When you reach Harajuku district you must try the Crepes. Above are a few of the Crepe stores which are recommended. The pricing ranges from 440 - 580 Yen ($5.00 - $6.00) for one Crepe. There were some differences that I found between the Crepes in Australia and Japan, they include of; the wrap is much more crunchy (freshly made) and you eat it in a cone shape not on a plate. The sweetness was another major difference, even though I bought the Double Chocolate, it was not as sweet as I would have thought.
Another great thing about Japan is that every corner or alley you
turn you will discover something new! As we walked through Omotesando Hills we
saw a street corner which looked similar to a European alley, so we decided to
have a look. This was were we ate our first Takoyaki balls!! Tako (Octopus)
yaki (Fried). This snack food you will find everywhere in Japan!! They range
from 8 Takoyaki for 500 Yen and they have different toppings to choose from.
Takoyaki original toppings you usually get Takoyaki sauce, mayonaise, fish
flakes. I have also tried the Takoyaki with egg and cheese toppings and both
were absolutely amazing!
4. Momiji (Maple leaf) Manju (cake/confection)
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| Momji (Maple leaf) Manju (Japanese confection) |
If you travel to Miyajima Island which is a ferry ride away from Hiroshima then you must try their Oysters and Momiji Manju. Above is a picture of the Momiji Manju. This popular maple-leaf shape cake is filled with various flavours such as chocolate, custard, green beans. They cost around 80 Yen each. So delicious!
5. Taiyaki
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| Taiyaki in Osaka |
Taiyaki is a Japanese fish shaped cake. The most common filling is red beans however I was able to try a Sakura filled Taiyaki, as they are in season during March. The texture of the cake is quite crispy on the outside similar to a donut, without the cinnamon flavouring.
6. Sashimi (thinly sliced raw food)
So whilst I was exploring Umeda underground shopping mall alone I stumbled across a sushi train!! This was one of the last things on my food to eat list, and now it is finally ticked off!! So happy! So when you go to Japanese restaurants, if it is busy, you will be asked to write you name and how many people onto the waiting list. Then you will be called when it is your turn. Basically how you order your food is according to the colour of the plate. If you can see above the plates have different colours which corresponds to the price. Luckily for me they had an English menu so I pretty much played find the matching Japanese symbol to the food. As the food moves around the conveyor belt you can pick up the plate you want. The plates ranged from 150 - 330 Yen. The normal "cooked" sushi were the cheapest and the sashimi tends to be more expensive. If there is something extra you wanted to order, then you can ask the staff to bring it to you. I order my duck loin that way.
I started with a prawn sushi just to prepare myself for the sashimi. Then choose a prawn sashimi and finally finished with two sushi dishes that would wash done that raw flavour in my mouth. Saying that, the raw prawn did not taste bad when it was dipped into soy sauce. It didn't really have much of a taste to it to be honest. It was not chewy, just felt like eating crunchy jelly with no sugar. It was most likely crunchy because of the tender of the prawn.
7. Japanese Style Dinner
Japanese food is based on combining the staple steam rice with several main dishes and sides. This is also accompanied by miso soup and pickles. This meal set costs around 1,400 Yen ($15AUS). So here are some of the meal time etiquette that I was taught by our friend from Japan.
1) When using chop sticks and you find it difficult to pick up food, refrain from stabbing it as it is a sign of death.
2) Some Japanese restaurants have wet tissues for you to use to cleanse your hands before (not after) your meal. After your meal you would typically use a dry tissue.
3) Japanese do not use spoons to drink soup. They will hold the bowl by both hands with your thumb facing you. Definitely not cupping the bowl.
4) The other thing to notice is not to put your food on top of the rice. As I am Vietnamese we are actually very used to do this so it was quite the change.
8. Mister Donut Store
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| Different flavour donuts! |
So another amazing specialty dessert store is Mister Donut. They are so worth the try! So many flavours for such a cheap price of 100 - 160 Yen. Japanese Donuts are not too sweet so it could be perfect for people who are not into sweets. The one on the top right corner was a mochi one. The taste was very different. It was really chewy and weird kind of sweetness with a layer of glazed sugar on top.
9. Mos Burger
So I always like to try Western style foods in other countries because each country will always have their own interpretation or new menus. MOS Burger has already opened in Australia. To be honest its not one of my favourite restaurants in Brisbane but I wanted to see if their menu had anything different. The was a fish burger (bottom left photo). I was so suprised the fish was not battered or just a fish-o-fillet. It was real fish!! It was probably frozen not fresh but I definitely liked it, it was soft, moist, and didn't smell too much like fish.
10. Onigiri (rice ball)
Another great snack is Onigiri, you can purchase this at any local supermarket i.e. Lawsons, Family Mart. Price is around 68 - 100 Yen. It was a perfect snack to carry along. This snack is basically a salty ball of rice. It often has a filling of something savoury such as pickled plum, tuna, bamboo, wasabi, bonita flakes flavoured with soy sauce.
11. Omu-rice
Omu-raisu is an example of contemporary Japanese cuisine consisting of an omelette made with fried rice and usually topped with ketchup. Omu and raisu being contractions of the words omelette and rice. The ingredients that flavour the rice can vary with chicken, vegetables to beef. To put it in simple terms, it is pretty much fried rice with chicken wrapped in egg and topped with ketchup sauce.
12. Soba noodles
Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba). They are roughly as thick as spaghetti, and prepared in various hot and cold dishes. The most basic soba dish is boiled, cold soba noodles eaten with soya based dipping sauce. I choose to have soba in soup, so it came out prepared already. My friends purchased the dry soba and the dipping sauce is very thick compared to having it in a soup.
13. Ramen Noodles
Ramen noodles is a inexpensive Japanese dish which range from 600 - 1,200 Yen. There is always some concern when eating in Australia that the Ramen will just be served with 2 minute noodles. This is never the case in Japan. You always receive yummy fresh noodles which will need to be eaten immediately after they are served.
There are two aspects to Ramen noodles. They can be categorised by their soup base or toppings. Common soup base include: Miso (soy bean paste), Tonktsu (pork bone), Shoyu (soy sauce), Shio (salt). Common toppings include: Chashu (fatty slices of braised pork), Menma (preserved bamboo), Negi (chopped green onions), Moyashi (bean sprouts), Tamago (boiled egg), Seaweed, Kamaboko (slices of steamed fish cake i.e. naruto), Corn.
