Last week, a friend of mine told me that there’s this sushi-making session in KidZania where you can participate with your kids. She asked me if I would like to attend as an invited media. I jumped at the opportunity, of course. It was my birthday weekend and I had no better plans that day and I might as well do something memorable with my kid. Nothing beats spending a quality, fun time with your kids. 😀

The sushi-making class was held in KidZania theater. The class is the first in series of practical hands-on classes and workshops offered in KidZania Kuala Lumpur which involves both children and their parents.

We were earlier than the time stipulated, and I was getting rather anxious. As most of you probably know by now, my son is a special need child. He’s on Autism Spectrum Disorder (commonly known as ASD among the Autism communities), and to be honest, my son does not really fit in well as he is socially impaired. He’s non- verbal, and more often than not, he lives in his own world. I was a little afraid that he’ll have a meltdown or something, but surprisingly, he did very well during the sushi-making session with Sushi King at Kidzania! My, my, the boy is full of surprises these days.

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves. During the Edo period, “sushi” referred to pickled fish preserved in vinegar but these days sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice which has been prepared with sushi vinegar.

The sushi-making session with Sushi King at Kidzania kicks off with the basic Japanese language class where the children were taught to greet each other in Japanese. Apart from that, the children were also taught the ingredients name in Japanese. During this little introduction to Japanese language, I got a little worried, considering that everything was done in groups and not one to one like his school, I thought my son will not be able to cope and stray or something. Again, he surprised me. He just sat there followed the basic Japanese language class; pretty well too, I must add. Despite of being non-verbal, he parroted what the instructor taught, just like other kids!

The session proceeds with the instructors teaching the children on how to wear their apron correctly. 😀 Accompanying parents were required to help their children to wear the apron.

After all participants  have worn their cute Sushi King aprons, the sushi-making class proceeds with the introduction of the sushi ingredients in both English and Japanese language.

Children were then taught on how to prepare the rice for sushi-making purpose.

And then they were taught on how to shape the rice by using their hands. 😀

Here’s all the ingredients. Ready to be made into sushis. Rice, tamago and tuna filling, seaweed, crabsticks and tofu sheets.

Cleanliness is emphasized. Participants were not only required to wear an apron, but plastic disposal gloves and cap as well. 😀

Here’s a picture of my son, making his sushi. This picture is a picture of him making his last piece of sushi, which is California Rolls. To be honest, I was really surprised that he actually managed to follow instruction quite well though his concentration tends to get distracted during short intervals, and I need to keep reminding him not to eat the sushi that he made or any other ingredients on the table. 😛 But then again, this is not an issue as other parents whose children were participating in the sushi-making class had the same issue too. LOL. It was simply hard for them to resist eating their own sushis. 😛

My non verbal ASD kid made these. From left: Temakizushi (California rolls), Nigiri, and assorted Gunkan

Not too bad, eh, for a first timer. 😀 I’m really pleased to say that I did not have any problems with him at all that day and I can say that I’m proud of my son as he tried his best to be as normal as he could and even attempts to say his own name when the host asked him his name during the Q&A session. Not articulate, but close enough. I did not inform the hosts beforehand that my son is a special need etc, and throughout the whole session, they treated my son just like other participating children, which is a really wonderful thing. Definitely a good experience for me and kid, and I have to say that it was one of the best birthday gift ever, to be able to experience all these. 😀 It was indeed  a priceless experience.

One for the album. 😀 KidZania hosts, instructors, members of the media and children posing with their well-earned chef certificate after the class. 😀

Neway, the fun did not just end there. I had plenty more fun with my son that day in KidZania as we were given complimentary access to KidZania for the day. Stay tune for more updates. 😀 I will be writing about KidZania doon.

Cleffairy: One does not outgrow autism. Children with autism will grow into adults with autism. That is a fact, but I’m glad to see progress as my son grows up. 😀