Japanese "Jam" Anniewan (Anyone)?

Years ago, when I was working in a firm before joining seminary, I was entertaining a client from one of those countries in Eastern Europe (can’t remember exactly which country). Apparently the country the client was from did not have any Japanese restaurants there. A friend owned a Japanese restaurant, and my colleagues and I decided to bring this client to the Japanese restaurant to initiate him (the client was a guy) into Japanese cuisine.

At the restaurant, the client was looking through the menu, and feeling peckish, he asked whether there was some bread, since he saw what appeared to be some “delicious” looking “jam” at the side of the table. I looked at my friend, the restaurant owner, he looked at me, we shrugged and my friend said to me: “Bread? Japanese cuisine where got bread wan?” I told my friend: “Aiyah! Just look for some and give it to him lah”, not knowing initially why on earth he would want some bread for starters, especially in a Japanese restaurant.

The client took the bread, and to our horror, he used a spoon, rubbed some green “jam” onto the bread, and before we could stop him or warn him, he stuffed the bread into his mouth faster than a speeding bullet. Seconds later, a popular song from the Platters, began to unfold in front of us, as smoke got into his eyes 👀 ears 👂 and mouth 👄 and copious amounts of cooling liquid was consumed by the client, in an attempt to extinguish the “flames” 🔥.

Needless to say, not much could be done on that day, as the client needed to excuse himself and rush back to his hotel room to recuperate. Fortunately for us, he was quite a good sport, since he had mistakenly assumed that the green "jam" was harmless and could be relished with delight, only to discover the excruciating truth otherwise. My colleagues and I managed to secure a good contract with the client, and he became known as "wasabi king", having done where few have dared to venture.