It's already 2011. Happy New Year!!! The latter part of last year have been really crazy for me, it still is. Anyway, it should not be an excuse not to blog. Especially since blogging might as well be a relaxing respite from the hullabaloo of a student's life. Not to mention that I haven't posted anything in such a long time.
I have been browsing through my pictures looking for something interesting, and here's some bits and pieces that I'm gonna try to ram into this one post. And they are all about FOOD!!!
Ask foreigners what their favorite Japanese food and most would answer "Sushi!"Why not? They are totally delicious! And you just have to wonder at the different variations there are. Sushi restaurants in Japan abound (of course!). One plate like this costs ¥100, pretty cheap if I may say so. Go to a sushi restaurant and you will find each table filled with stacked plates. In one of the restaurants I went to, you can even play a game using the plates. There's this bin where you put in 5 of your used plates and you will get a chance to play a game at the computer. If you're lucky you get one toy for a prize.
You can also buy sushi at supermarkets. And they come in pretty packages, as most of the items in any Japanese store. They really make a big deal out of packaging things, which has its pluses and minuses.
Which moves us to another big thing here in Japan, the bento box! A bento box is a packed lunch or dinner...it's packed food ready to go. Bentos can be bought in supermarkets and combinis. But the arrangements in these types of bentos are pretty simple. Bentos made by Moms for their kids are more elaborate than these, and more artistic. The presentation I guess, is supposed to cheer on anybody who is supposed to eat it, and i supposed to boost also their appetite. Their seriousness in making these bento boxes can be seen in the various paraphernalia for making bentos available in the kitchen departments/sections of malls and stores. There are different cutting tools: moulding trays, knives of different sizes and for different purposes, shapers for this and that, scissors, etc. Most of these I haven't seen and used. From a talk with one Mom, she said that bentos can also be the point of discussion for Moms waiting for their kids in school, or during PTA meetings, or something. She added that it can sometimes be some sort of a competition for Moms as they try to best each other's bento.
You can also find a lot of fried food in supermarkets. So for the lazy ones or for those who don't have much time to cook, or for those who just really love fried food, there's a section of it in all supermarkets. They have fried chicken, karaage (term for breaded chicken balls), tempura (veggies or fish), corn dogs, sausages, potatoes, etc.
They also seem to favor custard cream and beans. Most of the rice-based cakes are stuffed with beans. Even pancakes are stuffed with beans. And then there's plenty of bread and cakes stuffed with custard cream too. This is one of them, shaped into a fish, this bread could be either filled with beans or custard.
During summer, famous all around is the shaved ice. This is their version of what we call "halo-halo" in the Philippines. In here though, I found out that although they have different flavors or variations to it, mostly you would find shaved ice topped with fruit syrup, and that is already at ¥300! Doing simple math, I could already have 3 giant Philippine halo-halo with that price! Not to mention that each bowl of halo-halo would be filled with lots of fruits and whathaveyous. At a combini, I liked the ramune-flavored shaved ice though. It's topped with soft cream, and there's some glazed fruits inside.
Come winter time, the nabe is a favorite. Nabe is a concoction of vegetables and meat. Actually, you can pretty much add in anything you want. Basically though, you would need a big pot, over a mini stove set on the table. When the soup stock boils, all the other ingredients are put in and in just a few minutes everybody digs in. The idea is to fill in the pot with the veggies and meat now and then, until everybody has taken their fill. You could also put in noodles, some seafoods. There's a lot of combinations possible. You can buy ready made soup stock (in different flavors) in supermarkets, then just choose your own combination of meat and veggies and you're ready for a nabe party!
Okay, talking about food just made me hungry. So at this point, I'm putting an end to this post. Note however that this is Part 1 of how many posts I am not sure. I am sure though that I like...no scratch that...I love FOOD!
During summer, famous all around is the shaved ice. This is their version of what we call "halo-halo" in the Philippines. In here though, I found out that although they have different flavors or variations to it, mostly you would find shaved ice topped with fruit syrup, and that is already at ¥300! Doing simple math, I could already have 3 giant Philippine halo-halo with that price! Not to mention that each bowl of halo-halo would be filled with lots of fruits and whathaveyous. At a combini, I liked the ramune-flavored shaved ice though. It's topped with soft cream, and there's some glazed fruits inside.
Okay, talking about food just made me hungry. So at this point, I'm putting an end to this post. Note however that this is Part 1 of how many posts I am not sure. I am sure though that I like...no scratch that...I love FOOD!
Which moves us to another big thing here in Japan, the bento box! A bento box is a packed lunch or dinner...it's packed food ready to go. Bentos can be bought in supermarkets and combinis. But the arrangements in these types of bentos are pretty simple. Bentos made by Moms for their kids are more elaborate than these, and more artistic. The presentation I guess, is supposed to cheer on anybody who is supposed to eat it, and i supposed to boost also their appetite. Their seriousness in making these bento boxes can be seen in the various paraphernalia for making bentos available in the kitchen departments/sections of malls and stores. There are different cutting tools: moulding trays, knives of different sizes and for different purposes, shapers for this and that, scissors, etc. Most of these I haven't seen and used. From a talk with one Mom, she said that bentos can also be the point of discussion for Moms waiting for their kids in school, or during PTA meetings, or something. She added that it can sometimes be some sort of a competition for Moms as they try to best each other's bento.
