fatmanfoo

Sometimes you need something quick, tasty and filling.  Yesterday's dinner was one of those occasions for me. Japanese 洋食, or "western-food" is something that I usually associate with that. Some examples of youshoku include ハンバーグ, or hamburger patty, various type of breaded and deep fried cutlets and croquettes, omelettes, omrice(egg-wrapped fried rice ), and other kinds of flavorful, filling dishes. One of my favourites is omrice, prepared just so (not the same restaurant): Doesn't it look so good (I hope to review that restaurant one day... it is in Kyoto, watch other videos on the dude's youtube channel for more 洋食 videos)!! Anyways, Japanese curry, mayonnaise, demi-glace, mustard and sauce "ソース"(a sweet and sour almost Worcestershire sauce style condiment) are just a few of the flavours that often make an appearance. Usually these meals can be found as teishoku(定食), or meal sets, and come with a miso soup, some kind of salad or veg, ...

Continued from my earlier post about Bon-chan, The yakitori itself was also good, as expected. It might not have been the best that I have ever had, but it was well-seasoned and each skewer was skillfully grilled and beautifully plated. We started off with the negima (ねぎま), chicken thigh meat with Japanese long onion between the pieces of meat, and proceeded to have liver, neck meat, heart, gizzard, ginko nuts, cartilage, cartilage and meat meatballs (tsukune, つくね). We also had bacon-wrapped cherry tomatoes, and shishitou(ししとう), a small type of green pepper. When you order at a yakitori place, you generally have the option to get each skewer seasoned with salt(shio, 塩) or with a sweet sauce (tare, タレ), although some places offer more flavours. Often you can also find additional seasonings in a small tray on your table, usually some kind of spicy seasoning, some soy sauce and other kinds of spices which you can dip your yakitori in.  Personally, I like to go with salt ...

If you are reading this blog, you probably already have an idea of what yakitori is.  If not, the title gives you a brief explanation. Chicken on a stick. One of the oldest ways of cooking meat known to man. Most cultures have their own variation of this- satay, souvlaki, kebab, churrasco- and Japan is no exception. One of the things which sets Japanese yakitori apart from the others, is the sheer variety of things on the menu and the parts of chicken used. From shiitake mushrooms, bacon wrapped asparagus, quail eggs and ginko nuts to skewers with grilled chicken skin, gizzard, heart, liver or cartilage .. the list goes on. The good places grill it front of you and it arrives hot on your plate. Also available are a selection of non-grilled dishes, including appetizers, salads, soups and rice dishes. Recently, a friend of mine visited me in Tokyo and asked me to take her and her family for some yakitori.  Of course, I was happy to do so, and searching on the int...

As far as blog posts go, this is one of the main topics that I will be covering- my experiences with food in Japan and Tokyo. For the last few years, I have been based in Tokyo, and it has been a great opportunity for me to learn about and experience Japanese food culture.  Having spent several years working at a Japanese restaurant before arriving in Japan, I was under the impression that I knew a lot about Japanese food. Upon my arrival here, I realized that my understanding of Japanese food culture had been limited - how food is thought about, its availability and quality, the pains taken to procure ingredients, how and how much food is marketed, were all a real eye-openers. One hears that prices of food in Japan are high, but that is definitely not always the case. Many items can be found at a reasonable price, although that being said, there is no upper limit to how much you can pay. Living in Tokyo has also opened my eyes to foods from many other countries. Almost everyth...

Well, it has been a long time coming, but it is time to finally get this thing up and running. I suppose discipline will be what finally gets this off the ground but I am confident I can make it work. I love good food, all aspects of it. What I also love is good food that is healthy. Even more than that, good food which is healthy, and reasonably priced. Organic ingredients, locally grown, all of that is great too. Of course, it is not always possible to find all of that in one package... actually, it is not common at all.  One can't think about health all the time... Anyways, this blog will be a platform where I can try to talk about food, as I see it. I hope to share information on ingredients, restaurants, drinks, recipes, photos... and just speak my thoughts in general. Please join my in discussing food and don't hesitate to comment! (I thought that I should include a picture for my first post so picked up one that I had lying around on my hard drive-  thes...