Fear Factor at Standing Sushi Bar
Posted on 11.26.09 to Food, Friends by JoanMaye-E, John and I met up for lunch today and ended up being in Standing Sushi Bar’s version of Fear Factor. I love turning up and asking the chef, Roy, if there was anything interesting to eat for the day and would ask him to surprise me. We got the usual sashimi platter (I particularly enjoy the geoduck, scallop and sea urchin) and then he gave me a bowl of these white curly bits that look very much like brains.
I thought they were fish eggs. Very smooth fish eggs. They have the texture and consistency of steamed egg custard, even softer. Oh, very much like the fresh sea urchin.
They were actually Silver Cod sperm.
Yup. I still can’t wrap my head around it (this coming from the woman who couldn’t bring herself to try her own breast milk) and I know it’s just in my mind. We three cracked up over bad sperm jokes, but truth be told, because it was very fresh, the dish was actually quite pleasant. It was served with a tangy sauce that gave it some bite, which juxtaposed against the smooth, creamy dish very well.
When I arrived, I saw these little critters, sawagani, crawling over each other in the glass tank. I wasn’t sure if I could stomach something that I had seen alive just minutes before, but I ate fish sperm, what’s a small crab?
Interestingly, the sawagani retain almost the same colour after they’re cooked, so it feels as though you are eating it straight from the tank. I thought that they would be as lightly crispy as soft shell crab (what was I thinking?!) but it was actually a little harder. Sprinkled with some salt and pepper, the crab was very crunchy and had a slightly bitter aftertaste. It doesn’t have an overpowering crab taste (well, they are tiny crabs afterall), and I was particularly tickled by the fact that I could eat the whole thing in one mouthful.
The final unusual dish of the meal was raw squid, mixed with wasabi. I’m not a fan of wasabi at all (unless I’m looking for a quick fix to clear my nose, but even then, I would rather stuff myself with Panadol Flu Relief). I couldn’t finish this dish chewy and slightly mush dish, even though I really enjoy squid.
We didn’t entirely subsist on these strange foods, but also had miso soup, more sashimi, aburi sushi (which had the three of us ‘mmming’ away at how good they were, chawanmushi, grilled salmon cheek, california handrolls and softshell crab maki. I wanted to have green tea / yuze ice-cream but I had to pass on dessert because I was too stuffed and wanted some space for TOFFEE NUT LATTE!
(By the way, I think my body’s not used to the sudden influx of caffeine, because apart from my usual can of coke, I’m drinking coffee every other day. I have been on a buzz till now!)
Anyway. Standing Sushi Bar. If you haven’t been there, you simply have to go. Ask them for the daily specials and be adventurous. Everyone I’ve taken there loves the freshness of the fish. I love that, and the fact I get to try all sorts of interesting things.
P.S., If I had known I was going to have such an exotic meal today, I’d have turned up with my camera. All photos were shot on my BlackBerry.
Standing Sushi Bar
+65 6533 7078
1 Raffles Place
#B1-02B OUB Centre
Singapore 048616
eat@standingsushibar.com
Open Monday – Saturday
11:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Browse Timeline
Comments ( 1 Comment )
The little crabs taste like gooey delicious potato chips after they’re deep-fried! We drop them in the fryer for about 5 seconds, pull them out, add a bit of salt, and serve!
Howard added these pithy words on
Nov 30 09 at
12:32 PM
