Consuming 1000 shots of Sake the night before a walking tour was never going to end well, and let me tell you, the pain I felt as I hauled my butt out of bed #dryretch was excruciating, but #cheekyvom absolutely worth it!
To me, travelling inevitably means one thing: good eats and experiences I wouldn’t easily find at home. There was that one time I overdosed on the most evil of chilies and paid for it in several ways across several days, or when I skirted security for a cheeky peak into Craig David’s greenroom for a bite of his favorite feed, or in this case, thinking simply being Australian would assist me in winning the title of ‘Sake Sensei’ in a drinking competition at a Japanese University festival.
Of course the food itself is reason enough to see Japan, but I was told the city of Kamakura is in essence, quintessential Japan. It has everything: the ocean, caves, culture, history, shopping, winding old streets, mountains, temples and shrines.
Soft serve is big in Japan, ice creameries (the matcha green tea was totally delicious and creamy, healthful too) are on every street corner. A whole bunch of nature and the Kotokuin temple, famous for its 11th century great buddha statue.
Nursing a hangover that felt like five Sumo wrestling in my head and tummy grumbling, I declared ‘playing tourist’ done for the day. We venture down a side alley into a sushi bar of sorts and ask the server, Omakase: “Please decide for me.” My advise, take that risk, because the chefs know which ingredients are the tastiest, and it gives them an opportunity to show-off their skills and experiment with presentation, enter…. sushi burgers.
So what are sushi burgers I hear you ask? Well friends, it’s like a regular burger (not really), except that the burger ‘buns’ are made of sushi rice, it is loaded with sushi type ingredients, salmon, avocado, tofu, fish roe etc. and sometimes decoratively wrapped in a strip of Nori.
I now fondly refer to this day in Japan as ‘Much Regret!’ but those sushi burgers stuck with me and have been recreated in one form or another since.
I’d love to know, do you opt for Omakase and allow the chef’s to create the menu for you? And what silliness have you got up to when travelling?
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes / Serves: 4 burgers
