There is probably only one thing in existence that's more expensive in Australia than it is in Japan. Why did it have to be one of my favourite foods??

I'm talking about sushi. The trick is to get enough wasabi for the buzz, but not so much wasabi that you get the wasabi-headache. That balancing act is also part of the fun of eating sushi. Actually my sharemate in Osaka didn't have that problem - he always gave himself a big wasabi-headache on purpose.

Anyway, so I'm looking around the Gold Coast for a fairly cheap sushi place. Seems like the plates start at $2.50, and that's just for the egg ones - for the tuna and salmon they are $3.50.

Walking around one day I came across a narrow arcade, with small shops, that actually reminded me of Japan. Except for the surfboard store. And in the middle of that arcade there was a Japanese restaurant. I looked through the prices. It said egg sushi was $2, tuna and salmon were $2.50. "Wow" I thought. I expected that the portion size would be smaller, but surely it was a good deal nonetheless.

So tonight I went there. And the lady came over and I gave my order - "tuna" I said.

As soon as she said "1?" I realised my mistake. Normally a plate of sushi has 2 pieces of sushi on it. When she said "1?" I realised that these were the prices for just 1 piece. And therefore the prices would need to be doubled to compare them with other restaurants. So I wasn't going to be paying $2.50 for the tuna, I was going to be paying $5. And I wasn't going to be paying $2 for the egg, I was going to be paying $4.

As you can see, those prices are well above the normal $2.50 for a plate of egg, and $3.50 for a plate of tuna.

In Japanese I thought to myself "maitta", which has the dictionary meaning of: "I'm beaten".

Still, good quality. But maitta.

I think Friday nights will become "search for a good and cheap Japanese restaurant" night. Until now I had always been going to the same place. Then I found out the pretty waitress there was my boss's girlfriend. It's a small world. Or at least the Gold Coast is a small city.