The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[randombs]

I'm an Indian (you don't say) and when other Indians/Pakistanis ask me what Japanese food is like, I'll usually tell them they probably won't like it. I find our lot lean more towards Chinese/Thai food as we're familiar with the tons of sauce and chillis and whatnot, and lots of flavour.

I like Japanese food because (at least with the dishes I've had so far) it causes me to be a bit patient and to appreciate each individual flavour a bit more, let it linger awhile before moving on.

I could easily get fed up of it if I had too much of it, so over here in London I won't eat it often (maybe once a month or less), and even in Japan I tended to usually just hit Mos Burger, etc, as I'd always spend almost a good half-hour at a Ramen shop completely out of breath trying to slurp a meal that the regular patrons can down in five minutes

So with Japanese food, I like it but I usually need to be in the mood for it. As my palate matures I'm sure I'll come to love it even more, and I haven't even scraped the surface, but as it stands I'll eat anything once (I had cold chicken feet at a Chinese restaurant a few months ago which was a bit agonising, but I managed the whole foot. Never again, though!) and am always interested in trying new things - you should see people's faces when I tell them how delicious Somalian spaghetti bolognese with a banana is!

I read an article in Newsweek (I think it was NW anyway) by this food specialist who said we no longer want to eat for the pleasure of eating - the taste sensations, the layers, etc - and I took that to heart and now food is a lot more fun.

[kryss]

I'm a massive fan of Matsuya(松屋)'s Gyuu-meshi (that's 牛めし on the machines), Yoshinoya(吉野家)'s Gyuu suki nabe, Sukiya(すき家)'s "cheese hamburger curry" and Hokka hokka tei(ほっかほっか亭)'s tendon (天丼).
None of which are bland, but all but the curry have very subtle flavours. Some may not appreciate that, but everyone is entitled to an opinion.

[teddymeow]

Kryss, thanks for putting the kana names for the various restaurants up. I've eaten at Yoshinoya but didn't really think much of it to be honest. It certainly was super cheap though!

Are the other restaurants you mention chains? If so I'll find them and try the dishes you recommended next year.

I want to try and find a Jangara Ramen too. I've seen loads of people raving about it on various blogs and forums with many of them saying it's the best! Can anyone shed some light on this place?

First night is still going to be Katsu-don though. I think it is definitely may favourite!

[Anpanman]

Been interesting reading the posts & I tend to agree with most of the points.

I do like Japanese for the most part though my fave is Malaysian which is difficult to get over here so I’d say Indian for me is the tops.
Of the Japanese dishes I like tantanmen, tonkatsu and shabu shabu best but okonomiyaki does nothing for me at all.

Home cooking for me is where it’s at, the mother-in-law does some great stuff and so does the wife, we eat Japaneasy stuff at least three times a week at home and it’s all of a quality I would easily go out and pay for – fantastic.

Though as Yoraths Mullet says, after a long visit to Japan I’m aching for something from home like anything pie wise or half a cow between two slabs of bread and a couple of bricks of butter.

[DeathAdder]

As for the comment about Washoku being bland.. English food is reknowned for it's blandness!

Oh well, what was I thinking then? If English food is reknowned for its blandness, that can only mean that Washoku is bursting with flavour.

The world and his wife could agree that English food is the ****est in the world, and I would still think that Japanese food is bland compared to most world cuisine's that I've tried.

[r3z]

LOL.. exactly, compared with typical English food that most of us eat on a daily basis anything else is a breathe of fresh air, and there is plenty more variety within Washoku even if they don't use so many different spices/flavours as other types of food.

[kryss]

I miss chip shop chips. That's it. Most of the food I cook at home is similar to what I would have had back in Wales anyway. Except I have to suffer american beef as Japanese is way out of my daily budget and British is impossible to come by.

teddymeow: all are restaurants except hokka hokka tei, which is only takeaway.

[Darwock]

Love: Korokke (yes it's basically potato croquettes so not Japanese but here you get huge variety of fillings - crab cream, pumpkin, cheese, you name it I love it)

Miss: Yorkshire puddings. Frozen peas.

[kryss]

You can get frozen peas in Shop99/LawsonValue i think...

[Darwock]

You can get frozen peas in Shop99/LawsonValue i think...

Really? All I've had here was peas that came in a little plastic pouch (wtf!) and they were rock hard.. gross. Nothing less than Birds Eye Petit Pois will do for me I'm afraid.

[Richard.John]

There is an Irish Pub in Ginza that does a good Shepherds Pie. I was surprised by it's tastiness. Yorkshire pudding, what a mouth watering prospect.

[teddymeow]

A friend took us to an Izakaya in Shibuya and the entrance was next to an import supermarket. Would they do peas?

[kryss]

Probably not, just cheese, wine and Hawaiian coffee.

[DeathAdder]

I've come across 2 Tescos in Japan so far. Both of them had a couple of shelves of English stuff and the rest of the shop was all Japanese food. However, the English food did have baked beans in amongst all the shortbread.

Try National Azabu in Hirou for your frozen peas. That is the best international supermarket I have seen in Tokyo.

[DeathAdder]

There is an Irish Pub in Ginza that does a good Shepherds Pie. I was surprised by it's tastiness. Yorkshire pudding, what a mouth watering prospect.

If you're in Tokyo and fancy a roast, the Tavern in Meguro does a pricey but otherwise good all-you-can-eat Sunday lunch. It's very much an old man's pub and certainly not the place for a fun Friday night, but being unable to cook roasts myself, Sunday lunches there are quite nice once in a while.