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I often use the restaurant cards from Triumph Dining when eating out
at ethnic restaurants. I think these cards do an excellent job of
covering many idiosyncratic issues related to specific cuisines --
and they are really great.
However, even my Japanese Triumph Dining card didn't see this one coming!
I sat down to order dinner, and asked for hot green tea. It was
super steaming hot, but it was a cold night, and I managed to whisk a
couple of sips off the top right away. And I set it down to cool.
I had given the dining card to my waiter, and he had, in turn, given
it to the sushi chef who was going to prepare my order. The chef
even came out to speak to me at our table -- and, although he didn't
understand much English at all, he did understand the card very well
(which is also written in Japanese).
I put in my order, still trying to drink some of the very hot tea and
once again set it aside to cool even more. Suddenly, the waiter came
bounding out of the kitchen, and grabbed my tea, saying, "tea is no
good -- will make you a new one -- just plain." Apparently, they
were doing "something different" with the tea that night, and had
mixed the green tea with some "other kind of tea" -- which I now
assume (after doing a bit of research) to have been "mugicha" tea,
which is roasted barley -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugicha. He
was panicking, and I actually really couldn't tell what he was trying
to say to me -- except that he clearly did not want me to drink any
more of the tea, and he was going to specially brew me some "plain
green tea."
And then suddenly it all came back to me -- a tea I'd had many years
ago, in the home of some Japanese business associates, that was mild
and smooth, with a special roasted flavor to it ... and that I was
told that it came from a grain, not tea. I hadn't even thought about
this tea in literally decades. All I can do is be thankful that the
tea was so darned hot, I was only able to get a few sips -- but, even
with that, I am truly paying the price today. I hate to imagine what
I'd be like, had I drunk the entire cup (and, no doubt, more).
Otherwise, I was so pleased with my sushi -- special orders the chef
was able to make for me as GF. But I think I will put a little piece
of white tape on my card that had written on it: "No mugicha!" And
make sure they see it before I pour me any tea.
Although, in retrospect, I guess I really do have the Triumph Dining
card to thank. I'm sure I never could have personally communicated
so clearly about barley without the card -- and it was them looking
over the card so carefully that made them realize I was drinking
something toxic to me! I have eaten in this restaurant a number of
times before, but it was the first time I had gone there with my
Japanese card. Thankfully, this coincided with the "new kind of tea"
incident. Otherwise, I would have had no idea what hit me.
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