Monday, August 31, 2009 10:56 AM
Rob Kinnon
Birthday Fun in Cancun
This year, our dear friend Kim, decided she wanted to do something "different" to celebrate her birthday. Great! we thought anticipating some fabulous dinner in a restaurant that is not one of our regular haunts. Perhaps an elegant evening at one of the fine dining destinations at Mayakoba, Gran Velas or The Mandarin Oriental was what she had in mind. Our mouths watered with anticipation, looking forward to trying something new. Well, it turned out that when Kim says "different" she really means it. In this case "different" meant an evening of sushi and bowling in Cancun! Now it is no secret that I am a lover of all things sushi. Slap a plate of raw fish down in front of me and I am the happiest girl in the world. However, my sentiments toward bowling run in the opposite direction. Mind you, I have only bowled once before, in the third grade. It was an unremarkable experience and one I have managed not to repeat for the past 35 years. Promised an extraordinary meal of fresh fish and hot sake, (and because we love Kim) we reluctantly agreed and Rob and I made plans to join the group for the trip to Cancun. Bombero Brian and wife Edie arranged for transportation to haul us to and fro and on Friday evening, with roadies in hand, we piled into a van and headed north.
It turns out, I was not to be disappointed. At Yamamoto Japanese Restaurant we met up with the rest of our group, a pack of unruly Canadians (actually, all good friends from Playa) who had already pre-ordered some their favorite rolls on the menu and we quickly followed suit. Rounds of hot sake quickly turned into sake-bombers with the addition of imported Japanese beer. Spirits rose quickly as did our volume as round after round of rolls and expertly sliced sashimi made their way to our table.
The birthday girl!!
Jill and Edie
Edamame
The Maya Roll, the evening's big winner! As a rule, I am a sushi purist, but even I could not contest that this was delicious!
Um...sorry Kim. Sake is somewhat of an acquired taste.
But everybody loves Sake-bombers!!!
Most especially, Mr. Kinnon!!
Kim and Edie
Fresh yellowtail. Yummmm.
Assorted sashimi including tuna, snapper, salmon, mackerel and octopus.
Some delightful concoction with unagi (fresh water eel) and ikura (flying fish roe). Yummo!!
After a delightful dinner, we piled back into the van for the short trip to Paseo Cancun, home of Planet Bowl. We acquired our dreaded rental shoes and were assigned a lane in the dark side of the hall lit only with black light. I was relieved, hoping that here, my bad bowling might go unnoticed. No such luck. As a clan, the Kinnons officially stink at bowling.The mostly-American team squeaked by the first win but were unceremoniously trounced by the Canadians in the second round.
Edie getting fitted with shoes.
Brian's turn. Lucky Edie!! ;)
Doug rocking his rentals with black socks. A bold move, sir!
Jilly and me sporting the traditional white bobby socks.
Canada vs. USA
Strike!!
Mr. Kinnon pulls out a big strike but it's not enough to topple the Canadian powerhouse!
All kidding aside, we had a delightful evening full of fun with good friends. Best of all, it was most definitely "different". If you like Japanese cuisine and sushi, I highly recommend a trip to Yamamoto. If I had any clue how to find it again, I would suggest a return trip for Rob and myself.