disappointing

Was leery about trying the Karauma hot chicken from KFC

 

Should've listened to my gut because it didn't taste "korean" at all

Would've been better if it had more korean nori, sesame oil or something similar in flavor...

Even the "hot" part didn't taste like kochujang...

wasted calories...boo

mos burger

MOS Burger came out with these tiny sweet potato mochi thingies.

I think it is similar to the ones that Jenny tried.

The outside is a chewy mochi and the inside is a sweet potato paste.

They deep fry it before serving...260 yen (tax included) for 3 pieces

I was surprised these were not hard after they were fried.

Would get this again.
 

mos

MOS came out with a wagyu burger earlier this month...790 yen (tax included)

teriyaki sauce and a touch of yuzu kosho (citron pepper)

unusual combo but delicious!

They actually had a wagyu truffle one at the end of last year, but I'm not too much into truffle flavors so I didn't try it...

The burger is packed into this box!

I also tried their chocolate shake, that was topped with some gold flakes 450 yen (tax included)

This was a little too sweet for my liking but I like that it was super chocolatey

I'm glad I got to try these items at MOS

ikegami baien & mos food truck

Yesterday the weather was sunny but still chilly.

We went to check out the Ikegami Baien (plum garden) because we heard it was in full bloom.

Here's a short video of the garden. (sound off if you are viewing this at work)

Afterwards, we walked down to the MOS burger food truck and picked up lunch.

They don't have an extensive menu because it is a food truck and I think because it is commemorating their 50th, so they only have their "classic" burgers.

We both got their MOS Cheese.

Each burger is made to order and comes with a side of potato chips.

The chips are thicker than normal and are similar to those "pop" type chips.

According to the staff member, all the burgers are a little larger than what you get at a MOS burger shop.

The chips are perfect with the leftover sauce.

I'm glad we tried this food truck.

Oh and apparently, MOS Day is March 12th.

whew

We had a little "scare" over the weekend.

Friday, a co-worker in Satoshi's work group got a call from a family member.

Apparently the co-worker's father had a slight fever and also fell and hit his head.

They were both going to get tested on Saturday to see if they had COVID...

Luckily the co-worker and father were both negative and the father's head injury was nothing serious...whew!

This time around we were definitely lucky but this pandemic is definitely getting closer to home.

Changing subjects...during this pandemic, we've been trying all sorts of places for takeout.

Last night, we took out from Yoshinoya.

Their gyu suki (sukiyaki).

It was my first time to eat from here.

I liked the flavors, not overly sweet or overly salty and the rice wasn't mushy.

Eating takeout from all these places definitely haven't been good for our cholesterol, but at least this gives us some variation.

Have a safe week everyone.

 

this and that

Sorry it's been quiet here...

Satoshi was off Tuesday and Wednesday.

Note to self: KFC's chicken pot pie was junk last year (no chicken) and teeny this year..waste of money.

Marco's marron marron is a fruit sandwich of sorts...chestnut whipped cream with chestnut paste.

So good!

so... when you notice that the "other person" forgets their cell at home, how you gonna tell 'um?! (not the first time either)

We received a package of teas and hawaiian salt from reader Ryan and S....we appreciate their kindness and thoughtfulness (thank you!)

Wednesday, I took out this teeny bouche de noel (a chocolate cake filled with chocolate cream and covered with dark chocolate) from Starbucks.

It didn't go with the Gingerbread Latte that I also took out, but since I don't get to Starbucks too often these days, I got the items I wanted all at once.

Glad I got to enjoy at least one gingerbread latte for the season.

Yesterday, I tried Moto's Kitchen's taco rice. 

You can choose your level of spiciness from 0 to 6.

I chose level 3...this felt hefty and had more cabbage than rice which was nice.

I would definitely get this again.

I thought we (Tokyo) were plateaued at 200 but Tokyo's case numbers have doubled over the past couple of days...sigh.

Hope you all are doing well.

Have a safe weekend.

Moto's Kitchen

1-11-3 Kamiikedai

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3726.6781

Closed Saturdays

Hours: 11:00-23:00
 

green burger

Earlier this year, MOS burger came out with a plant based burger called Green Burger which is supposed to replicate their signature MOS Burger.

I got around to trying it recently.

(photo of the MOS Burger)

The Green Burger's patty is made from soy, konnyaku (jellied devil's tongue) and cabbage.

To be honest, the patty was kind of rubbery, but at least it wasn't dry.

One thing MOS did was omit the five pungent veggies that Buddhism avoids...this is called "gokun" (literally 5 pungent roots).

The basic list is onions, rakkyo (ramps), chives, green onion and garlic. 

(Some also add coriander and mustard cabbage to the list of pungent veggies to avoid.)

The Green Burger has a little more carbohydrates, no cholesterol, less fat, a little more fiber and a little less salt than the MOS Burger.

The bun is green because they mix some spinach puree in it.

I'm glad I tried it, I think it is a nice alternative and would buy this again.

 

things I don't eat in japan anymore...

You may or may not have noticed that I don't post about certain food stuffs anymore....

like McDonald's...It was a couple of years ago that they apparently found human teeth in the chicken nuggets here...eew!

Mister Donut...a couple of years ago, whenever I had eaten here, the doughnuts were dry and oily...blah

Oreos...the ones they sell in Japan, used to be made in Japan, now they are made in China.

Are there any foods you don't eat anymore?

shake shack

Finally finished my dental work this past Wednesday.

Nearly 6 months...

I really think this dentist is more thorough than the one I was going to in Osaka.

Anyway, to celebrate, I had Shake Shack's 'Shroom Burger...a deep fried portobello mushroom with 2 types of cheeses.

Oozy cheese and fried to perfection.

I'm glad that the dental visits are over and my next visit will be sometime next year for cleaning...

naan taco

I should talk about the humidity and heat more often.

This morning it was 71F/22C and no humidity!

I had to convince Satoshi to bring a light sweater to work.

Changing the subject, apparently, it's been 4 years since MOS burger had their naan taco.

It seemed a little smaller than in the past, but was still delicious.

What did you have for lunch?

gyoza no osho

Gyoza (pot stickers) is a popular dish in Osaka. In Osaka, there are tons of places to get your fix.

Two of the most popular are Osaka no Osho & Gyoza no Osho.

Their names are similar because the minds behind each entity are apparently related.

As I understand it, the original shop was called "Osho", the two brothers decided to go separate ways and created their own "osho".

Recently we checked out the huge Gyoza no Osho that is located in our neighborhood.

It is sort of a "fast food-family restaurant" kind of place.

This place was at least 3 or 4 times the size of other Osho shops I have been to.

They had a counter area for people dining alone, booths and tatami mat areas for family and large group dining.

I ordered the JSM (Just Size Menu) in Janglish (Japanese-English) this means that the menu is "tailored to just the size you want to eat". In this case, 2 or 3 entree items. Each order comes with 3 pieces of gyoza, rice and soup.

I went with the 2 item...kani-tama (egg cooked with crab covered with a thick ankake sauce) and karaage (fried chicken).

The karaage was very meaty and I liked the creaminess of the eggs.

Boy! this was filling.

Satoshi went with their kotteri (rich) set.

Everything on his tray definitely looked heavy and rich...it came with a ramen, donburi & fried chicken skins (plus 3 pieces of gyoza!)...eep!

Even though this was a great place for a quick lunch, I don't think we'll be here too often since everything on the menu is kinda high in calories.

Gyoza no Osho
4-3-47 Hanjo
Minoo, Osaka
Phone: 072.723.1004
Monday-Saturday 11:00-2:00
Sunday 11:00-23:00

slaw

In the past, whenever I've eaten a value meal at KFC, I've asked to swap the fries for their slaw...nope, it couldn't be done.

To tell you the truth, their fries are limp, and not really tasty.

Yesterday I went to eat at KFC and was surprised...there is an apparent dock strike in the US.

This means no potatoes for KFC to fry. (why they can't use potatoes from Japan or another country is a mystery to me...)

So instead, they added their slaw to our value meals.

Even though they upped their value meal prices a bit, I like their slaw better anyway...

real fake cheese

I've told you about the ketchup-mustard squeezy thing at the convenience stores, here.

Well, the other day when I ate lunch at McDonald's, I was surprised at their cheese fries.

The McDonald's here recently came out with an American Vintage Series, the sandwiches they are serving are a honey mustard chicken and a double beef burger.

And their classic fries are served with "cheese and bacon"...

Well, the real fake cheese comes in a squeezy thing.

Perfect if you are taking out because your fries won't get soggy with the goopy cheese sitting on your fries while you go back home.

They could probably do without the real fake bacon bits though, they were hard.as.rock. and I personally would've preferred a spicy chili instead. I think that chili is more "American" than bacon bits...

And the most funny part were the direction on the inside cover of the box...1) Please drizzle the cheese sauce over all the fries 2) Please sprinkle the bacon flavored topping over everything 3) Please eat them with a fork

Is your McD's serving anything exciting?

kfc

Even though there are a lot of fast food places from the States here in Japan, almost all have their own "identities".

Rarely selling the same foods as the States, which can be a good thing.

Though sometimes I do crave some comfort food.

Like mashed potatoes at KFC, non-existent in Japan...

Something that surprised me are the biscuits at KFC Japan...they have holes in them, like doughnuts.

They also serve them with maple syrup. (I haven't been to KFC in the States in awhile, how do they serve them there?!)

I have a feeling that they "deep fry" their biscuits in Japan, which is why they have holes...

The biscuits are buttery pillowy layers, so good with the maple syrup drizzled on top...

These biscuits usually don't come with their meal sets.

I think they should offer them instead of their fries which are almost always limp...

Are there any interesting foods that are offered at your fast food places?

It's Friday here, I hope your weekend will be a nice one!

new & improved

Recently, I've been hooked on this tobikiri cheese at MOS burger.

A simple cheeseburger with lots of oozy cheese, onions and a special sauce (kinda like demi-glace)

And then the other day, there was a commercial on television that they'd improved the MOS burger.

It had been ages since I'd had the MOS burger.

So, I went to check it out for lunch the other day.

Wow...that's a LOT of sauce, kind of an Italian meat sauce, but a little sweeter.

Lots of diced onions (hidden under the sauce).

A juicy patty.

Nice slice of tomato.

And cheese...did I mention that the cheese was oozy?! it was.

Don't eat this while driving.

Don't worry, I didn't.

This was so messy, in a good way.

p.s. Happy Boy's Day a.k.a. Children's Day!

hole'd baguette

Saw this cute food truck in front of Daiei the other day.

They always have different vendors parked here, sometimes it is a baby castella vendor, sometimes a melon pan vendor and sometimes a taiyaki vendor.

Hole'd Baguette is similar to Hawaii's Puka Dog, though I've never tried the one in Hawaii. (By the way, "puka" means hole in Hawaiian)

The only difference is this version uses baguettes.

I love Japan's sausages, they always have a nice snap.

I ordered the meat sauce dog, which came with some oozy cheese sauce, spicy bolognese meat sauce, a little lettuce...380 yen.

I think the portion may be a bit small for "guys" but this was perfect for me.

I'd buy from them again.

demi-cheese-gra-cro

Every year, McD's comes out with a gra-cro burger, this is short for gratin croquette burger.

Yesterday, I had this....a demi-cheese-gra-cro...demiglace sauce, cheese, gratin, croquette burger.

A fried croquette filled with macaroni gratin (think mac & cheese) topped with some cheddar cheese, some shredded cabbage and then some demiglace & tartar sauces.

Lots going on in that burger but overall I thought it was pretty good.

hawaii sights

Always smile when I see these greetings over the entrances to our McD's in Hawaii..."I'm lovin' it!"

meg's drive-in

We stopped in to Meg's Drive-In to pick up something for lunch the other day.

I had never eaten here and neither had my mom, so we checked it out.

I chose the BBQ burger deluxe...$2-something. The "deluxe" part is the addition of lettuce, onions and tomato.

Um, the patty was so teeny, because I think they are homemade. I know if a guy got this burger, there would be complaints.

Lacking in any BBQ taste (western or asian), I will give them props for giving me lots of lettuce (maybe to cover up the size of the patty?!..oy!)

On the other hand, my mom chose their fish burger deluxe...$3-something. Again, the deluxe was the addition of lettuce, onions and tomato.

Her fish was so BIG, though her lettuce was kinda sad looking and her tomato was green.

Mixed reviews on this place. If you know of what we should try here, tell us, we may be back, maybe.

Meg's Drive-In
743 Waiakamilo Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.845.3943

zippy's

Many foods remind me of home, but one is particular is Zippy's chili.

Their chili is thick and spicy.

I had a craving for this recently so I bought the chili and added my own brown rice and a "no nitrate" hot dog.

Perfect on a drizzly day.

Zippy's
450 Kamehameha Highway
Pearl City, Hawaii
Phone: 808.483.3775