ForkAndPen

Tamago?

A 10 hour flight is not fun. But it gets much worse when you have three other flights in two days. Still when I landed in Osaka i was overjoyed. Everything was interesting. Roaming lost in the airport was amazingly fun because everyone was speaking Japanese and running around. The stores were very different. Already i saw food everywhere i wanted to try. In the airport there was a food court that was rather large. Newark airport in New Jersey where i left has a few places near each terminal but nothing like this. But I was still a little disoriented and wanted to find my hotel before setting into my first meal.

About an hour later of trudging around in the cold and rain in Osaka I was more then disoriented. Once I finally found my hotel I decided to wait till the next day to try some of Osaka's fine food.

Things look much better in the morning.

I was so hungry - I went to the closest mall area. A grouping of restaurants and stores is basically a mall - not the same as a mall in America. First place that looked good I went in.

I see a few people eating various bowls of noodles and rice. Three guys are sitting and drinking a bottle of whisky and smoking. It is 8:30 am - welcome to Osaka. I say hello to the waitress - most of the menu is in japanese characters that i can't read - so i smile and say tamago (egg) ?. And this is all I needed to say. A few minutes later an amazing breakfast set is brought to me.

It made me so happy. Tasty rolled omelete with grated daikon + fluffy white rice + miso soup + boiled potatoes and konnyaku in sesame oil. I ate pretty fast as i was real hungry. What did this little feast cost - 500 yen ( around $4.50)! And all it took was one word (and a few "please and thank yous".)

tasteEverything

The awards are being annouced for the 2006 Independent Food Festival. Check them out

Back from the east

My month long excursion to Japan is now over. It was in a word amazing. All that I hoped to do on the trip I did. I drank and ate my way through a good portion of Japan. The train carried me (real fast) north from Osaka to Sapporo and then back down ending in Osaka a month later. Tokyo is a site to be seen - more crazy and amazing then i ever thought it could be.

Overall the food was some of the best I have ever had. Your every day random restaurant serves a higher quality of food then I am use to in every day places in new york. And some of the places i went that specializes in a type of food served meals with bright tasty food that sang out in support of the main ingredient.

The Japanese are also food crazy. I don't think the term foodie would ever make much sense in Japan. Everyone has a favorite ramen place. Most people know that you have to get to the fish market early and pick up what you need for dinner. And they love to play with food. "Ice cream city" or "Gyoza stadium" - it is all fun. This is the country that brought us Iron Chef. TV is full of food shows. During prime time I watched many variety shows where the hosts went on an expedition to a great chicken place or a grilled meat place. Off hours - elaborate cooking shows took place where chefs would show a host how to make a very complex dish.

Oh and the pastries...ok i could go on and on - and will! For the foreseeable future i will post stories and photos from my trip. Viva la Nihon no tabemono (viva Japanese food)!