Sushi + Alpha*, Day 3.  Engaging in a week-long sushi binge, just because I can now afford to.  In college, I had reportedly proclaimed that my financial ambition in life was simply to earn enough money so that I could eat sushi every day.  I was reminded of this over a recent get-together in Seoul with DP — actually, I don’t recall ever setting such a target, but it sounds like something that I would’ve said.  Even back then, apparently, my primary frame of reference had been food.  For a college student, I suppose that sushi would’ve been quite a luxury.  And as an English lit major, getting rich obviously hadn’t been part of the plan.  In any case, I’ve since attained that relatively humble measure of success, and perhaps a stretch beyond.

*In Korean, the phrase “plus alpha” — pronounced “plus al-pa” — describes “something more, a bit extra on top.”

1. Izakaya Den (6.118 Sushi Moriawase Matsu…) (2.25) / 6 nigiri + 1 gunkan + 6 maki (+ soup) = 420 PHP / alpha : tako karaage (2.5)
2. La Tuna (6.119 Sushi Set M…) (0.5) / 10 nigiri (+ soup + salad) = 650 PHP / beta : grilled shrimp (1.5)
3. Tanabe (6.120 Tokujyuo Nigiri…) (3.25) / 9 nigiri + 1 gunkan + 6 maki (+ tofu) = 1,200 PHP + 10% / gamma : horenso tofu orentashi (2.25)

Whereas the point of this project is to enjoy the symbolic fruits of my modest success, Manila — at least this part of town — may not be the best place for implementation, given the lack of sushi capacity in the area (see generally 5.250 Assorted Sushi).

Mercifully, the sushi here was good, quite good.  I’d been saving Tanabe (see generally 5.037 Aji Sashimi), one of the best Japanese restaurants in town (see most recently 5.304 Ko Ebi Karaage), for later in the week, but abruptly moved it up in the schedule to breath life into a quickly dying project.  Excellent quality and range of fish — exactly the kind of sushi that I’d aspired to, way back when.