I've eaten sushi in Japan and the diners at my table (mostly Japanese) broke all of those rules, every single one of them. There were as many different ways to eat sushi as there were people sitting around the table.

I was at a Sushi shop lately that had all those sushi eating rules posted at every table. There are socially right and wrong ways to eat something. Why assume that you know how to act in another culture when it's different from yours.

I agree, eat how you want, but at a restaurant, you should be using the correct etiquette.

Those tidal turbines are all well and good, right up to the point they start making sushi out of whales, then they'll be scrapped.

Always thought the Bay of Fundy would be a good place for ship building. Save a lot of energy flooding and evacuating the drydocks.

Yeah, she's not real. What she's doing has no bearing on anything tangible. Even her name is some fake, made-up confabulatory ruse. Why does anyone even bother with twisting their body into different positions that all look the same? Practice never does anything for the body, mind, or soul. Meh, meh, meh, phooey and stack sushi on that place in the small of her back.

Your Sushi is served!

Praying Mantis like Sushi - Who knew?

Dude! This was just wipped up from random items in the kitchen. The 3 sushi rolls, salads, basil fried rice and Vietnamese beef was fuckin awesome! I was very impressed with the bro.

Shot by meh Sunday night an hour and a half after the doors closed Sunday night @ my brother's Asian Fondue & Sushi Bar restaurant Fusion Fire. It's soup time!

Seems like there's a lot of over reaction going on here.

It's pretty obvious this guy is talking specifically about eating at high end, absurdly expensive sushi restaurants. If anything, he fails to be specific about this because he's the type of person who doesn't understand there's any other type of sushi out there.

Here's a fact though; if you go to a stupid expensive restaurant of any type, you're generally not going to find condiments sitting on the table. Why? Because the food was prepared by a chef with a specific flavor in mind. That is exactly why you're paying so much fucking money to eat there!
If you order $75 mac-n-cheese made with white truffle shavings and 5 types of imported "fromage", you're not eating somewhere with salt sitting on the table.

Most sushi restaurants are serving the tastes of their local market. So, ignore everything this guy says and eat it any way you like. But if you happen to find yourself as a guest at an absurdly expensive sushi restaurant (or macaroni-n-cheesery), maybe try sampling the food the way it was prepared.

No one's trying to cram anything down your throat, like I said, eat whatever and however the fuck you want to.

Yea the guy in the vid has a pretty strong douchebag vibe to him, and yea he goes about making his point not in the most delicate way. That doesn't change the fact that most of what he says is more or less true.

This isn't about your personal preference, it's about how Sushi, the dish (and Nigiri and Sashimi and whatever) is meant to be eaten, in order to be able to fully appreciate the taste of raw fish.

Again, like it or not, raw fish isn't hamburger or cornflakes or whatever. Being able to appreciate a good slice of raw fish requires that, for example, you don't put fucking ginger on top of it, the whole point of it being there is to cleanse the pallet between the different fish you're eating, so you'll be able to properly taste them - when you put it on top of the fish you're basically guaranteeing that you won't be able to feel the taste. It's there for a practical reason, not as a condiment. Same goes for dipping the entire thing in soy sauce, or whatever.
Even his point about eating with your hands as opposed to chopsticks is sorta valid. Many above-average sushi dishes WILL fall apart when you try and pick them up with chopsticks.

And no, you don't have to go to a 5 Michelin starred restaurant to be able to get a good dish of raw fish. Even a market stand will do if the fish are fresh.

At least realize that this "stench of aristocracy" you're referring to is a Western phenomenon, and you perceive it as such because generally it's much more common to see stuck-up pedantic bastards being strict about these kinds of things, as opposed to most people who just wanna shove crap in their mouths and have it taste "yummy".
That doesn't change the fact that these assholes didn't invent the way sushi is "meant" to be eaten, that there is a difference between a piece of fresh fish and one that's been frozen for months, and that that delicate difference, to be noticeable and appreciable has to be shown the proper respect.
Or you can just deep fry it.

My assumption is that people don't do these things because they are intrinsically better (even though I can accept that they could easily be), they do it to make themselves seem important and special.

Eating sushi in "the correct way" is also not popular, the wrong way is popular - who's the one trying to avoid conforming to the peasantry now?

People make fun of this video, because it's not about teaching you how it should be done, it's about him showing off all the fancy things he knows about sushi and talking japanese; Look I'm so cool, I do it the right way. It reminds me of that hilarious application video that was spoofed by Michael Cera: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_Is_Nothing_(video_r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9)

If the main point is to teach people to do something right, then teach it nicely - it's even more compounded by the level of self-importance in this thread.

Some times there's a correct way and there's another perfectly fine way - I know, shocking. People don't all like the things you like, oh gosh, say it isn't so.

You, @NinjaInHeat and @arekin (and I suppose the guy in the video) are the three amigos who want to cram the "correct sushi" down everyones' throats - I am not trying to force you to eat the regular rice-cake sushi that normal people do, you can do what you want.

In essence what you would call "correct sushi" is an entirely different dish than what is normally known as sushi, so it's sort of a silly argument in the end.

I guess my main point of contrition has nothing to do with sushi, but to do with the way in which it is presented. It stinks of aristocracy - people who know the right way and therefore snub their nose at all the others who clearly "just don't get it" - well fuck, there's not really much to get, you like to eat it in a certain way - whoopdefrickingdoo.

"You know, real hambruger is hand picked from the kobecow and processed right in front of you. And be careful to only use a light touch of ketchup as a pallate cleanser, and to convey the intended feelings of camaraderie that the chef wanted you to feel with him and his cultural heritage.. and be sure to drink plenty of Sprite - this is the way to properly enjoy hamburger, otherwise you might as well just eat some raw fish or something like a fucking retard who don't even know that you only lightly dip the corner of the bun in grey poupon mustard".

Bah humbug.

What you have a problem with is simply his presentation, correct? Or am I right in thinking you're upset that he's simply telling you how to properly eat sushi?

Sometimes there is actually a correct way and a wrong way. I know, shocking. But then there's also taking liberties. If I have no utensil's I will eat with my fingers even if it's "not the right way." Or more aptly, if there's no wine glass, I'll still use a solo cup. If I had a choice, I'd choose the wine glass. Why? Because it's the proper way. Does it really add to it? Not really. It's demonstrably mostly placebo effect. Then again, does a plate make food taste different? Technically speaking, no. It should in absolutely no way effect the taste of food. But in reality, it makes a substantial difference in the way food tastes. Those who do not take the time to properly plate a meal for another person is simply wasting their time and effort. You might as well buy them a McDonalds hamburger.

But in essence, what you're saying is "because you know more than me, it's wrong for you to use it because it means I'm inferior and you're a dick because of it." Why yes Ayn Rand, I'll keep that in mind. You must hate pretty people too?

I make my coffee from a French Press because it IS better. I use local "fancy" honey because it IS better. If I keep it on my shelf where others can see doesn't make me a douche. It could mean I don't have a cabinet, or I use it often. Which I do. Now who's being a dick?

You're assumption is simply that "I'm dumb, and you're smart, therefore you're gay." Or, I'm sorry, a hipster. Right now, the hip thing is to make fun of this video. Much like the people who hate popular music just because it's popular. That's what your argument sounds like.

Just because someone enjoys something doesn't make them a hipster, a douche or a dick. And because you can't understand their enjoyment of "proper etiquette" only makes you a hipster, dick, douche when you complain. No one here is "forcing" you to eat sushi anyway differently. No one is holding a gun to your head telling you to not put soy sauce all over your rolls. I know, it's strange, but you didn't even have to watch this video. So please explain to me what exactly the problem is again?


Chamot said:
Welcome to 'How to properly make a video' by Videosift community. -- Best comment yet on here.

Correct. Sushi is actually the rice, not the fish. Nigiri is the fish. However, much as we ask someone to pass a Klenex when we mean a tissue paper . . . But you are correct in the "if you're going to be nitpicky, at least be correct." lol

Writing a novel on a Macbook at a coffee haus sipping a chai mocha?? Duuuuude, that has hipster written all over it!.....A hipster in geek's clothing who eats his sushi like someone form a trailer park in Alabama!!

You are quite welcome to take whatever you want super seriously, but don't impose that seriousness on anyone else.

There's a difference between wanting to do thing right and wanting other people to do things right.

What this video suggests and what the responses to me also suggest, is "this is the correct way and no one should eat it differently or they're idiots!" instead of "this way makes it a whole lot better and is what the chefs and locals recommend". There's a slight difference between the two - one is a helpful suggestion guiding you to a better experience, the other is being a dick.

There's also a subtle difference in people wanting to do thing right for themselves, and people who want to have other people know that they know the correct way of doing it. This is what I so subtly referred to as hipster earlier - they don't do it because it's necessarily better, but because sushi is so vogue right now, and all those other slobs just eat it in the most hilarious manner; just look at those wage collectors - now let me get back to my chai mocca, lined with the finest honey, the container of which I happen to have standing on my desk at the coffee place where I'm writing my novel on a 2007 Macbook..