eyl.eats

Kobe Beef Sushi, Chaya Brasserie, San Fransisco

2009-08-31T18:01:00.005-04:00

August 22, 2009

I would have simply updated the cheesecake factory post from this year's trip, but this was simply too good to delay posting. It was an appetizer at my cousin's wedding rehearsal dinner, and there was lots of it. I regret that there was a good three-course meal afterwards, so I could not fill myself on this delight. The rest of the food was quite solid, especially the steak, but really pales in comparison.

In addition to the kobe beef, there's tempura shrimp inside, drizzled with that excellent spicy mayo that Japanese places use. If you click on the picture, you can see the beef in all it's raw, marbled goodness.

*drool*

Cheesecake Factory, San Francisco

2009-08-14T00:51:00.005-04:00

September 5, 2005

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting some other food pics. I figured I'd start with the whole reason I started taking pictures of my food.

I was talking to some friends before going to San Francisco in 2005, and it was suggested that I go to the Cheesecake Factory. My friend Paul expressed jealousy that he would not be able to enjoy such cheesecake. In response, I offered to not only take pictures of said cheesecake, but also to rub my face in it and take pictures of that.

All of the food (appetizers, entrees, cheesecake) was awesome; unfortunately, most of the pictures are piss-poor, since they were taken on white plates late at night. So all I have are the display of some of the cheesecakes, some excellent appetizers (Avocado Springrolls and Sliders), and a take-out picture. I do still have the pictures of cheesecake on my face; they're not going to be posted here =)

Sushi, Sushidai, Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

2008-12-21T06:40:00.002-05:00

September 19, 2008

So, last meal in Japan.... I tottered around the selling portion of the fish market for a while, almost got run over by some of the vehicles, before I found this place at around 9am... and had to stand in a line for an hour. Oh well, totally worth it. The sushi chef told me what each of these things are, but I totally forgot. The first four are the memorable ones, whether they were awesome tasting, or were still moving (2nd one). Good end to the trip.

Tenmusu, Nagoya Station, Nagoya

2008-12-20T03:48:00.001-05:00

September 18, 2008
Tenmusu, the reason for my only double-stop of the trip (other than Tokyo, naturally). In my first trip to Nagoya, I stuffed myself leaving the city so much, I completely forgot to buy this, which basically amounts to a type of onigiri stuffed with tempura shrimp. Thankfully, I found it at one of the convenience stores (I love having convenience stores that sell meal-like food, we need that in Toronto). I had this after I got home that night. In retrospect, I should've stopped in at Yamaton again for some more misokatsu. Dang.

Yakitori, Nenohi, Yurakucho, Tokyo

2008-12-19T03:45:00.001-05:00

September 18, 2008
So I actually bought this after I bought what's coming up in tomorrow's post, but I ate the Yakitori before, so there.

Yakitori, or grilled meat on a stick, the highlight of late night (or siu-mai) of Japanese food. In a nice drinking place surrounded by many other Yakitori shops, I downed seven sticks of meat easily. Mainly chicken and pork, with the meatballs on the bottom, and also some chicken neck (surprise, tasted like chicken). However, this was a bit of a downer, since it marked the only time I really wished I had someone there with me. Sitting at the bar amongst lots of Japanese natives and tourists drinking and eating loudly and happily will do that to ya.

Unagi, Yaotoku, Hamamatsu

2008-12-18T03:43:00.001-05:00

September 18, 2008
The only time I ate unagi (other than on sushi) on the trip was on the second last day, here in Hamamatsu. I actually also wanted to eat snapping turtle here, but that went out the window because of an unpleasantly expensive experience with transportation and taxis the previous night. But besides that, the unagi was solid, very flavourful. It didn't leave a huge impression, though, because I'm not an unagi connoisseur. It was also rather pricey =P But still worth the experience

Yakisoba, Totoro, Fujinomiya

2008-12-17T10:41:00.000-05:00

September 18, 2008
Mm, Yakisoba. Visited Fujinomiya to eat it on the recommendation of Ian, which coincidentally is partly how I got the idea of visiting many many places to eat their specialties. Fujinomiya was a great example because, although its a really small town, they still had a map indicating where you could eat Yakisoba. I love the concept of towns centred around food.

I've had Yakisoba once since I've been back to Toronto, and it didn't compare to this. Contrary to how you might usually find it, this wasn't saucy at all, but a little dry, basically non-greasy fried noodles, cabbage and meat. However, the bits of nori (seaweed) covering it was an awesome addition. Mixed up all together with the rest of the food made for a fantastic combination. I'll definitely have to use that idea in cooking in the future.

Ramen, Raumen Museum, Yokohama

2008-12-16T15:56:00.007-05:00

September 17, 2008
Ahh.. the Raumen Museum (yes, it's spelled R-A-U-men, I don't know why. I will continue to spell it without the u). This place was pretty cool, they brought in 9 "famous" ramen makers from across the country, selling local specialties or twists on the standard ramen fare, all in the basement in a recreation of 1950s Tokyo. I had actually managed to visit at least 5 of those cities already, so I went for two places I had not tried yet. Apparently I've lost my Raumen Museum guide, so I can't remember where each one was from.

Anyhow, it was ramen, tastes good =). The ball of red stuff in the second picture is actually a ball of spices, that was interesting. And I only realized after I made it to the second store that I could order half-orders, so I probably could have eaten a third type had I realized that before. Surprisingly, the one on the bottom was the half-portion; the pictures don't really show that, do they?

Finally, they had all sorts of other stuff in the Museum, including a history of instant noodles, and many other things that I couldn't understand cause I don't read Japanese. There were also apparently ramen video games, which basically consist of you trying to eat ramen faster than your opponent. Also a bar, a candy store, and some sort of archery/gun carnival game. I bought the marble drink and some ice cream in a balloon, pictured below.

Sushi, Sushi Zanmai, Akihabara, Tokyo

2008-12-15T03:55:00.001-05:00

September 17, 2008
Oooh.. the second of 3 sushi meals in Japan, and one of the happiest =P. This is a kaiten (revolving) sushi restaurant in one of the large department stores in Akihabara. I had already planned to eat here, but the bonus was getting a coupon for free chu-toro (medium-fatty tuna, top picture) before entering the restaurant.

The quality of the sushi was excellent, there was a spigot of green tea, and I even got to try otoro (really fatty tuna, bottom picture), though it didn't really meet the hype. But that was the only minor negative in a meal which I stuffed myself with sushi for about 1700 yen, less than the price of a lunch all-you-can-eat in Toronto. Japan rules =)

Tonkatsu Curry, Coco Ichibanya, Yokosuka

2008-12-14T02:05:00.002-05:00

September 16, 2008
So here's dinner on the 16th, after eating my dessert. Yokosuka is apparently home to an American military unit of some sorts, so it is known for "Navy Curry". The curry levels go up quite high on the menu, but I settled for a basic order, which was pretty much average, nothing overly special. I get the feeling that I either did not experience the proper amount of spice due to my lack of tolerance, or missed out on a better place to eat the curry. Ah well, c'est la vie.

Purple Potato "Gelato", Crepe House, Yokosuka

2008-12-13T03:35:00.001-05:00

September 16, 2008
Same day as Kamakura, I actually found the purple potato ice cream I was looking for. Except I found it in Yokosuka, when I was looking for a curry place. And I was hungry, not in the dessert mood. But still, I wanted to eat it at least, so I got what they called "gelato", which really was just regular ice cream, I think. Still, I'm glad I got to eat it. It actually tasted like sweet potato. (surprise!) In retrospect, I could've eaten it on the way back after eating curry. But take no chances after all the near-misses, I suppose.

Hatosabure, Kamakura

2008-12-12T03:38:00.001-05:00

September 16, 2008
Alright, Kamakura's got some elements to it. First off, the picture. It's literally a cookie in the shape of a bird. That was on the list of what Kamakura was "famous" for. Kind of ridiculous, eh? The cookie still tasted good, though, probably loaded with butter =P

The second thing I was looking for was purple potato soft serve. I walked a while to find a place, and went in just to find out that they were closing. It was ..like, 6! Jeez. Walked around some more, the only places I found with a purple soft serve logo were closed.

The final, and most annoying thing: I had looked up some festivals beforehand, cause I wanted to check one out, and try good festival food. There was only one scheduled for the period I was in Japan, and after the first week or so I decided I was too tired to seek out a festival where I'd have to walk around all day.

Then, when I was entering and leaving Kamakura, I noticed there was an oddly high number of people on the train platforms, for such a small city. It was only when I was headed back home later in the evening that I realized that a) Kamakura was the location of the festival I had researched and b) it was held on the 16th. But since I got into Kamakura at around 5:30 PM, I missed the entire thing. Had I realized that, I could've easily gone to Kamakura earlier and Utsonomiya later. Ghgnx...bah.

Dumplings, 3 restaurants, Utsunomiya

2008-12-11T03:28:00.001-05:00

September 16, 2008
Dumpling run! This is in Utsunomiya, home of the dumpling. Remember the udon Kingdom, Takamatsu? (which I forgot to mention, is the second place in Japan I'd like to live in someday). This would be the dumpling equivalent, with a dumpling map and all (seen in the top left corner of the first picture). They also had dumpling key-chains =)

I managed to eat a lot of dumplings, we'll leave it at that. They were ok, I guess. Not the way I'd make my dumplings. The last one I ordered was vegetarian, as well (not by choice, I didn't know what I was ordering). It's just nice to have a place where they're so readily available. There was also a dumpling statue. Why did they feel it was necessary to give it ...uhh... girl-parts?

Kobe Beef, Wakkoqu, Kobe

2008-12-10T03:07:00.001-05:00

September 15, 2008
Ahh... kobe beef. I originally didn't plan on going to Kobe, since I thought the beef would be too expensive for my $100/day budget (including travel and accomedations!) I forget why I decided to actually go.

Spent a bit of time walking around looking for this place, which I had discovered had some good cheap set menu options at lunch. After looking at the menu, I selected the cheapest one (of course) for roughly 3500 yen. The chef (right in front of me, as you can see) brought out the meat and was about to start grilling it when I decided to check to make sure it was Kobe beef. It wasn't. Apparently it was Tajima beef, which was one grade down from Kobe beef.

After a bit of arguing, me wanting my Kobe beef, the chef claiming he had already cut it, they finally agreed and I got the real Kobe beef. The only set menu option with Kobe beef ended up costing me 5544 yen, but also came with soup and dessert.

The beef itself was quite quality. The chef originally cut out all the fatty parts, and just grilled up what you see in the second picture there, which is obviously smaller than the first picture, so I felt gypped. (It was only something like 5 ounces, after all). But it turned out he grilled part of it first, then did all the veggies, then the other part of it (minus the fatty part). Then he grilled up the fatty parts with some bean sprouts for a mega-quality chop-suey. So quite worth the trip and the cost, all in all.

Final comment, I did not say it melted in my mouth, cause beef can't actually melt. And if it actually could, I wouldn't want it, cause I like to actually chew my meat. Pet peeve of mine =P

Green Tea Softserve, Uji Tourist Centre, Uji

2008-12-09T12:48:00.001-05:00

September 15, 2008
This is the first thing I ate after pulling an all-nighter at the internet cafe and eating noodles at 3am. I did get a couple hours of sleep on the train, though, between Fukuoka and Kyoto. Trains, btw, have officially become my favourite mode of transportation. They're mad comfortable.

Another note, Kyoto became the first of three cities I stopped in without eating anything. Kyoto was also the city that I spent the least amount of time in. I stopped there to exchange monies. Yay I have monies!

To comment on the actual picture, Uji is well-known for its green tea. Bought some green tea snacks and some green tea powder. The ice cream was quite the awesome. I still have all the green tea powder, though, I wonder what I should do with it.

Tonkotsu, Ichiran, Fukuoka

2008-12-07T03:05:00.002-05:00

September 15, 2008
As I mentioned yesterday, I was running out of money. So I ended up staying the night at an internet cafe. =P Cost me 1060 yen for 6 hours, I think, killing enough time for me to truck out to this place at around 3 in the morning for some more soup noodles.

This time, it was tonkotsu (with an o, not tonkatsu). Basically the difference is the broth, which is supposed to be a pungent pork broth (though it didn't really smell all that bad). Very interesting ordering method, filling out a sheet that has options of how much meat and noodles, how spicy it is, an option for an egg, etc. Quality comfort food for 3 AM.

As for the internet cafe, it was half-full the entire time I was there, even with options for a private room with a shower, anime and games lining the walls, etc. Truly the epitome of Japan =)

Champon, Ringerhut, Fukuoka

2008-12-06T03:04:00.002-05:00

September 14, 2008
This be champon, which is another type of soup noodle dish with small amounts of various types of meat and veggies. It's supposed to be well-known and native to Nagasaki, which is the only city I wanted to go to, but did not get to. The reason is that I wanted to check out a church in Fukuoka, and to make it to the 6pm service, I had no time to make the 3 hour detour to Nagasaki. I also slept in at Kagoshima =P. Of course, when I got there, there was no one there, the service was on canceled for the week because the missionaries were out of town. Of course.

The other development of the day was that my credit card did not work at the ATM's (that were finally open). I tried numerous places, but no go. So again, I was running out of money. Found wireless at a McDonald's and basically found a place I could exchange money, but on the next day, as most places were closed on Sunday.

With little money left, I had to conserve. This meal, with a big bowl of noodles and a side of dumplings, fortunately cost 630 yen. There was nothing really remarkable otherwise, except that Ringerhut seemed to be a local-diner-family-chain kinda restaurant, maybe comparable to a Golden Griddle, and really out of place in Japan.

Black Pork Tonkatsu, Katsuju, Kagoshima

2008-12-05T03:03:00.000-05:00

September 14, 2008
The other thing I was looking for in Kagoshima was tonkatsu, which is normally pork cutlet in the rest of Japan, but supposed to be some sort of stew in Kagoshima. So I found a place in the mall next to Kagoshima-Chuo station which I hoped would have it (I mean comon, it has Katsu in it's name!). Unfortunately, what I ordered turned out to be more of the same. It tasted alright, but again, couldn't really tell the difference between this and the regular stuff.

Black Pork Shabu Shabu, Wakana, Kagoshima

2008-12-04T15:02:00.003-05:00

September 13, 2008
Got into Kagoshima, in the southern part of Kyushu, pretty late in the day (around 9, maybe). I was also out of cash. I finally found a ATM at a convenience store, but they were closed. Seriously, ATMs in Japan have a closing time each day, early on weekends too. So not only did I not have money for eating, but for staying at a hotel as well. I went back to the train station and basically waited around hoping to find an American or someone I could exchange my American dollars with (as that was the backup I had brought with me).

I was fortunate to meet a really nice Kenyan, who was working in the city, who exchanged $100 US for me even though he really had no need for US dollars. He also showed me where a hostel was (which ended up being full), and a strip of restaurants at which to eat.

About the black pork, apparently Kagoshima is known for its black pork, which is supposed to be highly prized pork meat. The meat, as you can tell, is not black, that name comes from the colour of the pigs themselves. The shabu shabu was goooood, especially the fatty pieces, although I don't know that I could honestly tell you (or distinguish) the difference between this and regular pork.

Sushi, Karato Ichiba Fish Market, Shimonoseki

2008-12-01T15:36:00.001-05:00

September 13, 2008
First sushi meal of the trip, comes 2 weeks into being in Japan. This was a decent meal, in Shimonseki, the place where Fugu (blowfish, made famous on the Simpsons) is most popular. This restaurant was a Kaiten sushi place, with a conveyer belt bringing sushi goodness past your seat. Also the option to ask the chefs for an order directly.

The meal was a bit difficult, given that there was no English, and I was running a little low on cash, but I managed. Kept it to just under 2000 yen, but didn't get completely full. The three shown here are (in order) whale, uni, and fugu. Whale was blubbery, uni was a tad sweet, and the fugu was tough. I don't think I experienced the best fugu there was to offer, unfortunately.

Okayama fruits, Some supermarket, Okayama

2008-11-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

September 12, 2008
Ok, I'm bad, I missed almost 2 weeks of posts. Oh well, time to start up again.

And we start with a random eating. I actually bought this stuff before I got to Hiroshima, but didn't eat it til I got to the capsule hotel I was staying at. We have two peaches that cost 500 yen, Muscat Grapes (Muscat of Alexandria, so-called Queen of Fruit) that cost the same, and Kibi Dango, basically sweet little balls of dough/gummy stuff, which were the awesome. I want.

Okonomiyaki, Sankanou, Hiroshima

2008-11-16T02:24:00.002-05:00

Sept 12, 2008
Small back-alley restaurant under the train tracks. The chef was the restaurant owner, and could speak pretty decent English. He also just started making the food for me without even an order, which was totally ok with me. It was Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki, which is different from the Osaka-style I had earlier. The difference mainly is a thinner layer of batter, on top of a bed of noodles and another bed of cabbage. I have to say I prefer Osaka-style. Nice guy, though, he gave me a present of some crackers and awesome sauce when I left.

Udon run, Chikusei +2, Takamatsu

2008-11-15T02:33:00.002-05:00

September 12, 2008
Before leaving Takamatsu, I just had to have a lot of udon, so I ended up hitting 3 restaurants for lunch before leaving. The first one I went to was not to helpful, so I didn't bother figuring out how to order other stuff, just had plain udon in soup, which is fine with me. The second place had much less people, but friendlier staff, so I got a tempura udon with the sauce-soup like the previous night. Nothing special there.

The third place was the more reputable one, Chikusei, which had a long lineup when I got there 10 minutes before it opened. It was like a tempura-buffet, with a lady in one corner constantly making tempura of all kinds, and bringing it over to the main counter, behind which people were making fresh udon. You basically can take whatever you want, and pay for it up top. So I had two tempura shrimp, two tempura soft-boiled eggs (!!!), and a regular bowl of noodles. Woulda went large, but I was filling up already. Heavenly. They need this in Toronto (or near wherever I live, always).

Toriten Oroshi Udon, Ajiyoshi, Takamatsu

2008-11-14T02:26:00.001-05:00

Sept 11, 2008
After the aggravation of Kochi, Takamatsu was superbly awesome. Takamatsu is known as "The Kingdom of Udon". There was actually a movie made about udon here. There are over 700 udon restaurants in the larger region of Kagawa, especially in Takamatsu. I also happen to frickin' love udon. Good combination.

Unfortunately, I was so worn down from walking in Kochi that I didn't want to go far at all, so I got a room at a real hotel (cost me just under 50 bucks, most expensive night for me) and rested up, so by the time I was ready to go grab something to eat, I looked at my udon map (yup, a map with alot of udon restaurants marked on it) and most places were closed. The "famous" one was a far ways away, and I had no energy to go search it out. Fortunately, there was one open a few blocks away, so I just went there.

No one in there, usually a bad sign, but they were friendly, and suggested this one, basically battered chicken over cold udon, no soup, just some sauce (like the sauce which you dip soba in). T'was awesome. Chicken was dark meat, udon was springy, soup-sauce was tasty. Amazing end to the day =)

Katsuo no Tataki, Matsumi, Kochi

2008-11-13T02:13:00.002-05:00

Sept 11, 2008
Being that this is Kochi, its a good time to mention that my interary is set day to day, looking up Japanese cities on wiki travel to see if they're famous for any food, then going to a "well-known" restaurant to eat said food. I'm learning my lessons, slowly, by missing food I want to eat cause I can't find a restaurant, or don't have a good map, or don't know when they're open. So I embark out of Kochi station armed with a map and knowing exactly where I want to go. I'll mention here that I tend to walk cause I'm cheap, even when I have to walk for half an hour, to save a buck, even though my ankle/back sucks, cause I gotta walk off the food somehow.

Anyways, I make my way down, looking for landmarks and streets that I can recognize, and can't find the frickin' place. So after about 40 minutes of walking, I stop and ask someone (in Japanese) where a certain street is. She looks at me and basically says... that's nowhere near here. I show her my map, and she tells me I walked the wrong way out of station, so I essentially walked the exact wrong direction. Turns out that the only visible door out of the station does not lead to Kochi, but in fact some other place. Lesson learned: don't assume that walking out the door is the direction of the map.

Anyhow, I walk allll the way back, and have to walk around the station to actually get to Kochi. By this time, I'm exhausted, so I just go find the first restaurant I can see and ask if they have what I'm looking for. They do, yay! So I eat. Katsuo no tataki is basically a type of sashimi (bonito) slightly seared on the outside before cutting it up. Solid, but walking all that way was aggravating to the point where I didn't enjoy it as much as I should've.

P.S. Turns out there's a massive fish on the outside of the restaurant that I didn't see when I walked in. So maybe this was the restaurant to go to after all. I'll never know.

Takoyaki, Tako Tako King, Osaka

2008-11-12T02:00:00.002-05:00

Sept 11, 2008
Technically on the 11th, I ate these at around 2:30 in the morning in Osaka before heading to bed. Had them with salt, with mayo/awesome sauce, and one other way I forget. Obviously best with awesome sauce. It's kinda crispy on the outside, and all gooey on the inside (with not much octopus). I liked the combination, but I can see how people might not enjoy.

Okonomiyaki, Chibo, Osaka

2008-11-11T01:56:00.001-05:00

Sept 10, 2008
Late night meal (after stuffing myself at lunch), in a crazy street-market-like place in Osaka. I really wanted to try okonomiyaki in Japan, after having it a couple times in Canada, and this did not disappoint. Pork, cuttlefish, shrimp, beef, and cheese on this batter-pancake thing topped with some sort of mayo and awesome-sauce (don't really care what the real name is called, it's hereby awesomesauce). Also cool is that each table has its own grill, so you have the option of making it yourself, or in my case, keeping it warm while you ate. At the risk of being repetitive, it was awesome.

Kohchin Miso Nikomi Udon, Yamamotoya, Nagoya

2008-11-10T01:48:00.000-05:00

Sept 10, 2008
This was the udon I was looking for. I ended up eating this about half an hour after I stuffed myself with the large portion of misokatsu. Shoulda planned that out better. Anyhow, Nikomi Udon with some sort of special chicken (which tasted, y'kno, like normal chicken). The udon itself wasn't the greatest, Nikomi udon is made with this super thick soup, almost like a sauce. Really overpowering, not in a good way, like the misokatsu, more in a bad way, like the tebasaki. Oh well, at least I tried it.

Misokatsu, Yabaton, Nagoya

2008-11-09T01:42:00.000-05:00

Sept 10, 2008
So this is the first place I went to the night before, got there nice and early in time for opening. There was a line before it opened, and it filled up fast, so good thing I got there early. Simply put, it was the same kind of taste as the misokushkatsu, except not on a stick. I really like this red miso sauce that they have in Nagoya.

As a side note, Nagoya was the first time that I encountered locals who could speak English since Tokyo. The first was the lady that helped me the night before, and the second was one of the chefs (seemed like the boss) behind the counter. Very friendly, told me to come by anytime I was in town, very proud of his product. He inadvertently called my manhood into question, though ; when I was debating which to get, the normal or the fatty kind, he said, "I think if you are a man, you get the fatty kind".

Tebasaki and Misokushkatsu, Yamachan, Nagoya

2008-11-08T01:28:00.001-05:00

Sept 9, 2008
So I've got two restaurants I'm looking for in Nagoya, one misokatsu (miso pork cutlet) place and one udon place. I leave my capsule hotel at around 8:30, walk to the misokatsu place by 9, and its closed. Then I consult my map and see the udon place nearby, go there, and its closed. So I consult the map again, find a new place, need to ask a local to help me find it, and its closed. Gah.

The local very nicely suggests this place, kind of a drinking place, with Nagoya snacks like tebasaki (the chicken wings, with some special spices) and misokushkatsu, basically misokatsu on a stick =P. I go in, it's open (yay!) but full, so I just get takeout. Go back to the hotel, I'm told no food in the hotel. So I go to a mcdonald's, buy a drink, sit down, and am told its closing....

SO, I finally sit down on the metal steps in front of my hotel, and eat there at around 11:30. The tebasaki was ok, I wasn't a big fan of the spices they used. The misokushkatsu, on the other hand, was the most amazing taste ever, I was blown away, probably cause I was so dang hungry at the time. Don't even know how to describe it... like regular pork cutlet, but smothered in some sort of miso-msg concoction (not that there was msg, that's just the best comparison I can think of).

Miso Soft Serve, Suyakame, Nagano

2008-11-07T01:26:00.002-05:00

Sept 9, 2008
Miso Soft Serve. Kinda salty, but sweet at the same time. Weird =P

Thanks to Grace for helping me figure out the name of this place

Temprura Sarashina Soba, Daimaru, Nagano

2008-11-06T17:24:00.001-05:00

Sept 9, 2008
Fresh buckwheat soba in Nagano. This store had someone making soba in the store window out front, so that was pretty cool to watch too. I never really got into the cold soba noodles before coming to Japan, but it was solid, and definitely something I'll consider more at restaurants back home. The dry seaweed on top was a nice touch.

Butter Corn Ramen, Ezokko Ramen, Sapporo

2008-11-05T15:09:00.001-05:00

Sept 8, 2008

Late at night, before I boarded an overnight train back to Tokyo, thus ending the northern Japan portion of my trip, I managed to get to eat Sapporo specialty butter corn ramen. Not much to say, other than the soup already looks kinda greasy, and that's before the butter is melted in. Heart-stopping goodness.

Oh yeah.. Jonny would like this a LOT.

Soup Curry, L☆Voice, Asahikawa

2008-11-04T16:45:00.001-05:00

Sept 8, 2008
Was supposed to have some ramen, since Asahikawa is known for its ramen. Also stopped by a Ghengis Khan bbq place, but ultimately decided to take the plunge at this place, even though soup curry is better known in other parts of Hokkaido. The curry was a strong taste, pretty decent, but tastebud-killing kind of spice. Ended up being the only person in the restaurant the whole time, served by a young-ish women. Kind of akward. When I left, though, she saw me to the door and held a deep bowed position while I went down the stairs and left (I turned around at the bottom and saw her still bowing). Maybe this wasn't the best place to try soup curry, but at the end of it all, I was glad I ate there. Hardcore experience.

Asahikawa, btw, was the first to earn "Dang, I wish I lived here/I wanna live here some day" status. It's also supposed to be the coldest city in Japan =P

Squid Ramen, Shesheke, Hakodate

2008-11-03T16:31:00.001-05:00

Sept 8, 2008
Hakodate, known for its squid, and more importantly its squid ramen made with squid stock. Had to walk around for a bit looking for a specific restaurant, but couldn't find it, so had to stop in at the first place that offered it. Was ok, I guess, not a big fan of squid though, and the soup didn't taste anything special. Then when I was walking back to the station, I found the restaurant I was originally looking for. It was a small thing on the other side of the street, so I didn't bother looking. Grr.

Hakodate, btw, a southern port city in Hokkaido. Spent a total of less than 24 hours in Hokkaido, but I still managed to get to 3 cities, as far up as the middle of the island.

Apple, Itayanagi

2008-11-02T16:15:00.002-05:00

Sept 8, 2008
An apple. Had this on the train after I ran for 10 minutes (with a crappy back) to make it, with no water either, right after I woke up. Grabbed it from the church I was staying at the night before, and apples are supposed to be Itayanagi's speciality. I suppose it's a good time to mention that this city is the start of 24 more cities (other than Tokyo) in which I try to eat the specialty of said city. The apple was good and juicy... but it was still an apple =P

Pork Cutlet Sandwich, Tokyo Station, Tokyo

2008-11-01T16:13:00.003-04:00

Sept 7, 2008
Yep, Pork Cutlet Sandwich. I just wanna say how much more awesome Japanese takeout food is than what we can get here. Also, I had Onigiri with it, which I didn't take a picture of for some reason. But that is also the awesome.

Gyoza, Gyoza stadium!!!, Ikebukuro, Tokyo

2008-10-31T02:56:00.002-04:00

Sept 6, 2008
This is why I love Japan. They have what's known as food theme parks. This one that I managed to find in a mall in Ikebukuro has Gyoza Stadium, Ice Cream City, and a couple other things. For the Japanese speaker, there were rides and other stuff for kids to do, including solving a mystery.

Back to the important stuff, the dumplings. They brought in 8-10 well known gyoza makers, and had them all set up shop. Their photo/portrait hung at the top of their stall, iron-chef style, as they all compete to bring in customers. Some were busy, some were sadly empty, but I managed to try stuff from 4 different places. There were two kinds of standard pork, one with shrimp, and one with cheese. I suppose it would have been better with more people, cause then you can try more kinds of dumplings =P. Fairly pricey, around 500 yen for each serving, plus 300 yen to get into the theme park itself.

Tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo

2008-10-30T02:41:00.002-04:00

Sept 6, 2008
Tempura prawn. They chef deep-fried the legs as well, it was kinda cool. Usually don't eat the legs, but what the heck.

Scallop (one honkin' big one) and clam (recommended by my grandma). The scallop was ok, interesting that it's kinda raw in the middle, though, and the clam was somehow stuffed, as there was some kind of carbs under the tempura "skin". In retrospect, maybe it was just batter that got stuck in there and didn't get exposed to the oil. It was a good addition, though.

Unagi. It was interesting watching the chef prepare this one, as he took out the spine? before battering and frying the eel. The circle thing there is what I think is the spine, he just deep-fried that directly. Kind of like a chip, pretty cool =)

What I was looking forward to, tempura ice cream. The last time I had it, was late at night back in high school, and just kinda ate it straight. This time, got to sit down and eat it, and figured out the trick. It's covered in some sort of thin batter/skin before it's dunked. Maybe it's just because I was younger, or just memories, but the last time I had it, I remembered it being dunked and brought out immediately, kinda like a flash-fry, and the mix of hot and cold was better. This time was ok, but not up to my memory's par.

Anyhow, this was the frickin' place that was closed the first night, so I had to come back the next day. Ultimately kinda undsatisfying, especially since I decided to order a la carte and the meal (just the 5 items above) ended up costing me 3680 yen. They say Japan is expensive, but really, this was the only time I felt ripped off.

Pizza, La Verde, Shinjuku, Tokyo

2008-10-29T02:30:00.002-04:00

Sept 5, 2008
First night by myself, in Tokyo, and I had pizza. Reason being the first two restaurants that I wanted to eat at were closed, and by that time (11pm) I was so hungry I went to the first place open that I saw. Also, I hadn't had pizza in over a month, two months if you don't count the time we taught our students in Kyrgyzstan how to make pizza (I'll post that one later).

Prosciutto, mushrooms, and eggs. Perfect start to 2 weeks of food-touring in Japan. (Okinawa didn't really count towards my "tour", since it was with family)

Rin Grill, Laguna Garden Hotel, Okinawa

2008-10-28T02:26:00.001-04:00

Sept 4, 2008
Sirloin steak, ultra fatty, ultra good

Kochuten, Laguna Garden Hotel, Okinawa

2008-10-27T02:16:00.007-04:00

Sept 3, 2008
Crab-foo young. I may not love shellfish, but I don't mind it bathing in creamy-egg sauce.

Now THIS is good peking duck!

Sharks-fin chawanmushi. It's little more than regular chawanmushi topped with some sharks-fin, but it's still pretty good.

Okinawan Food, an-non, Laguna Garden Hotel, Okinawa

2008-10-26T01:58:00.006-04:00

Sept 2, 2008
Goya, or bittermelon. Not the best-tasting stuff in the world, but not as bad as I had heard.

Tofu and Pork ears. Tofu was made with some sort of peanut starch and hardened, pretty solid =P. Pork ears were crunchy.

Some interesting seaweed soup, and a dumpling made of taro stuffed with pork.

Also, all the stuff down below got updated, and I got bored with the rating system, so it's probably not coming back.

Japan updates

2008-09-07T08:51:00.002-04:00

... To come after I return to Toronto. No time here =P

Breakfast Buffet, Ritz Carlton, Sanya

2008-09-01T09:04:00.003-04:00

Rating here

Aug 29-Sept 1, 2008
Eggs, dumplings, dim sum, almond croissant, mango danish, bacon.... the best of both breakfast worlds. Ate at this buffet for the four mornings we were here.

Goat and Veal, Pearl, Sanya

2008-08-31T08:51:00.006-04:00

Rating here

Aug 30-31, 2008

The veal, on top, was damn tender. The goat tasted like brisket. Solid stuff all around.

Mango Sago and Glutinous Rice Roll, Lucky Desserts, Hong Kongky Roll

2008-08-27T08:48:00.004-04:00

Rating Here

Aug 23 + 27, 2008

Was at this place twice, because the top picture wasn't available when I was there the first time. So much mango, so good. Somehow, though, I think the glutinous rice rolls would be better (Thank you for the name, Joanna) if it were mango paste instead of one chunk.

Jok, Ho Hong Gei, Hong Kong

2008-08-27T08:44:00.006-04:00

Rating Here

Aug 27, 2008
Jok (is that the right english literal spelling?) at my Dad's favourite place. It wasn't over the top amazing, but the you tiao (mandarin literal) was awesome deep-fried crispy goodness.

Crab, Some restaurant, Hong Kong

2008-08-26T08:38:00.005-04:00

Rating Here

Aug 26, 2008
Fancy expensive crab. I actually don't like crab. I guess this post is just here to say that this is probably the last time a shellfish shows up on this blog =P

Pigeons, Long Wah, Hong Kong

2008-08-25T14:12:00.004-04:00

Rating here

Aug 25, 2008
Pigeons! Either roasted or in soya-sauce (see-yau?). I like how they left the heads on, so it's looking at you. Teddy said it was like eating a baby. Good times.

Sharkfin-filled porkballs, Lok Yuen, Hong Kong

2008-08-25T14:07:00.003-04:00

Rating here

Aug 23, 2008
From the place that makes the supposed best beefballs in the world.

Peking Duck, Xi He Ya Ju, Beijing

2008-08-19T03:38:00.001-04:00

Rating here

Aug 19, 2008
Peking duck in Beijing. As opposed to Canada, where it's typical 2-3 course, they gave 3 small plates of skin/meat (2 pictured) and a whole lot of condiments (sugar, sauces, veggies).

McDonald's, Olympic Park, Beijing

2008-08-18T12:16:00.004-04:00

Rating Here

Aug 17, 2008
Yes, yes, McDonald's in Beijing, at the Olympics no less. But inside the park itself (closed to outsiders without tickets), the only other option was "rice box" for 20 RMB, and didn't look appetizing at all... so my cousin and I opted for McDonald's @ 49 RMB combined.

Had to walk 10 minutes each way and wait another 20 for the food, though. Lines were crazy long.

Xia Long Bao - Din Tai Fung, Beijing

2008-08-16T03:43:00.004-04:00

Rating here

Aug 16, 2008
Had it once before with my grandpa in Japan (it was the only thing we ordered). 2 orders x 10 each this time around, got to eat 7, and would have eaten more. I believe each order was 47 RMB

Intro

2008-08-16T03:37:00.000-04:00

I'm traveling for a month. Here, I will post pictures of some of the food I eat, plus a "rating". Because of the, er, uniqueness of the system, I am thinking of putting those on a separate linked page.

I may also go into the archive and pull up some awesome eats from the past.