It's Poisonous, Let's Eat It

What a shit picture, sorry guys!

What a curious looking fish that is! Want to take a stab at what it is?
 It's a blowfish! Isn't it cute?
 Don't get too close, it'll kill the shit out of you. Blowfish are considered to be some of the most poisonous animals in the world. The toxin contained in the organs of the blowfish are known to paralyze people all the while leaving them fully conscious yet unable to breathe. Ingesting the blowfish's toxin is almost certain death. A small handful of people die from it every year.
 But hey! How about we go ahead and eat one!

No no, I haven't gone balls-to-the-walls crazy. Blowfish, or fugu, as it's called in Japanese, is a local delicacy. All restaurants that serve it have chefs who have some kind of license proving they can prepare the meal while leaving out all the toxic parts. Most of the people who die from blowfish consumption are people who've had it from improper cooks.
 Ken's had blowfish before, so here he is initiating me. You know, blowfish isn't exactly a budget meal. You pay a decent sum and you get very little. So I figured I might as well get a decent amount of assorted meats, since I probably won't be doing this again.

  So here's some fugu sashimi (raw slices), and assorted shabu-shabu, to be dipped in boiling water. The thin slices of shabu-shabu cook almost instantly. And, for a little something special, I've decided to try this hot sake with blowfish fin floating on the top. Strange, but hey, why the hell not.
 And the verdict is...
 Blowfish tastes very...bland?
 D'aww.
And you would have thought the taste was intricate and unique. Or that at least the texture would be. But no, it's quite a regular tasting fish. Had you given me a dish of assorted sashimi, I'd have never been able to pinpoint the blowfish. It's just that regular.
 Not to say it's bad! It just tastes very unremarkable. Same with the shabu-shabu, even.
 The blowfish-fin sake, however, is quite a different matter. I really wanted to enjoy this, but God it's hard. It's a strong alcoholic beverage, for one (the waiter flambe'd it - the alcohol was so strong it actually took fire and roasted the fin) but the fishiness of it seemed way overpowering. Ken liked it a tad better than I, but I felt like I was drinking a fish-oil soup laced with alcohol. I couldn't finish it in spite of trying.
 And there you have it! Fugu!
Truth be told, my friends had actually spoiled it to me before I had even got to try it, so I knew it wouldn't taste anything special.
But now, at least, I get to say I've eaten blowfish once in my life.