Do you like sushi?

Yes. I love sushi and so does my family.

We're quite fortunate that in Singapore we have a lot of pretty good Japanese restaurants with Japanese chefs and 'air flown' (I love that term) fish from Japan, so we can get quite close to the 'real deal' here.

Of course you can't beat Japan; pre-covid we went on vacation there for four consecutive years, so of course, we ate LOTS of sushi.

Here's some I ate while on a work trip when the old Tsukiji market was still open:

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Can you guess what the one on the far left is?
Octopus or squid?
 
I think the question is comparable to asking "do you like pizza?" I like good sushi, and good pizza. I have had bad versions of both, so I will never say "I love pizza" or "I love sushi" without qualifiers.

If you're a seafood lover, particularly a lover of Asian food, I'd think good sushi would be something you'd like. If you don't like Asian food in general, and/or you don't like seafood, then it's natural that you wouldn't like sushi, no matter how good it is.

To get good sushi, you need all of the following elements:
  • Fresh ingredients - Freshly steamed rice, fresh sashimi-grade seafood, fresh vegetables (carrot, avocado, etc.).
  • Good preparation - a sushi roll that's falling apart might still taste good, but it loses something when you can't eat it in one bite.
  • Good quality associated elements - soy sauce, spicy mayo, fried wontons, pickled ginger, and "wasabi"...all or none can be used if desired. Note: "wasabi" is almost always ground horseradish that's dyed green in the States.
If you love seafood and Asian food, and you still don't like sushi, there's a good chance some or all of the above elements weren't done properly. The funny thing is, on a high level, I can say the same sort of thing about pizza or any other food. If you have something that's not prepared properly, or doesn't have good quality ingredients, then there's a good chance you won't like the sushi, pizza, steak, or whatever.
Or just good food. No one likes bad food of any kind. Well I guess if they are starving to death literally and there is nothing else to eat!

I do know some people who absolutely love sushi but won't eat it uncooked. I think it's a mental block. I have or more than one occasion turned a sushi-hater into a sushi-lover. Like my husband. He was suspicious of uncooked fish and oysters. Now he loves both. I have found that starting them out with cooked varieties (like I did myself when I first started eating it) and gradually introducing some raw items, along with plying the person with a little alcohol to lower their inhibitions (providing they are adults of course) helps, LOL.
 
If you love seafood and Asian food, and you still don't like sushi, there's a good chance some or all of the above elements weren't done properly.

Well not in my case. I like Asian and I love fish. But I don't want to eat little bite sized pieces carefully crafted with rice, with my fingers. Or should it be chopsticks? Either way, its the presentation which irritates me, however good the ingredients might be. Here, most supermarkets sell sushi which as far as I can tell looks OK. My daughter buys it and likes it.

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This is the family platter:

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Or just good food. No one likes bad food of any kind. Well I guess if they are starving to death literally and there is nothing else to eat!

I do know some people who absolutely love sushi but won't eat it uncooked. I think it's a mental block. I have or more than one occasion turned a sushi-hater into a sushi-lover. Like my husband. He was suspicious of uncooked fish and oysters. Now he loves both. I have found that starting them out with cooked varieties (like I did myself when I first started eating it) and gradually introducing some raw items, along with plying the person with a little alcohol to lower their inhibitions (providing they are adults of course) helps, LOL.

My ex-wife and her siblings love sushi. They had me try dozens of things over the years, and I didn't like them. It wasn't the uncooked fish, either. I just don't like typical Japanese flavors. I also can't stand seaweed, especially that green paper-like nori they wrap around a lot of sushi. I have to take that off to even try to eat it.

Oh, they tried the alcohol trick, and it didn't work.

CD
 
My ex-wife and her siblings love sushi. They had me try dozens of things over the years, and I didn't like them. It wasn't the uncooked fish, either. I just don't like typical Japanese flavors. I also can't stand seaweed, especially that green paper-like nori they wrap around a lot of sushi. I have to take that off to even try to eat it.

Oh, they tried the alcohol trick, and it didn't work.

CD
I just ate Japanese takeout--a big pile of raw ahi tuna over a bed of cucumber--in my hotel room, no seaweed or rice, just wasabi and soy sauce. I like seaweed and rice but wasn't in the mood for it. Well I did have an eel and avocado roll with seaweed and rice. It was fantastic, too. Went well with my Yuengling beer.
 
That's whale meat.

I actually didn't know what it was until some subsequent customers came in and ordered it.

Illegal to kill in most of the civilized world. Japan kills a lot of whales for "research" it seems. :rolleyes:

CD
 
I'm sure it was cooked, yes? Did you like it? What kind of whale?

No - it was raw. It tasted like beef and was quite chewy. I don't know what kind of whale it was. I wouldn't go out of my way to order it again.
 
I think minke whale is very popular. There are only a few that are hunted species.

I won't eat raw beef. Rare but none raw. I'd take a hard pass on whale for multiple reasons.
 
I think minke whale is very popular. There are only a few that are hunted species.

I won't eat raw beef. Rare but none raw. I'd take a hard pass on whale for multiple reasons.
Yesterday I/we butchered 2 spring lamb for the restaurant and ended up making lamb tartare for the 3 of us that were there. It had to be done lol. Doesn't get any better than that imo. Cheers
 
Yesterday I/we butchered 2 spring lamb for the restaurant and ended up making lamb tartare for the 3 of us that were there. It had to be done lol. Doesn't get any better than that imo. Cheers
Last time I checked, lamb isn't beef, lol.
 
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