Archive for the ‘home’ Category

• Cheap eats ’round central Tokyo

  Date: 2009.01.19 | Category: foreign food, Tokyo | Response: 1

  

  Because you’ve been touristing around all day … lost track of time … and now one of those iconic American fast food chains is looking tempting, you know the ones you’d NEVER set foot in at home…So here are some alternatives, best ones last.

  I’m assuming you want to feed a family of 2 adults, 2 very small kids for around ¥3000, or one adult for under ¥1000. With yen, ignore the last 2 zeros (there are no yen cents) and then factor in your currency’s most recent fluctuation … ugh!

  And I’m not talking gourmet here, you can research that yourself … I don’t know what you like. (Personally, I prefer restaurants with laminex tables, fluro lighting, grumpy service … but excellent tasting food, and plenty of it).

  Also, if you or your kids won’t eat anything you haven’t tried before … then you’re stuck with one of those iconic American joints. At least half their menu stays the same wherever you go.

  I can’t recommend specific dishes: everything here is seasonal, even plasticy, commercial take-away joints. Whatever I could recommend likely wouldn’t be available when you visit.

  I also won’t bother explaining where these alternatives are located, but the first 2 are everywhere, often several of the same shop within 5 minutes walk.  If you look around near the train station, you’ll probably see them (and in central Tokyo, when aren’t you near a train station???)

  Yoshinoya and Matsuya

  Yoshinoya and Matsuya are pretty similar: basically, very thin sliced but fatty meat with rice. Enlivened with sauces, curry, or Korean-style condiments. Salads and semi-cooked eggs as extras, or maybe included in the set. Water and/or tea if you eat in, free miso soup at Matsuya. Doesn’t sound enticing? Not high quality? Well, what do you expect at a direct competitor to the American chains, where average sized meals are about ¥600? And at least it’s an experience you wouldn’t have had at home.

  For me, the main difference is at Matsuya you have to order using a machine, at Yoshinoya you can talk to a person and point at the menu photos. I find the machines quite hard, the advertising photos on the walls aren’t exactly the same as the ones on the machine, and without reading Kanji it’s a guess if egg is included or not. But Matsuya has a number of beef-patty dishes Yoshinoya doesn’t.

  There’s a photo of Matsuya signage up top, here is Yoshinoya:

  

  Freshness Burger and MOS Burger

  If you’re really after a burger, I recommend a Freshness Burger, their chips (fries) are mainly potato (sometimes even skins!), not crispy edge of fat. Their ice teas are really good (assuming you like tea). And the burgers have a good amount of meat and salad on them. Sometimes the raw onion is a little assertive, but still. Or you could try MOS Burger, their teriyaki chicken burger is pretty good, if smallish. Or you could try that ironic burger, the one with the rice replacing the bread. Remember chocolate isn’t a default flavour here … I’ve not yet seen a chocolate milkshake, it’s one thing I miss …

  And about meat, there isn’t much. Dishes described as ‘meat and spaghetti’ will be mostly spaghetti and tomato, with a smear of meat. Don’t be like all the tourists I’ve met who complain they were ripped off: you weren’t ripped off unless you paid at least ¥2000 for red meat. And portion sizes are smaller, they just ARE, so take that into account when looking at the menu’s photos.

  My favourites: Denny’s Japan, Ootoya and department store basements

  I’ve already mentioned I really like Denny’s Japan: a bit pricier (¥1000 for a good meal for one), but very good quality food, very fresh. Fair sized meat and bread options (shock!! not everything comes with rice!!).

  I also like Ootoya, it would be my number one recommendation … if it weren’t kinda harder to find. There’s plenty of stores, but they’re usually up or down stairs, and the English is written somewhat small. Hopefully this photo will help:

  

  Ootoya has Japanese-style meals, rice plus high quality meat (generally pork, chicken or fish) and vegetables. Their salads are really nice … I particularly like the choy sum with sweet beans and poppyseed paste one, yum! And do try the salad dressings, far nicer than back home in my opinion. Their desserts, err, only if you like Japanese desserts, they’re an acquired taste.

  My last alternative is also a good one: go to the basement of any department store, there’ll be a huge selection of very high quality food. Only problem, where to eat? It’s considered rude to eat walking along, but there aren’t any chairs at all …

• Foreign Food Friday … or Monday?

  Date: 2008.08.11 | Category: foreign food | Response: 0

  
  This a peach dessert サプリ…umm, that’s meant to be an English word, or from another European language, but like many Katakana words, I totally can’t guess it … supper, perhaps?

  Anyway, it’s peach pieces (nice) with, umm, well, likely peach sorbet or some other fruit sorbet. A little grainy and icy, but pretty normal so far. Then we get to the unusual aspect: natural unsweetened yoghurt matched with colourless very sweet jelly and sweet green goo … A rather odd combination, in this Westerner’s opinion, but quite edible (unless you don’t like the texture of the jelly).

  From Denny’s, which fast became our favourite restaurant here. Who’d have thought I’d have bread cravings? (I hate sandwiches, toast, cereals … spent my life looking for alternatives). Oh, and importantly in Japan, Denny’s serves of meat are at least ok sized. I’ve never been to Denny’s USA, I thought it was only junk food like MacDonald’s, but I really like Denny’s Japan.

• Foreign Food Friday #03

  Date: 2008.06.28 | Category: foreign food | Response: 0

  
  These were pretty nice, not amazing but a lot more like I expected, just from looking at them.

  I’ll start with the middle one, minced chicken balls on a stick. I’ve rarely thought “sweet” was a good word for chicken (whatever the foodies say), but this chicken really was sweet, not like a lolly but good.

  The one on the left was chicken and leek with a soy-sauce-based charcoally BBQ flavour, nice, what I expected. Second from left was white chicken meat wrapped in seaweed with wasabi – I like all those flavours, it was fine, but didn’t have a lot of zing or something… The pork, second from right, was thin, barbecuey, ok, again not amazing.

  The one on the right was the most interesting, it is actually a Japanese sweet (mochi, if I remember right). I normally don’t like sweets pretending to be savoury, but this worked really well, particularly with the smokey barbecue soy-sauce flavour. No idea why it was green, ‘tho.

  Again, from the Tokyu store that’s kinda integrated into Shibuya station.

• Foreign Food Friday #01

  Date: 2008.06.06 | Category: foreign food | Response: 0

  

  There are so many interesting foods here in Tokyo, I keep walking past and thinking “wonder what that tastes like, I’ll try that someday…” but I’m not here for long, so I’d better start tasting. And I thought you might be interested in a regular little feature, too.

  These were bought at Takashimaya, Shinjuku, I should’ve asked what they’re called. They were quite heavy, but distort ever so easily, I messed up the pretty flower shape just picking one up… guess that’s why the assistant warned me to carry them carefully, not bump them around.

  They were sweet, not sickly sweet, but getting there… certainly not good on an empty stomach. Kinda slightly grainy, I don’t mean that in a bad way, but otherwise I can’t really describe the taste – just sweet, no real other flavour. There was, what I assume to be red bean paste inside, but it didn’t taste any different to the outside really, and it all got smooshed together as soon as I put it in my mouth.

  I guess the main thing about them is they look so pretty.

  Oh, and the colours didn’t have different tastes, either. Anyone else living where they go past interesting food but never try them? Want to join in?

• corner #04

  Date: 2007.09.30 | Category: food gardens | Response: 0

  

  The only plant in the garden that doesn’t produce food, and never will. I’ve moved about every 2-3 years for the last 10 years or so. Housemates, who I won’t describe. Landlords who move back in, sell the house or tear it down. So my garden has become highly condensed, potted, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Over ambitious, none the less … but I DO like to eat plums (one day); mulberries, mandarins and raspberries (already).

  The clivias, I almost left them behind at the last house, but L’s Mum convinced me otherwise. They’d not flowered for 2 years at that stage, but wow, look at them now!!! And they’re shaded by a brick wall on 2 sides, a tree above. And they live on rain water. And their soil is poor … gotta admire their flowers then;)

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