Anybody been to a Fugu Restaurant?

[ghia girl]

I was in Japan recently and was tempted to go to a fugu restaurant, you know the fish that can kill you, but I didnt go in the end. Has anyone tried fugu whats the taste like and did you get ill at all?

[Tokyo Posts]

I have never been, and don't think I will. here is a little snippit I found:

"Around 50-60 people a year are hospitalised from fugu poisoning in Japan. There is no known antidote to the poison and some of those hospitalised have died. If the fish is prepared correctly (by specially licenced chefs) it is quite safe to eat."

So there's my problem in a nutshell "If the fish is prepared correctly" ... what if in my restaurant the chef is having a bad day

[yoshi]

I have been to Fugu restaurant few times.and I didn`t have any sick.
If you go to Decent Fugu specialized restaurant, more than 99% , you are ok.
But to be honest, Fugu is not so tasty compare with the price.It`s quite expensive.
There are lots of small bones everywhere.and just plain taste.
so I strongly recommend to go to Sushi restaurant instead of Fugu.

But if you are interested in, why don`t you try?!

[Misaki]

To be honest, I am not big fun of Fugu though, here is one of nice restaurants, the restaurant name is ` Genpin Fugu`玄品ふぐ. There are quite well known as a fugu specialized restaurant, also seems like reasonable price compare with other fugu restaurant.
I am not sure about the taste, I mean I have eaten Fugu, but not remember what`s taste like, which mean nothing special, fufu , but Tessa (fugu sashimi) looks beautiful, as an art.

[Sakurahime]

I haven't been to a fugu restaurant, but I have eaten fugu. I possibly wouldn't have eaten it, but I was under a little bit of social pressure to do so. I did wait a little while, though, to see if anyone else got ill first!
Fugu is, as yoshi and Misaki said, nothing special. I wouldn't say it's worth the price or the risk. I'd much rather have salmon, tuna or mackerel sashimi any day.

[minervasirius]

Do these restaurants make you sign a waiver?

[Louie]

I haven't tried eating Fugu but I had watched a documentary about it. From what I've seen, not all restaurants can serve Fugu. Only chefs who passed a test in preparing Fugu have the qualifications to serve it to the public. Although the comment of minervasirius made me laugh, it just proves that there are some people who are wary in eating it. It's the perfect food for a dare (aside from natto) and although the chances of you getting ill is small, the possibility still exists. If you really want try it, you better do a bit of research and check a restaurant which have a good reputation (and had served Fugu for many years). Like everything else, being safe is far better than being sorry

[Sakurahime]

That's true, Louie. Chefs have to go through extensive training to be able to prepare fugu. I think there's only one chef outside of Japan who is legally allowed to do it.
I can confirm that you don't need to sign a waiver - I think that would have made me even more wary! My Japanese colleagues didn't really seem to concerned about it - I think one even joked about getting slight paralysis once! I would definitely check out different restaurants, although I don't think I've ever heard of any scandals involving a fugu restaurant. I feel like that's something that would make the news.

[minervasirius]

I've heard of this before, it's like a russian roulette for food. No thank you.

[Sakurahime]

That's an interesting comment, minervasirius, because Russian roulette with food *is* something that Japanese people like to do sometimes. As far as I can tell, mostly during meals out with friends or coworkers, probably when alcohol is involved. It's not with dangerous food, though, just very spicy ones! One time, I was with a group that ordered Russian roulette takoyaki (pieces of octopus in balls of batter). The roulette was that one of them contained a very spicy hot sauce. I have to say, I've never been more nervous about picking up a piece of food (and I think that includes the fugu I had!)