who u callin a shrimp?

Current mood: shocked

As I started last week - I'll continue this week. New restaurant experience on which to report.
Mitsukoshi Tokyo Dining in the Japan pavilion at Epcot.

Tried Sake for the first time ever. I tried a sampler featuring three different types. The first tasted like rubbing alcohol with a hint of fruitiness. The second tasted like rubbing alcohol with a hint of fruitiness. And the third tasted like 100% grade-A moonshine.

Aside from being fairly certain that I'm not a big fan of Sake, I can at least make this guarantee - Sake is some sort of Japanese laughing potion. At one moment (only half way through the second tasting), I found myself giggling with no explanation. No clue why. Just laughing. And when my friend asked why I was laughing, my answer was honest - "I have no idea."
Now for the big shocker. Everybody who knows me will be blown away by this revelation. Hold on to your rocker.

i ate shrimp.

Yeah, I know! Can you believe it!?!?!?

So how did this come about?

Earlier in the day, I had lunch at Sora at Gaylord Palms and, out of sheer curiosity alone, I tasted the unidentified white, puffy chips that were on my plate. A rather strange experience. The puffs had small air pockets that when placed on your tongue latched on like a squid and sort of pulled moisture before dissolving. I'm not really sure how else to describe this unusual sensation. It reminded me a bit of pop rocks candy.

When Rich, the assistant manager of Sora, came to the table he identified the curious white puffs as being made from shrimp.

As you might imagine, my stomach did a small flop, my lips sort of curled in minor disgust, I held back a gag-reflex and then... well, then... the most horrific of all my reactions occurred...I reached for another.

Blow me down!

So, at dinner in Japan...

i ate shrimp.

Well, perhaps a more genuine description would be to say that I sampled shrimp from my friend's plate.

First I smelled it.

Mistake.

Then I spent a few seconds clearing my mind of the smell and psyching myself up to actually putting it in my mouth.

Even now, my nose wrinkles at the thought of putting a shrimp in my mouth.

But I did it. And I can honestly say that it was, "not bad." I'm not about to run out and learn to make it or seek out obscure seafood restaurants with freshly caught shrimp. I don't even know if shrimp can be freshly caught. Shows what I know about seafood.

But I do at least know this... if I were stranded on a beautiful desert island with the Swiss Family Robinsons, I would have a piano to play, I would surely win the ostrich races every time, and I would not starve to death because I could eat shrimp.

i ate shrimp.
i ate shrimp.
i ate shrimp.

But if you throw it in my face, I will deny it!