Tokyo Treats :: Week 1

The eater has landed! My new IP address causes my Blogger account to display in Japanese, so please be patient as I figure things out. I've only been here for 3 days but I wanted to throw up a quick post so everyone (all 4 of you) can see that I've arrived safe and soundly. First things first, airplane food is just awful. Seriously - please do not serve people Salmon Cream Pasta with a Ranch Dressing Salad and Seafood Curry on a 10 hours flight. Yick.

My first meal in Tokyo was from the local grocery store. I picked up some white rice, potato salad and ham and cheese croquettes. J-peeps love croquettes and there is good reason. They use panko crumbs so there is a nice crisp crust that soaks up the sauce they give you on the side. J-Potato Salad is also a bit different than the classic American. It's very creamy with chunks of pickles and carrots. It's made with Kewpie Mayo which is slightly sweeter than regular mayo.

My Japanese is not that great right now, so I'm too intimidated to go to a real restaurant. Thus far, I've just gotten bento boxes from convenience stores but I don't mind because I get to try a lot of stuff. Day 2's dinner was a salmon bento with flavored rice and steamed veggies on the side. I got an impromptu Fireworks show on my balcony as entertainment which made the simple meal so luxurious.

Day 3's lunch was a pleasant surprise. I stopped by a local Ramen shop but ended up having a Buta Negi-don (Pork Spring Onion Rice Bowl). The pork tasted EXACTLY like Vietnamese Thit Kho without the eggs. It was amazing! It's too hot to cook right now but I can't wait to whip up some of my mom's dishes in my robot kitchen.

I'll leave you with this lovely Tully's Coffee sign. If anyone can tell me what a Swirkle is, I'll buy you one.