This sushi roll is $96, and for a reason. It's covered in gold. Do you think you'd pay for it? Are you curious about whether the taste is worth that price tag? I certainly am.
Rocket News 24 reports that Japan has recently celebrated a holiday in which participants throw beans to ward off evil and welcome good fortune into their homes. That celebration is apparently becoming outdated, and is being replaced by a much tastier tradition of indulging in giant sushi rolls.
These sushi rolls are called ehomaki (lucky direction sushi roll), and the most expensive one is wrapped in gold. This roll is called Tokusen Kaisen Jyuni Hitoe Maki, and the name describes the contents of this extravagant roll. There are 12 main ingredients in the roll, chosen from all different areas of Japan. These ingredients are as follows:
- Tuna from Oma, Aomori
- Japanese puffer fish from Hyogo
- Red sea bream from Nagasaki
- Longtooth Grouper from Nagasaki
- Oval squid from Nagasaki
- Kuruma prawn from Ehime
- Steamed abalone from Miyazaki
- Boiled conger eel from Miyazaki
- Boiled horsehair crab from Hokkaido
- Salted herring roe from Hokkaido
- Salmon roe pickled in soy sauce from Hokkaido
- Raw sea urchin from Hokkaido
Whew. I don't know if the golden wrapper is the only thing that makes this intense roll so expensive. There's a lot to taste there. The wrapper is gold leaf, said to have no taste, but who can really say unless you've tried it?
One of Rocket News' own staff members had the opportunity to taste-test the roll, and of course he said it was delicious. What's not to love there? It's a bouquet of delicious seafood specialties all wrapped up in rice and gold.
Now, is it actually lucky? I'm not sure anyone can say for certain, but I would consider myself lucky to have gotten to try it, so you tell me. Next stop, a basement cafe in Japan!