16 March 2009

The "everyday sushi" myth

We all have certain stereotypes about various groups of people, whether we want it or not. One of the things that my Japanese friends find quite silly is that many people from Western countries seem to think that Sushi is the one and only Japanese food and that Japanese people eat it every day.
Let me assure you that`s not the case. If there are daily staples then it`s rice and probably miso soup. Other than that there is a huge variety of Japanese dishes, from Ramen, Tonkatsu, Soba to Curry, Stir-Fry, Okonomiyaki and so on. And how often do we eat non-Swiss food back home? Equally foreign food here is very popular and Spaghetti, Tom Yam or Hamburgers are not unknown terms here.
If there`s people who are tempted to eat Sushi every day, then it`s silly foreigners like me. Discovering a cheap sushi bar just a few minutes from my house has made me go mad. Each plate costs only 105 Yen (1.20 CHF), no matter what fish it is. In other bars, certain types of sushi cost up to 500-600 Yen, like Uni (sea urchin), here it`s just 105 and it`s good as far as I can tell.
The staff was a bit surprised at first that I knew how to operate the touch screen for ordering sushi (you can also take some from the conveyor belt) and could actually read the fish names and pick the right stuff. But let me tell you, my Japanese vocab is certainly deepest for fish and seafood :-) Guess what, it`s thanks to numerous visited Sushi bars...
I have to admit that today for the first time I felt that I had enough for a few days... I have eaten sushi only for quite a few days, because it`s delicious, cheap and also healthy. But I start to overdose on it now, I need to get something different tomorrow!

P.S.: Speaking about stereotypes: Conversely I find it silly that people here are surprised that I manage to eat with chopsticks...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for busting that myth. What about the california rolls?

Now, I am really bummed since I am still looking for the typical swiss dairy cows. You know them the white ones with black spots. Equally tough is not finding the black ones with white spots. :)
Thanks God. We still have the purple Milka cows in the meadows of the Alps. (Something to look for)