fatmanfoo

The cafe entrance I have to admit it, the first time I ever tasted, or actually, even heard of a flat white, was in Penang airport in Malaysia, of all places.  The cafe I had it at?  McCafe, if you can believe it.  Ever since, I've been trying to have flat whites everywhere and anywhere I can. Now I have McDonald's brewed coffee every now and again, especially when I'm in a rush-  there's one on my way to work and it is cheap, costing only 100 yen.  Sometimes I even get free coffee there as they hand out vouchers at the station.  Unfortunately, they don't have flat whites here in Tokyo at McCafe. Flat whites were invented in Australia and New Zealand and is an espresso based drink. It's similar to the latte or cappuccino in the sense that it has steamed milk, but the end result is quite different.  It has a thicker, more velvety texture as the steamed milk is more creamy and less foamy and is folded into the coffee. Generally, as far as I k...

Trying a different sort of blog post... instead of a restaurant review, I'm gonna recommend one single item that I feel stands out in a specific category, whether it be a drink, snack, main dish, or whatever... so here we go. I'll call them Jerome's Picks. Today's choice is : Aburi Engawa あぶりエンガワ Aburi Engawa from 活寿司 Katsu Sushi in Ikebukuro Seibu This is the torched fin portion of white fish such as hirame or karei  (flounder). It's not always on the menu everywhere you go, but if you do see it, try it.  If you don't see it, ask for it-  there is always a chance that they have it. Why am I recommending it?

A little while ago, a friend of mine brought me to this interesting coffee shop tucked away in the backstreets of the trendy Omotesando shopping area. Apparently, it was recommended to her by her hairdresser. http://ooo-koffee.com/menu/ http://ooo-koffee.com/about/ As you may garner from the interesting and somewhat minimalist website design, it is kind of a unique spot and you can tell that a lot of effort as been put into designing the details. The place itself is not a traditional coffee shop. One might call it a coffee bar, but then there is the fact that it seems to be in someone's living room.  And that living room is a Japanese-style tatami mat room, complete with a counter equipped with an espresso machine. As a result, there is no real place to sit- there are a couple of stools outside in the garden but a lot of customers drink standing or do take out orders. This is what it looks like: I wish my living room had one of these. And this is what the coffee lo...

It is perhaps not a well-known fact that burgers are quite popular in Japan. Now, I am not talking about the big fast food chains (Mcdonald's, Mos burger, Freshness burger, etc.), which are popular in their own right, but 'gourmet burgers'. These burgers can unfortunately run on the expensive side (around and upwards of 1000yen), but this is a function of the ingredients used to make them, such as buns made in house, self-smoked bacon, and organic vegetables. I've visited a number of these gourmet burger joints, but one that I frequent more often than others is FIRE HOUSE ( http://www.firehouse.co.jp/the_burger.html ). I must admit, this is mostly because of its proximity to my workplace, but they do have seriously good burgers. They have a nice selection of burgers and sandwiches for when you need your 'fix'. Their plates come with a choice of fries or chips (and a gherkin) and their menu also includes soup and salad items. The restaurant itself is on t...