My all time favourite

As you now know, my favourite food is salmon; my favourite place to eat out is any good Japanese restaurant!

I am a big fan of Japanese food and culture. I studied the language for a few years and spent a month there which is definately one of the biggest highlights of my life so far!

There is a great Japanese restaurant in Brisbane city (and at Hamilton) called Sono- have you been there? Its very traditional in its presentation and cuisine. The waitresses are dressed in tradtional kimono and there are tatami floors and shoji sliding doors. This is where Ali and I chose to spend NYE; we shared two entree's and some sushi, shared a bottle of sake and each had salmon for the main- devine! Each dish comes out on a separate and unique plate/platter that are just beautiful. The portions are small so you really savour the intense flavours.

I've also been there for lunch a couple of times now- I really love the japanese equivalent of a lunchbox, the obento where you get to sample small portions of a few individual items:

Being the wonderfully crazy race they are (absolutely no disrespect intended there) you can find some pretty interesting obento that are more like works of art than just lunch! Apparently 'CUTE' is in at the moment, you can find many creations featuring Hello Kitty! But being a Simpsons fan, this one made me smile!

Well back to today's lunch- I decided to take a risk and try something different and ordered the Fish Shioyaki Obento Set which consisted of:

A good sized piece of salted, grilled fish

about a cup of white steamed rice

pickled gingers

Salad

Japanese potato salad (about a tablespoon)

And, on the side: miso soup

Oh, there was also a deep fried oyster but I didn't eat that one! ;)

All in all, I highly recommend both the food and the dining experience. If you or someone you know has had their head in the sand and refuses to even TRY Japanese food because they think its all raw fish- give yourself or them a slap from me because its AWESOME!