Have you ever craved something so bad you almost couldn’t stand it? I’m sure everybody has at one point or another. Chocolate, steak and potatoes, ice cream ramen… and recently we (as in me) have been craving some Skittles. Our friend Yumi pulled through with flying colors by sending not only a ton of Skittles but some Starbursts, Butterfingers, Reese’s, Easy Mac, Advil, Clariton, and some black scrunchi things. Friends are awesome.
I’ve seen some amazing and interesting things here in Japan so far and here are some photos of the smallest Coke I’ve ever seen in my life. Can you imagine drinking this with a Mega Mac? It’s 160ml (or 5.4 ounces), it cost 53 Yen, and it came in a heavy duty can. Speaking of cans, a lot of canned drinks here in Japan are pretty strong. I’d say they are somewhere in the middle of an American beer can and a can of vegetables. I was in a rush so the only thing I had hand to compare size was an 8 ounce coffee mug.
Why is Japan awesome? There are many reasons and here’s another one to add to the list. Already sliced butter! Who thinks of this stuff, seriously? They should give it it’s own name. I’d name it Awesome Butter. Pre-sliced butter has changed my life.
This is my first year missing a Thanksgiving feast in the U.S. Do I care? Not so much. It’s always been a nice extended vacation from work or school and a chance to get drunk with friends and family while eating dry turkey… and then left over dry turkey for another week, bleh. That reminds me… something interesting I’ve noticed over the years is how people in America love the holidays because of food. My friends and I have always talked about home cooked meals, eating this, and eating that, but it was only around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why is that? Why don’t Americans prepare good food on a regular basis? Hamburger Helper, easy cook instant dinners, what is up with that!? Luckily my fiancee is the best cook I’ve ever known and her meals can put a 5-star restaurant to shame! So in the sake of Thanksgiving I am going to share some pictures of two delicious lunches, Bento, that I’ve recently enjoyed. Continue reading ‘Thanksgiving in Japan?’
Running low on my regular coffee I decided to give some instant Japanese coffee a try. I didn’t have much hope because instant Folders coffee in the U.S. tastes like ass but my choices were slim so I went for it. The result: Pretty OK. Yep, it’s not terrible like the instant coffee I remember and it was pretty ok (now I didn’t say good). I would choose this over no coffee but I’d choose no coffee over the U.S. instant coffee. There’s one more reason to add to the list of why Japan rocks!
I’m the luckiest man in the world! Why? Well my fiancee was going to be gone all day today and she probably new I’d be all caught up in playing my Xbox (with Lulu) and forget to do normal things… like eat lunch. She mentioned she was going to make some lunch for me and I was thinking it would be a sandwich or something. Then she said “Chinese food” and my mind went “Whaaaaaaaa….. huuuuuh…?” This morning she woke up around 7:30am while I was still sleeping and busted out her amazing cooking skills in the kitchen. Her cooking and food presentation puts all restaurants to shame!
When I got up she said to microwave the box for 1 minute and I’ll be good to go. And she was right! Not only did she create the most delicious Chinese food ever but she even took the time to put it in a ‘to go box’! Who does that? It’s so awesome, check out this picture from my phone… it was a great meal and this picture does not do it justice.
Today we did some searching on Google Maps (good luck, it’s in Japanese, I don’t know what’s going on there). Within walking distance of where I live there are approximately 1056 Izakayas (most offer ‘all you can drink’ specials) and 470 Ramen Shops (the food of awesomeness). Pretty crazy! I heard that an Izakaya is a great place to relax and practice speaking Japanese with people. I plan on doing that some day… when I can speak more than 10 words. Nice!
Estimated expenses:
At the Izakaya you’ll spend about 3,000 Yen for food + all you can drink. Some place have specials such as all you can drink for 2 hours for 1,500 Yen per person if you’re with a group.
At the ramen shop you can eat for 400-650 yen. You can get noodle refills in Fukuoka (just say “kae dama kudasai”) for 50-150 yen.
An izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. The food is usually more substantial than those offered in other types of drinking establishments in Japan such as bars or snacks. They are popular, casual and relatively cheap places for after-work drinking.
Ramen is a Japanese dish of noodles served in broth that originated in China. It tends to be served in a meat-based broth, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, dried seaweed, kamaboko, green onions, and even corn. Almost every locality or prefecture in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu ramen of Kyushu to the miso ramen of Hokkaido.
Photo credits: izakaya-all-you-can-drink.jpg by w00kie http://flickr.com/photos/w00kie/1062155634/
I know this might get long so before I start I’ll give you a summary so you don’t die of boredom. I’ll talk about what I’m eating, why I’m eating it, how things are different, oatmeal, and 15.7 Yen!
Breakfast in Japan is very different from what I’m used to in America. After arriving here when I ate breakfast it was usually a variety that changes daily. Sometimes it was toast… but huge pieces of bread aka ‘Texas Toast’. Other times it was a bakery breakfast sandwich that tastes more like lunch to me. Sometimes it was rice with mackerel. And sometimes a restaurant style breakfast which includes pancakes, eggs, and some bacon. When I ate breakfast alone and I was on my own I would to end up with some toast or some fruit (as a side note - bananas kick ass!) and some coffee.
What food am I used to in the United States? I would usually whip up some instant oatmeal (I’m a big fan of this), cream of wheat, cereal, or some toast with peanut butter. I usually included 8 oz of orange juice (236 ml) and 20 oz of coffee (591 ml). Albertsons usually had the 10 for $10 deal that included a good selection of cereal, granola bars, or instant oatmeal. Continue reading ‘Breakfast in Japan’
I know after you see this you’ll be rushing down to the local coop to grab as much of this as you can! How does it taste you ask? Well… I haven’t tried it… but I did take a picture of it. This is the first time I’ve seen this and it’s pretty different. I’ve had sea urchin sushi (not very good) and I can just imagine what creamy sea urchin soup tastes like (bleh!)..
Not sure what a sea urchin is? Here’s a brief explanation. They’re tiny sea creatures in the shape of a ball with 1-3cm spines sticking out but they’re not that sharp. I’ve eaten it on sushi and it looks disgusting to me… brown ish… with a taste that I don’t care for. Continue reading ‘Sea urchin cream soup’
Sure sure you might be saying “Only in Tokyo” but you should be saying “Only in Japan” because there’s crazy stuff all over the place. Anyway there’s a restaurant in Tokyo that has created the ultimate ramen + desert in one package. Looks simple enough. Take some ramen, add some ice cream, and then eat as much as you can before puking. Nice! You can hit up this dish at a local ramen shop called “Kikuya” by taking a 15 minute walk north Kitasenjyu Station in Tokyo. If you want ramen it up and need to find Kikuya ASAP then memorize the name and these characters: èŠã‚„ To help you get lost I’ll include a map of Kitasenjyu Station (might not work) and I think this is a map showing where Kikuya is located.
That flavors can you expect? Vanilla Ice Cream Ramen, Chocolate Ramen, and every bodies favorite… Green Tea Ramen (LIKE WHOA!) Something to remember is that ice cream ramen could be a limtied summer time edition this year (like I heard it was last year) and if you show up too late in the season you might end up with some Coffee Ramen (a.k.a. kohii gyunyu ramen). Other items on the menu include white ramen (yogurt), red ramen (tomato), natto ramen, milk ramen, hot cocoa ramen, pork kimchi ramen, and other crazy combinations. Regular ramen is 500 Yen but if you choose that option I’m sure people will look at you funny.
Here’s a review if you can read Japanese (a friend gave me the link). I found out about this restaurant from this blog (it’s in Japanese too, which I cannot read). He seems to only visit strange restaurants so check it out. The pictures above are from his blog and ramen experience.
If you eat this, come back and let me know!
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