Thursday, December 4, 2008

Eating out in Tokyo

We ate out twice during our stay in Tokyo. First we ate at a fusion restaurant. I had the seasoned fish:Literally, I had the fish. No bread basket, no side of vegetables, no potato option. A mound of scraggly vegetables and potato shavings blanketed the palm-sized portion.


Eric ordered the chicken curry:


He was surprised to find the meat still on the bone! I found the plump bright-yellow yolk to be remarkable. Japanese hens must eat a rich diet!


The last night we ate at a typical mom-and-pop establishment near our hosts' home.


Mushroom caps and fresh chicken were on display:


Speaking of uncooked meats, the restaurant served raw liver. Considering the toxins processed in the liver, I had no appetite for that specialty.


We ordered a series of random dishes.
Fried chicken:

Onions:

Green peppers (yes, I know, really simple stuff!) &
Stew of chives, potatoes, turnips, chicken skins, and grizzled meat:
Needless to say, I ate my real dinner when we returned home.

The next day we were in a rush so we purchased bento boxes, sushi, and rice wraps from the local supermarket:

The ingredients - salmon, chicken, rice, vegetables, tofu, egg - were quite healthy. However, like most Japanese food, it was a bit salty, and the portions were small. I really think I would lose weight if I had to eat Japanese style. Fortunately, I ate both before and after our Japanese meals! I think I have a diet book in the making here.


We concluded our Japanese food experience with in flight bento boxes:

Because of our Japanese weekend, I was more open-minded about the food. I actually opened the bento box and tried the sweet rice cake. On our flight to Japan, I didn't even break the box seal!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Gosh, I hope you didn't pay too much for that first meal... the chicken doesn't look cooked enough.. and I feel bad you had that meal.. but it was an experience. I do like the bento box meals.. they seem like gift boxes of little food experiences. I am envious of your Japan trip! Love, Mom

Colleen said...

hey mandy, this is colleen and jay. we are newly embracing our foody natures and are planning a weekly saturday trip to a korean restaurant to be selected later. want to go sometime? check this link for a whole grip of recommended korean restaurants http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FO/FO_EN_6_4_1.jsp

Rebecca said...

What are the items in that box? One looks like caviar and one looks like some sort of shellfish tail. Interesting. I'll have to ask Dr. Sato about bento boxes!