On my first appearance on TV3 Duubel, I simply said that I don’t know from where in Estonia I can buy fresh fish. There were no planned dialogues or list of questions, so that was all I could say in that moment within the range of Estonian words I knew in my 12th month of learning this language.
But since then, I decided in my mind that whenever someone stereotypically assumes that I make and eat sushi everyday simply because I am Japanese, I would bounce back the same level of stereotypical statement in a joking way, like: “Tubli, sa oled eestlane! No-nii, sa teed ja sööd sülti iga päev. Lihtsalt, jaa?” (Cool, you are Estonian! Then, you make and eat sült [pulled pork in jelly] everyday. Easily, yeah?) And this morning, I was on Delfi TV for a blind tasting of sushi from Estonian supermarkets. As soon as it went live, I’ve got too many phone calls and messages... mostly from the not-so potential customers who just wanted to chat with a Japanese girl in Estonian language. Despite the fact that I clearly stated in the clip, there was still a guy who believed that I would be offering sushi. When I told him that I don’t sell sushi at my restaurant, he questioned about my Japanese origin in 3 different ways: “Aga, sa oled Jaapanlanna? Pärit Jaapanist? Elasid Jaapanis?” (But, you are a Japanese girl? From Japan? Lived in Japan?) This indicated to me how strongly a visual image can mute spoken words! So I took a moment to explain with a lot more words, just in case someone else again could not believe that I don’t make sushi in Estonia. I myself do not eat sushi at restaurants or attempt to make sushi in my restaurant in Estonia as I already know the quality of raw fish (except for salmon) and nori seaweed in Estonia do not meet my quality standards or budget. Most fish for sashimi and sushi in Estonia are imported in frozen packages, and it is quite difficult to prevent the taste from deteriorating while being defrosted. I would not choose to eat defrosted fish for sashimi or sushi for this quality concern. In Japan, fish undergo a special blood draining process and that is why we can enjoy them raw while they are fresh, but this technique has not been practiced in Europe. Only a small number of fishmongers in Europe learned it from Japanese fishermen, and their fish can be enjoyed fresh as sashimi. I know there is a way to import these well-prepared sashimi quality raw fish on a flight cargo and serve raw, but the price soars up. If I chose to offer sashimi or sushi that can meet my quality standards, I would need to charge a ridiculously high price to the customers in Estonia. I do not see the point of doing so when I know that it could be ten times cheaper if we ate the same in Japan. By all means, it is against my principals to import sashimi quality raw fish from outside Estonia and assign its air freight cost to the customers. That is why I do not dare sell sushi in Estonia. Comments are closed.
|
For media coverage or business inquiry, please fill in this contact form.
Üüdisele või ajalehele jne: palun kirjutage vormis siin (inglise keeles küsisin, aga võite kirjutada eesti keeles).
Archives
August 2021
Categories |