Birmingham Yelpers were invited to a "Raw-Some" Elite event for November. Sound a bit Fishy? Read on. 20 Yelpers were invited down Paradise Forum for a night of Origami, Sushi and Drinks at the fabulous Woktastic. With everything from learning how to fillet a whole fish to making Futomaki; it really was a night not to be Ig'Nori'ed.
As the guests entered the pop-cultured themed venue, they were greeted by Ali (the owner of Woktastic), before being given their goodybags, drinks vouchers and being introduced to the world of Origami. It was a night of learning, chatting and mixing, as described by Lydia B., "The sushi master class was starting at 7:30 so this gave us a bit of time to mix and mingle with fellow yelpers, and try our hand at making some origami – something I had never done before."
Although Sushi is building popularity in Birmingham at the moment, many of the Yelpers had never had a go at making it themselves. With a choice of fillings, sauces and spices avaliable; everyone had a try making something different. The event certainly gave Yadwinder R. a new appreciation of the Japanese food; "Although my attempt at making sushi was an epic fail, I had a very fun evening. The chef at Woktastic was very knowledgeable and skilled, he definitely had a black belt in slicing fish."
After watching the master Black Belt prepare the fish, the Yelpers had a go at making a simple "Maki" roll (Nori, rice and filling). Renfield C. came away with with a wealth of new knowledge, such as the little gem "Seaweed isn't all that bad if it's the stuff on supermarket sushi".
After learning the basics with the "Maki" roll, things got serious when the Yelpers learned how to make "Biso" (Rice on the outside), Nigiri (without Nori), Futomaki (a larger "Maki" roll) and hand rolls. The skill levels and confidence increased with each type attempted, as Alan C. describes "My first couple were a little sloppy, but by the end I was making sushi like a pro (in my mind at least)."
Jessica A. and Philippa H. travelled quite a way to come to the event, but said felt like it was a worthwhile journey as they learned so much about making one of their favourite foods and can now "appreciate the art that goes into creating the dishes". After all of the Sushi had been made, then came the really fun part! Eating it!
Everyone took home a box full of sushi, a head full of new information and a new found appreciation for one of the hottest sushi resturants in town. All of the Yelpers found something they enjoyed throughout the course of the event. Even Jonathan B. (who despite not approving of all of the ingrediants) thought that the night presented "A great location, a fun activity and a great bunch of people."
We couldn't have put it better ourselves. A huge thank you to Ali, Santi and all of the staff at Woktastic for putting on a great spread for Yelp Birmingham's "Yelp Kawaii" event. Not forgetting a big thank you to all of the wonderful Birmingham Yelpers who came along, donned the plastic gloves and rocked and rolled their way to success.
But don't just take our word for it! Read what all the yelpers had to say right here, write your own review, have a look at all the photos, talk about it and find Woktastic on Facebook and Twitter!
Arigato for now!
Yelp Birmingham Community Manager
