I was on a solo mission for lunch today. Finding myself enjoying quality "me" time lately. I got the UNI-IKURA bowl which rocked my socks. This is basically sea urchin and salmon roe topped over a bed of rice. I love love love Japanese food.

My dad started me off young, he wanted to make sure I wasn't one of those picky eaters. His friend was a sushi chef who hooked us up with trays and trays of sushi. Once, his buddy demanded we have the house special, on the house. We didn't know what that was, and when it came out there were breathing shrimps smiling back at us, twirling their little whiskers around and moving. I was horrified. My dad, who has even laughed in the face of puffer fish, couldn't even deal with the "look at me, I'm still alive!" shrimps or prawns or whatever they were. It took only two seconds before my dad sent the plate back to the kitchen to have them battered and well done.

The weird part is, after you've actually seen the little guys fight for life right in front of your bare eyes, you remember their beady little eyes. Even after they came out fully cooked, now neither my dad nor I could justify eating them. We had just spent time with them in their live state for goodness sakes. We never ate them. Poor guys went to waste.

Anyway I still love sashimi though. I'd just prefer not to spend time with my food while they're still able to see and interact with me.

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