I’m not ashamed to say I was scared －僕が怖がっていたと言うことを恥ずかしいとは思わない－

I ate shark meat for the first time yesterday.  It was in Kerala Bhavan, a South Indian restaurant in Nerima. 

I sometimes order chicken tikka, but decided to try the fish tikka for a change.  When we asked what kind of fish it was, we were surprised to find that it was shark meat. 

I associate shark with Chinese cuisine, rather than Indian.  But the shark tikka was very nice.  It was soft and fell apart in the mouth, and the meat went well with the spices.

 

“

I found an ocean under my bed,

As I was tidying up my room.

I stared in shock till a fish came up and said,

‘Do you know the way to San Francisco?’

…

We were surrounded by sharks impressing their friends,

And I’m not ashamed to say I was scared,

Till one came up and said,

‘I know the way to San Francisco.’

 

So there we were – just me, and this fish, and this shark,

All heading to America.

When we got hungry we stopped at a café to eat;

We’re all vegetarian.

”

From the William Nein song, “Join us in San Francisco”

 

I have always like the idea of a vegetarian shark, since I heard this song.  I tried to live without meat for a while and found it difficult.  The songwriter seems optimistic that no sacrifice is impossible, if you put your mind to it.  Even a shark could give up meat and become a hippie.