I had no idea…
To be honest I thought I had a fantastic birthday and couldn’t ask for more, but spending it with a bunch of friends was something I couldn’t resist.
One of my gal pals here asked me if I had any plans so I told her I was going to make reservations at Gonpachi, a “gaijin” izakaya that has a reputation for good food with a fantastic view of Shibuya. She replied saying I shouldn’t be lifting a finger in organizing my birthday dinner and that she would help me instead. I thought that was such a sweet gesture…
By Thursday we settled on a Spanish tapas restaurant, Casa Del Beuno, in Shibuya, but she informed me that only two people could make it. I was kind of disappointed and whined to the kangaroo, “Baby, only two people can make it to my birthday.” That wasn’t exactly true because we invited a couple of guys we recently got to know through friends in Singapore but they are kind of like “new” friends, y’know. But, I still played the drama queen in my pity party, to which the kangaroo said, “F$%& ‘em, we’ll have a great party by ourselves.”
I felt better and thought, if those were the people who were going to show up, then they were the ones worth celebrating with. The kangaroo gave me lots of cuddles so I put my mind out of feeling sad.
On Friday, I busied myself with work and mentally prepared myself for a business dinner with one of the kangaroo’s clients. I perused The Japan Times to keep up with what was going on in Tokyo to come up with some conversation topics and rushed home at 6pm to shower and change into something more appropriate for a formal Japanese dinner.
“Wow, you look….dapper tonight, babe,” remarked the kangaroo when he came home to offload his computer bag. At 7.50pm sharp, we marched out of the apartment to Ninja. I was bracing myself for an evening of painful Japanese on my part, some insight into the world of salarymen, and delicious Japanese food.
We wended our way down into the “dungeon” that was Ninja’s lair and into a private room, where I was greeted with, “SURPRISE!” All my friends were grinning at me and blasting poppers at me. My mouth hung open for the longest time. I was stunned for several minutes while everyone wished me happy birthday. I couldn’t get over how I had no idea this was brewing behind my back for a week!
After the shock faded, I felt very touched the kangaroo would go through so much effort to plan a surprise birthday party for me, especially since I’ve been in this weird, angsty state for a couple of months.
Let’s unveil what Ninja had to offer. I’ve been there twice but each culinary experience was different, so it almost felt like my first time.
Faux sushi — it was adorable. The “tuna” was a slice of tomato and the “eel” was a bread-like piece of egg, while the “yellow tail” was made of gelatin and something else I couldn’t put my finger on.
Ninja’s presentation was so artful but scrumptious too. These star-shaped crackers were awesome with the foie gras…
Next up was tofu…
Or so we thought. It was a light cheese soufflé cube with a luscious piece of lobster.
This is the main course. I chose fish and it was just a simple but tasty ensemble of asparagus, mushrooms, and succulent sea bass wrapped in a steaming sheet of seaweed.
Those who chose the meat course got duck salad. I didn’t try it but was told it was awesome.
The beef stew was cute in its little dish. It looked fairly hearty…
This was the final dish and I couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be or if it was just straight sushi rolls because of the running “mirage” theme.
Azuki gelatin cake adorned with peaches. I thought it was chocolate until I bit into it.
A second birthday cake — sunflowers in cheesecake. They reminded me of our little garden…
There was also a magic show that was highly entertaining. The ninja magician ate fire as we watched in awe but turned on the humour with his red sponge balls and poker cards. I had one red ball in each hand and was asked to close my hands — when I opened my palms, the other ball appeared in the other hand with its twin. Sugoyi!
His act got a bit cheeky when there were thinly veiled references to jerking off and many balls. The show ended with a grand finish – he turned seven red balls into one erm dildo-like thing. Haha!
I would highly recommend this to those who need to show visiting friends an awesome time, or if you have a special occasion like a birthday.
A group picture taken on Polaroid by the restaurant.
That’s the kangaroo and me at A971, a gaijin bar in Midtown, which was pumping as usual on a Friday night. From this point, the evening was a blur and all I can remember are silly antics and drunken talk.
Unlike the days that led up to my 30th, my mind wasn’t anywhere near feeling unhappy or contemplative. I was just happy. Baby, thanks for the bestest 30th a girl could have! I heart you.
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August 27th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
awwwww!!!!!