see, it looks so good

so. i tried sushi for the first time the other day. having been vegetarian for many years and lately starting to eat a bit of fish, i was very excited about trying it.

after a good but ordinary teriyaki salmon starter (actually very good in itself, but i'm not a big fan of cooked salmon), we had miso soup. meh. tasted like water, salt and liquid smoke. BORING. not very good either.

then the actual sushi.

some unidentifiable maki, might have been tuna, that really can't be described in any other way than BLAND. tasteless. completely lacking any kind of flavor. and, frankly, i found the squishyness of the fish to be kind of gross. wtf? i think it was because it didn't taste like anything, so it felt like eating something weird and alien.

the nigiri sushi was equally bland. i liked the consistency better with the fish on top of the rice (rather than the maki i'm-eating-eyeballs consistency with the fish in the center). we had salmon, tuna, cooked shrimp, red clam and some kind of white fish, and they ALL TASTED THE GOD DAMN SAME, except for the red clam, which was my favorite, and the shrimp, which tasted... vaguely shrimpy. except, you know, bland. argh. it just tasted like nothing. not the fish. not the rice. you know how really cold food has no flavor? like that. except i don't remember it as being very cold, so i don't know if that had anything to do with it. (i suppose raw fish must be kept cold. but. you know. is it supposed to be like that?)

and i found both the soy sauce and the pickled ginger way too sweet. the sweetness would probably have been good if it had been balanced by some other flavor, but as the ONLY favor there, it got pretty old very quick.

in the end the whole thing was just sweet and squishy and bland and sickening. i actually couldn't finish it. i always imagined sushi to taste sort of "fresh", you know? this was the exact opposite.

I AM DISAPPOINTED. i love love LOVE "raw-ish" fish like cold smoked salmon or mackerel, and before going veggie i used to love raw meat, so the rawness isn't a problem. i had always imagined that i'd like sushi. i was totally looking forward to eating it. meh.

i'm definately trying it again, but in the meantime:

tell me about sushi. do you like it? what kind of sushi do you like? describe what you like about it.

Speaking of sushi I just finished some.

I don't think it's the sushi. Sushi really doesn't have a lot of complex flavors. It has a lot to do with texture and sublety. Did you use any wasabi? For me that tends to kick up and bring out the flavor of the sushi.

And miso soup is pretty boring. All it really is, is broth. I think it's basically served to fill you up.

Usually if I go to a sushi bar I like to order pieces with salmon wether it be nigiri or maki. It seems to have the best flavor and texture. I love the smoked salmon. And I always try to order something new and different. Last time I tried this type that has some cold egg omlette thingy on the top. I didn't like it all that well, but some people love it.

i can't believe you love the raw.
good for you.
but i can't bear to stomach it.

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i love sushi/raw fish

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm i want sushi now

im addicted. However we eat alot of the cooked rolls with crab, chicken, eel and shrimp. Its wonderful!

However like someone already said, it doesnt have many distinct features, just textures.

well it is bland, so my tip is to not eat anything remotly interesting before you head for the sushi...so much as a salt and vinegar chip will ruin the whole thing in my experience

i fucking love sushi. i'm a pescatarian so my favourite is avocado & cucumber with huge pieces of salmon. i love to put a few drops of soy sauce on each piece and lots of pickled ginger. i don't like wasabi though.

i don't eat fish because i am vegetarian, but i love veggie sushi like cucumber, tofu, omlette, etc. i love it with soy sauce, but then again i eat just about everything with soy sauce. i must get through at least two bottles a week. i like going to yo sushi because you can mix things with your sushi. i like having edamame (soya) beans, sushi, pumpkin stuff, noodles and fruit or something to finish. damn, i want to go there now. they also have a couple of take out sushi places here called wasabi, which does four little sushis or two medium ones for a pound... i had some earlier. mmm.

sushi is wonderful
i could eat it alllllllllll day

LuV iT! Esp, Unagi.

I think if I ever put that near my mouth I would throw up.
The feeling of it in my mouth would also make me vomit. And most likely make my poor eyes water.

Most of it is not all that bad NightBloom, but Uni would most likely make your lips quiver, your eyes water, and your very stomach TuRn topsy turvey... It's definitely NOT appealing to look at, and at most resembles a small brain wrapped up an a thin layer of seaweed. ACK! Uni is Sea Urchin, btw.

Not all of it is raw, a lot of it is steamed, it just depends on the concoction. Don't ask me though, I'm no japanese chef. Oh don't try the Uzura (Quail Egg) either from the sound of it... that is raw. You probably wouldn't like the samon roe either. Anyways most Nigiri is cooked, steamed, or prepared in some way, and is atop rice with a strip of seaweed. Sashimi is usually just the fish itself, cut up fancy, raw, and/or cooked too. Sometimes it can be just like grilling samon or trout and eating it texture wise.

Here this may help, a little bit of wasabi goes a long way (the light green horseradish paste). If you're worried about the taste of something, pinch off a good bit of it with your chopsticks and pack it on top before eating it.... BUT, then your poor eyes very well may water BIG TIME, and your nostrils up to your eyes will sting for a minute or two, but it'll fade. That way you definitely won't taste anything much.

Or better yet try it with the pink pickled ginger, that has a strong taste too, but then you're defeating the purpose enjoying all of the different flavours. Plus too much can make your stomach ache.

Oh well, Miso soup is the best! It shouldn't have tasted like water. Ginger dressing is tops with me too.

I've never tried it, but I really want to. One day soon I will.

Like most people have said, wasabi brings out a lot of flavour and really kicks up the heat. I like the soy and it brings out the flavours a lot too, but you have to get used to it.

i think i'm going to try sashimi in stead of sushi next time. i think some of the problem was that the sushi pieces were too big. i don't like big things in my mouth all at once. [insert obvious joke]. if there's too much stuff in there, i can't really taste it. i like to pick at my food and taste small bits of it, not shove huge chunks of stuff in my mouth. and i did try to bite off smaller pieces, but that really didn't work out.

so, next time; no happy hour starter+miso soup+sushi menu. just sashimi. and japanese beer. eeeep. i want to go TODAY.

i ate sashimi. it was wonderful. i never want to eat anything else again. sooooooo good.