Fish Eggs and Rice

A little while ago, Ana, my friend Jennifer, and I went to get sushi.

Before we headed over, Jennifer persuaded me that I really ought to try fish eggs. My mom told me that when she was on her mission in Japan, that was the one food item she could not stand. But I had never tried them. So with some positive peer pressure, I thought maybe I would survive the experience.

Constance stayed home with her dad, but I brought Ana since Ana is generally more open to new food experiences. We were not prepared for what happened at the restaurant.

To start off, we ordered this.

The fish egg sushi is the orange stuff in the back. We started off by offering Ana some pieces of veggies. But she refused to eat those and they eventually made their way to the ground.

Then Jennifer offered Ana a fish egg to try. We thought she would spit it out and make a face--the same face she makes when I offer her a sandwich or potatoes. But instead, she put the egg in her mouth and nibbled gingerly. Then the lights came on, and she started trying to grab some more.

We dumped a bunch of fish eggs on her little plate and watched them all disappear.

 It was like watching a 1-year-old eat little grapes. Except they weren't grapes . . .

 I ate my share too and they actually weren't that bad, especially when dunked in soy sauce. And the small, grainy ones were kind of fun to spread on the other pieces of sushi.

After finishing her sushi, Ana wanted to get up and walk around. She walked up to the other tables and was especially intrigued by a group of girls in the table next to us. She kept on coming back to them and showing off her biggest, cheesiest grin.

Then came desert. As soon as the waitress set the mochi ice cream and whipped cream on the table, Ana grabbed the fork and went for it.

I'm sure she would have eaten the entire plate if we had let her. Well, actually she did end up eating most of the whipped cream.

Who knew our little blonde Japanese baby would be such a fan of sushi?