Sushi Master Aoki-san

We frequent this restaurant so regularly we knew where to head straight to as soon as we arrived.

Sushi bar is barely one tenth the size of the restaurant but it is a much cosier spot to sit at while enjoying our private session with chef Aoki-san. He is probably the best sushi chef we have come across with so far. It is a privilege to be able to order sushi directly from him, to learn something from him and to see him in action up close. 

Aoki-san knew I like to blog about food so he generously offered a sweet chance for me to snap some pictures of him slicing up the 8 kilo Tasmanian salmon for later use in preparing sushi. It is truly an eye-opening experience!

Well apparently there are many types/grades of salmon - one ocean differs to another - male and female are tagged with different prices. The process of deboning and slicing the salmon requires a real skill and an incredibly sharp knife. A good quality natural sharpening stone from Japan can sometimes cost up to a million dollar (but people tend to use it for samurai swords instead of cooking knives).

The sushi presentation reflects the innovative side of Aoki-san. The selection of raw fishes (sashimi) may differ depending on what are available on the market in that particular season. 

The traditional way of kick starting a sushi feast always commences from raw fishes; then proceed with the stronger-flavoured cooked items (such as unagi). Pickled ginger is there to cleanse your taste buds if needed. I had this strong rejection to wasabi a long long time ago but now I have grown into loving it!

At dinner tonight, Aoki-san surprised us with his own originality - cabbage maki roll with tuna, plum (umeboshi), cucumber and sesame seeds. Call me stupid but I just liked the way he said "my pleasure" as he served it to us. It was such a privilege. Anyone sitting at vicinity probably were quite envious of us.

Some other classic dishes we ordered tonight - dobin mushi (teapot soup), soramame (broad beans) and mozuku (seaweed in vinegar).

 

The broad beans are supposed to be Aoki-san's favourite dish.

They are nicely boiled and grilled to flavour. Alex likes this dish a lot too.

Personally I prefer mozuku the seaweed dish...

Japanese food has so much depth and history behind it.

It is probably one of the best cuisines all around the world other than Chinese food.

(Surprisingly living in a Western country I don't fancy eating Western food at all!)

Humble Gifts

I think I have been very lucky. I have been blessed with:

A lifetime profession which allows me to provide and help others endlessly.

A profession which allows me to achieve ultimate peace and serenity at the end of my lifetime.

I stumbled upon a young lady who was so depressed and on the verge of quitting her life but today she returned to thank me for my tiny little - almost worthless words of support and encouragement that has made a major turning point in her life. I gasped in surprise. 

It led me to believe - that money may not necessarily be the best return from your hard work.

A word of thanks is the humblest gift from the patients. And that is all we need.

We see many patients from all sorts of backgrounds everyday. Some as young as a a few days old.

Some are very elderly and in need of palliative care. Some come in for a tiny piece of reassurance.

Some come in purely as a time-waster. Some come in for a real emergency attention. Which ever case it is, I am proud to be able to help. I am sure Alex feels the same way too.

Some patients may earn only peanuts and live on very little savings.
These five freshly laid eggs from yesterday are "generous" gifts from one of Alex's patients.

Two of my patients have their own orchids and they made me mulberry pie from their fresh produce.

I have never tasted such a beautiful pie in a long while. And mulberry is really rare and expensive too.

Sometimes patients also make me sushi and handmade radish cake for lunch. It was very thoughtful of them but often I have to kindly refuse the generous offer as it compromises my work ethics.

My job requires a lot of commitment yet it may be the most rewarding job in my lifetime.

There are so many individual story and situation I have dealt with in the past four years. From small to big, they all have been very meaningful to me. Just imagine how wonderful it is to see a healthy toddler who had been failed to thrive for almost two years but has now returned to give you a cuddle and hi-5 as a mean of saying thank you. The feeling is incredible and magical.

I have learnt so much from them and I hope I can continue to learn.

Take pride in your job.
Keep working hard.
Live life to the fullest ^__^