Most Interesting Japanese Food

We barely scratched the surface of what's good to eat in Japan.  We probably need more days and a lot more yen!  But, we did have some great sushi, delicious tempura, awesome ramen and yummy rice bowls (and let's not forget the fine dining from the convenient store.)

I must say, all our girls put their novice palates to the test.  We were all shocked when Sam ate raw fish!  She also survived 10 days without her favorite food -- milk and butter! Tati, kept asking for mayo to go with her food.  She will tell you that Japanese mayo is slightly sweeter.

So, what is our culinary highlight of our trip?

Wednesday evening, Coach Yoko took us to Tsukishima area and  treated us to one of the famous Japanese-style pancake: Monjayaki (monja). This is what "monja street"  looks like.  All the restaurants in this area specialize in monjayaki and/or okonomiyaki.  Quite a popular style of cuisine!

Street with all the Monjayaki Restaurants.  (Check out the baby and the bicycle on the right. Many of the bikes have a baby seat in the back and a basket in the front.)

This is where we ate.

How do I describe this?  It's a savory dish.  You have a choice of various types of meat and seafood.  And your order comes in one bowl with your choice of meat and a bunch of cabbage and sprouts (?) and other assortment of stuff I can't identify.  At the bottom of the bowl is liquidy pancake batter.  You start by cooking the solids on the grill.  Then you pour the batter in the center.  The rest is a mess!  And you eat it in a semi-soft, slightly gooey state.  They give you a big scraper for cooking and a little one to scoop some to your plate.

We had fun cooking our meal...

Smokey!

Some love it and some don't.  But it is very popular in Japan.  All the monja restaurants in that area were very busy.  I read somewhere that there are 75 monja restaurants in that area.

Of course, the girls 
shaped it into a heart!

This type of food dates back to WWII time when rice was scarce.  People got creative with what they have on hand and flour.  Interesting, right?  I am glad we all got to try it!

Then came dessert -- chocolate crepe!  I think we all preferred this portion of the meal better. Anything with chocolate is a winner!

Each of us got to eat 2 small pieces, not the whole crepe.

 

Luckily, we went to this restaurant early around 5:30.  As we were cooking and eating, the place started filling up with customers.  Some started smoking.  By the time we got to dessert, the restaurant was filled with smoke from the grill and the smokers.  We all started rubbing our eyes.  (We, Californians, are so spoiled!)  We had to rush out of there!

This shop right next door to the monja restaurant, specialized in melon buns (aka pineapple bun or bo-lo-bao).  Freshly baked.  He also sells ice cream.  We had to have some since we didn't get enough of the chocolate crepes!  Most of us had egg-custard (flan) flavor ice cream.  Yum!

BTW, you should watch "The Mind of a Chef", Season 1, Chef David Chang.  There are a lot of references to Japan and it's awesome food, combined with travel, cooking, history, science, and humor.  It's on NetFlix.  http://www.pbs.org/food/features/the-mind-of-a-chef-episode-descriptions/  I wish I had seen it before I went to Japan.