminated against?!? And on and on it goes...
With Love,
Dick
Dear Dick
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to post stuff that you know is going to push limits, expect some people to say "ewwwww". As to the beef, maybe you are getting a different type quality because I am more than happy to eat beef raw - in fact, one of my most favourite past times with my cat is to play tug of war where we both have an end of the beef strip between our teeth and pull. I let the cat win because, well, the beef has been in the cat's mouth and I'm not eating it, but I sneak pieces while he's scarfing down the piece he won.
We get lectures about salmonella all the time - cut your veges on a different board to the one you cut your meat on. Hell... Tupperware has come out with a set of 4 plastic chopping boards with pictures on them depicting what you should cut on the board. I don't listen and I only use the one board because I hate washing up and none of us have died yet.
Good on you for trying new things and sliding easily into Japanese culture by being enthusiastic about their diet, but I have my limits and I know I couldn't do it.
I'm not a food prude. I've eaten camel, crocodile, emu, kangaroo and goat. I'm pretty sure I might have eaten cat in Bali. I ordered something that I thought was chicken, but it didn't really taste like chicken, you know? I just can't see myself knowingly eating Black Beauty or Flicker. Same as a lot of people can't believe I've not only eaten Skippy, but I've shot quite a few, too.
In order for me to eat National Velvet, someone would have to serve it to me, me eat it and say "hey that's really good" and for the diabolical chef to say "well... you just ate horse" which is why I'm NEVER gonna stay at your house, cos I could so see you doing that to me.
With love,
Tetchy and argumentative
xx
PS: I've eaten deer heaps of times, but not raw.
Techy - Thats what happened to me and Lassie in Korea. I knew I was eating raw Big Ben but I didnt expect to be nursing two cubs whose momma was shot and divided up by hunters. That was a tough one. Grilleed Dundee was cool as was those godawful ugly giant adult Joeys. I wonder if I could "Rocky" an emu egg...
ReplyDeleteI have yet to try hufu...
And feel free to pop by for dinner any time. I will be happy to show you the raw ingredients.
Cam
PS All the meat, chicken, fish was cooked to just the right level on a large, superheated stone tonight. I wonder if Ill get sick from the raw cabbage...
Hah! Staying out of THIS one.
ReplyDelete