UNAGI, ANYONE?

WOULD you believe it when I say that as an antidote to sunstroke/heatstroke, the Japanese eat UNAGI [EELS] ??? UNAGI or EELS are delicacies here. Aside from its PROTEIN content, Unagi brings with it all the STAMINA one needs to combat fatigue and more.... Hence, when anyone here feels down and out, they resort to eating Unagi which is a bit more expensive than ordinary fish.BESIDES, UNAGI is soft, buttery juicy heavenly tasting... & feels like it melts in the mouth [huh?!...sounds like I've heard that before, ei? ]. SUMMER days bring intense heat which sometimes go up to 40 degrees C. It makes one dizzy, gasp for breath, and immovable for sometime.WHILE the Chinese eat green mongo boiled tender and eaten cold with milk and sugar, the Japanese eats UNAGYU [ rice with grilled unagi on top, basted with sauce and distinct spice] or just plain UNAGI pre-grilled and sold in supermarkets. The latter comes in package with sauce and spice included and used by most consumers. TODAY is UNAGI DAY. Every year, the Japanese sets aside a day to 'respect' and remember UNAGI as something uniquely Japanese. And, as usual, the restaurants would be full to the brim, with reservations made weeks before.I remember some years back, when my parents and I passed by an Unagi specialty restaurant with people queueing in front of it. He inquired inside if we can be accomodated, and as expected, we were refused since all those who came made their reservations months before. We didn't! Although we wanted to savor the Unagi that day, we settled to drop by another resto for our dinner. LIKE all other technology, China has made leaps as far as Unagi-raising is concerned [in the same light, Taiwan has made exports of BANGUS here, as well!...and I thought BANGUS was ours ONLY! waaahhh!!!]. It now exports Unagi to Japan all-year-round. Not only is it cheaper.. .it also does not taste as good as those raised and bred here. Nothing tops the Unagi meal I had one hot summer day in HAMANAKO, a lake in center Honshu, the biggest and main island of Japan. Hamanako is the nation's leading Unagi center: it boasts of the best Unagi in the Land. AHHH...UNAGI! Got to try it again today...IF I can buy some in the supermarket,,,I guess I better go before all others swarm the Unagi area. If I want some today, I better start early and grab some for myself. BTW, did you know that UNAGI is also found in PIEs? Yeah...THAT Unagi fish was made into a pie...oh, well, actually, not a pie by american standards or by OUR standards. It is like Cebu's OTAP, and packaged neatly and boxed by 12s, 24s.It is a great pasalubong as well. UNAGIs and UNAGI PIE are part of the food specialties of this area