Turning Japanese

Everyone has been asking how Ryan is enjoying his new job over here, so this entry is dedicated to the wonderful people over at Pasco Thailand. Ryan is enjoying his new position. He is currently working on his second training group after successfully graduating the first group onto the production floor. For all of you who were wondering, yes, all the trainees do speak English, although some with varying abilities. Still, Ryan is working hard and enjoying it for the most part (it is work). He gets to taste the local cuisine on a daily basis at a nearby market they eat lunch at. There are a number of food stalls, although he keeps to the same select few (his ladies give him extra rice!) For the Cdn equivalent of about $1.50 he gets a healthy serving of rice, chicken or pork, veggies, and usually another sampling - they have about 10 different choices every day - plus a bottle of water. I have met him for lunch a few times and can attest that the food is quite good.
Ryan’s Japanese colleagues have all done their best to make us feel welcome. They are your typical Japanese businessmen, each with their own unique characteristics, and always make sure you have a good time when out on the company dime.
Most recently, some Head Honchos from the Denver and Jakarta office were here visiting, so Pasco took us all out for an amazing meal. Mr. Sanui, the President of Pasco Thailand is an excellent host and provided us with an evening we will never forget.
We arrived at Nippon Tei, one of Bangkok’s finest Japanese restaurants after work last week, not really sure what to expect. There had been rumour of a previous dinner that involved eating lobster while it was still moving (thankfully I was not present for that one!)
We were ushered into a private room by our hostess, who was dressed in the traditional Japanese Kimono. We took off our shoes and walked into the room. The floor was covered with tatami mats and in the middle was a large table with cushions on the floor. Underneath the table the floor was lowered so that you could sit as though in a chair if you didn’t want to sit cross legged. Everything was pre-ordered so we just got to sit and enjoy ourselves. After brief introductions and a welcome for our visitors the first course came out. Some had sashimi (raw fish) but the vegetarians and I were given a tasty salad to begin. As for drinks, after the first beer, Asahi – my new favourite Japanese beer, it is very light and doesn’t have that gross beer aftertaste – Mr. Sanui asked if I would like to try some Cold Saki. (I was sitting to his right, so I received full explanations and proper instructions throughout the entire meal; I have learned that this is the best place to sit when we go out with Pasco!) Our last Saki experience did not go over too well, but hey, when in Rome . . .
The server brought out a bowl with a wooden box filled with liquid and set it down before me. In another dish was some raw salt. I looked questioningly at Mr. Sanui and he explained I was to pinch the salt and place some at the corner of the box and then drink. Was it ever good! The salt actually made it sweet! It was definitely the best Saki I have ever tasted. The funny part about the Saki was that not only were the boxes filled, but the bowls as well. Ryan had assumed it was cold water in the bowls – to keep the Saki cold. However, we were told this was “overflow” and if Saki were served without the “overflow” any Japanese would complain to the server! So after our boxes were emptied, we filled them back up with the “overflow” and had some more!
Back to the food: after the salad came the Snow Fish. Now as you all know I am not much of a fish eater, but I am not afraid to try new things, so I ate it. It was cooked with a tasty sauce and was quite good. It was the first fish that I actually enjoyed! Next up came the Kobe Beef. This delicacy was brought out raw with some veggies. We were each given our own Japanese-style hot plate and cooked up the beef and veggies. We also had a sesame-type sauce for dipping. It honestly melted in your mouth! I have never tasted beef so good before, it was like nothing I had ever had, and is completely indescribable. The next course was Puffer Fish (or Blow Fish). As we all know courtesy of the Simpson’s, Puffer Fish is extremely poisonous, except for in a very small area. No worries here though, the reason we went to Nippon Tei that night was because the head chef was leaving for Tokyo the next day, and Mr. Sanui wanted to make sure we had him cooking for us! We were each given three pieces; each one had a bone in the middle and meat on either end. This fish had the texture of chicken, not flaky like most fish, and was incredible. We squeezed some lime on the fish and that was all it needed. The last course was rice and bbq eel. I have never been a fan of eel, but everything else was so exquisite I had to give it a try. Following Mr. Sanui’s lead, I took the Japanese black pepper to add some flavour and had a bite. It was really not that bad, but I only ate one piece. To finish off the meal was a plate of mixed fruit including pomelo, mango, papaya, and pineapple. All in all quite the experience; we were raving about that meal for days!
So I guess lesson learned: if you want me to like fish, make sure it is super fresh, super-exotic, cooked by the best, and warm me up with some Japanese Saki first!