Japan food blog: Kuidaore!

I have to admit, one of the main reasons we went to Osaka was to experience the food culture there. Osakans have something called "kuidaore" which roughly translates to "to ruin one's self with food and drink."



We stayed in the Shinsekai neighborhood. Now, the main area for people to walk around, shop and eat is Dotonbori. We actually preferred our seedy little neighborhood, so we spent the night hopping from restaurant to restaurant, eating a ton of great food and drinking rounds.



I did insist we go to Dotonbori to hit up Kani Doraku, a crab restaurant famous for it's giant mechanical crab out front. They grill legs right on the street, and they were so damn good!





We also tried takoyaki while we were there, which was also fabulous. Again, street vendors! If you're in a foreign place, just try them. The takoyaki were awesome, full of gooey octopus deliciousness on the inside.







I loved Osaka; it has a way more chill, fun vibe than Tokyo, and awesome food to boot, which never hurts.

Japan food blog: the great, round two

I had to break up my favorite food experiences into two posts, because otherwise it would just have been too long.



On the first morning, we headed out of the hotel early in search of breakfast, and found a tiny, slightly grubby looking restaurant near the Minami-Senju station in Tokyo. This became one of our home bases for breakfast (they were only open in the mornings) while we were there. As a matter of fact, Scott still often will wake up and say, "I wish I could go to that place in Tokyo right now."



There were a few long tables set up, a small kitchen in the back, and a few shelves with plates full of the samples of what they had available that morning. It was typically things like salmon, steamed veggies, fried potato pancakes, and served with sides of miso and rice. Not the typical American breakfast, but superior in so many ways. Sure, I still had to go to McDonald's for a (as much as possible) proper cup of coffee after, but this little place will always epitomize mornings in Tokyo for me.

If I had to give a tip to someone traveling to Japan for the first time regarding food, it would be to hit up the street food stalls. I'll go into it more once I get to the Osaka post, but let me tell you now, some of the best munchies I had were from street vendors. Don't know what it is? Try it anyway, especially if there's a line.

Outside a temple, Tokyo:



The only thing I didn't manage to get my hands on from a stall is a baked yam. I kick myself to this day for it! This lady was selling them outside the big Buddha in Nara; she caught me taking her picture and was none to pleased. If she only knew my displeasure at missing out on her yams...

Japan food blog: the, err, intersting

While most of the food we had in Japan was absolutely fantastic (hello, best sashimi breakfast ever!) some of it definitely is an acquired taste.

There was really only one restaurant we ate at that I would class as meh. We had headed to Shibuya to do the whole tourist thing and ended up eating there. This is what I refer to as our Bizarre Foods portion of the trip: we ate pretty much every part of a chicken, and some other different snacks I'll honestly probably never try again.

Appetizer- some sort of oragan meat and veggies (this was also served as a first course at several other restaurants as well; this was ok, but not the best variation I tried):



We had no idea what we were ordering, and in retrospect, I'm still not sure what some of it was. Next, we were served noodles with benito flakes on top. The noodles were ramen like and mixed with veggies almost like a chow mien. The unsettling thing about this dish were the flakes; as they heated from the steam coming off the noodles, they writhed around like live worms. Other than that, it was ok.



We sampled some kind of fried chicken part (super rubbery, so it had to be some kind of organ) and roasted eel spines. I fancy myself to be quite an adventurous eater, but I'd have to say no thanks if I were presented with them again.

Pretty, but what is it?



Eel spines anyone?



Finally, the main course! I believe we have here chicken yakitori. Let's try to remember what chewy bits we were eating: I think it's yolk, fat, gizzard, heart, white meat/dark meat, liver (yes please!), wings and skin.



So as far as "bad" goes, it really wasn't all that terrible. Honestly, I'd much rather eat there again than say, KFC. I guess it's just the worst in comparison with the rest of what we ate while abroad.

Japan food blog: the great

We traveled to Japan in the fall of last year, and just had the time of our lives. Obviously a major draw of visiting Japan is the food, and we were definitely not disapointed in that aspect.
So here I bring to you the very best of our Tokyo food experience (the bad and the other [kuidaore anyone?]) are coming to follow. I'm going to eventually hide the majority of this behind a cut since it's massively pic heavy; right now my html is not cooperating and I'm mad so you'll have to settle for an ugly post til then!.






Far and away, our favorite restaurant was one down the street from our hotel in Minami-Senju, Tokyo. There they served mizutaki, which is basically chicken and veggies simmered in dashi broth right at your table. The hostess/owner and chef were just lovely. They helped us make sure we were cooking it right, and each and every time we went, the chef brought Aiden out some sort of prize, from books to special pastries.



The food itself was amazing. We've tried repeatedly to reproduce this at home and just can't get it right. Guess I'll have to go back soon instead, oh wells.



This is ponzu sauce with egg in it for dipping. When the boiling hot chicken and veggies get dipped in, the egg cooks:







Coming up: the not so great things we tried, and gluttony in Osaka! For my entire Japan experience, see my main blog at http://superloryn.blogspot.com/.