Zev’s Top 10: Japan

*originally published on April 6, 2017 on ripcityramblers.wordpress.com*

*Theme music*

*The camera pans around a massive audience, clapping wildly*

*Spotlight falls on Zev, who walks onto center stage, straightens bow tie and grins broadly*

*Waves at audience to settle down*

“Some of you might remember my first top ten blog…clearly, it was quite a large success.  You guys wanted more.  It’s been three months since it was released, and here’s the next one!”

*Crowd goes nuts*

[Please note: What follows is my top Japanese foods I ate on Journey™ (in no particular order as that is way too difficult a task for me).]  Without further ado, here we go-o-o-o.

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1.  IKURA & SALMON ぐんかん (GUNKAN) WITH しそ (SHISO)

When Jo and I stumbled into this kiten-zushi (conveyor-belt sushi) in Hiroshima, we had no idea what to expect.  Then, we sat down and had the best sushi I ever had!  Some of you might be saying, “wait a second, kiten-zushi isn’t exactly the best quality sushi out there….”  I have been to regular sushi places, and the sushi has been quite enjoyable.

But, the experience isn’t the same and, in my opinion, the quality between the two is not drastic enough to villainize kiten-zushi vs. standard sushi.  (Editor’s Note: this kid has been lucky enough to visit some damn good kiten-zushi in his 13 years to date.)  Because you sit down, order what you want, wait for it, eat it, and leave.  But with kiten-zushi, you sit down and look at the belt to see what’s going around and what looks good.  And you pull what you want off the belt and chow down.   It’s not just about how good the fish is, it’s about the experience.

With that said, this ikura is the best ever, it is buttery and just explodes in your mouth.  And when you combine it with amazing salmon in the same bite (and fresh shiso), wow!  You just think; Oi, 板前さん can I get ten more of these?

2.  さしみ (SASHIMI)

Ya’ll probably read in my Hiroshima blog about the amazing izakaya we went to and the great food we had there.  Well, here it is again, the best sashimi ever.

And, the thing about it too, is that it didn’t break the bank, only about ¥1500 ($13.47) and that was for rich, buttery, delightful sashimi.

We don’t really remember what kind of fish we ate, perhaps we never knew, but it doesn’t matter because it was so good.  *satisfied sigh*… yum.

3.  天ぷら (TEMPURA)

When it was just Jo and me in Osaka, we discovered this little 天ぷら (tempura) restaurant where they pull it fresh from the fryer and set it on your own personal drying rack to cool.  You dip it in the sauce (or over-dip it, if your name is Doug) and try not to scald the roof of your mouth by eating it too fast.  It’s that good.

My favorite is the tempura-ed soft-boiled egg (pictured here at another tempura place we visited).  You break the egg on the rice so the yolk oozes all over.  Then, you just shovel in a delightful mixture of hot rice, gooey egg yolk, and crispy tempura crust – Bam!

Sometimes they serve salt with the tempura instead of sauce.  That’s also really good, but you have to be careful to just lightly dip (Doug, I’m talking to you!).

4.  お好み焼き (OKONOMIYAKI)

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is most often defined in English as a “savory pancake”, but that doesn’t do it justice.  Okonomiyaki is made up of two main ingredients: batter and cabbage.  And this batter basically consists of flour, eggs, and whatever you want.  I’ve had it with pork, shrimp, octopus, oysters, noodles, squid, or all of that mixed together… the possibilities are endless.  It’s fried on a flat-top grill, and covered in okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, bonito flakes, and something called 青のり (read: A-O-NORI) – aka, goodness.

Usually it is brought to your table, where you have your own grill to finish the job.  At some more special places, the batter itself is brought over and you actually cook it.

Regardless, everyone receives a mini metal spatula which you use to saw off what you want and chow down!

5.  メロンソーダ (MELON SODA)

Ah, time for メロンソーダ.   This is without a doubt my favorite new beverage in Japan. Last time we were here, my buddy Gen and his lil’ brother, Uta, both got it with a scoop of ice cream on top.  And I was like, gross, melon soda?  With ice cream??  Ewww.  (Don’t look at my hair in this photo, please.)

But flash forward a year and a half later when we were having dinner with our new Japanese friends, Shige and Aki – they ordered Maya and me melon sodas.  Okay, I thought to myself, this time I’ll go for it!  I took one sip and I thought, “weird, it doesn’t really taste like melon.  But, YUM!”  (Notice the improved hair.)

It’s very difficult to describe the taste of melon soda.  But I think the best description comes from a blog post I read about melon soda.  To sum it up:

NON-BELIEVER:  “If it doesn’t taste like melon, what does it taste like?”

ME:  “Happiness.  Just try it.”

6.  カレーパン (CURRY BUN)

Curry buns (カレーパン) tie with melon soda for my new fave Japanese snack.  See, it’s a deep-fried greasy pocket stuffed with Japanese curry.   And, for those of you who haven’t had Japanese curry, let me just say that it is the ultimate comfort food.  It’s not anything like Thai curry or Indian curry.  It’s more like a gravy, or a thick stew, than traditional curry.  When it’s paired with the greasiest bread product ever, it’s really, really good.

When we had it on Miyajima island, it was also stuffed with fresh oysters – even better!  Them ones with the oysters were the best, but you can get good curry buns at any bakery or 7-Eleven, if you don’t mind them cold.  (They’re not bad cold).

7.  こべうし (KOBE BEEF)

Our plan for Japan is to be based in Osaka, but do lots of day trips to Kyoto, or Nara, or wherever strikes our fancy.  One of those places was Kobe (pronounced KO-BAY, not KO-BEE (or Black Mamba)), home of the world-famous Kobe beef.

Before we arrived, we had no idea what to expect.  Would there be cows wandering free, like in India?  Sadly, there were not cows roaming through the streets, but we splurged on a Kobe beef dinner, and damn, was it good.

Tender and buttery meat was so good it was worth the $150 price tag that came with it.  And, if the Ramblers say a meal was worth $150, you know it must’ve been good.  The problem is that now I fear the next time I eat beef, I will not be satisfied with the quality.

8.  串カツ (KUSHIKATSU)

One of the specialties of Osakan cuisine is 串カツ (kushikatsu) – basically anything on a stick dunked in batter, rolled in パン粉 (breadcrumbs), and deep fried.  Nobody can convince me that Americans wouldn’t enjoy that.  And, the best part about this particular restaurant is that you have 2 hours to grab whatever you want and fry it yourself at your table (for a fixed price).

See, this is how it works.

1. First, you go to the buffet table where there is an assortment of vegetables, meats, seafood, and other miscellaneous goodies on sticks, and load up your plate.
2. Then, grab a stick, and dunk whatever is on the end of it in batter.
3. Roll it in the breadcrumbs so they stick to your kushikatsu.
4. Drop it in the fryer until you deem it done (keep the ones with raw meat in there for longer if you’re squeamish about salmonella).
5. Dip in the sauce of your choice.
6. Try not to burn your mouth.

It just so happens that the buffet table here included dessert, like little slices of skewered cake.  And, of course, when I saw that cake, I thought, wow deep fried cake.  Thus, was born:

~~~Deep Fried Cake with Ice Cream Sauce~~~~

9.  ラーメン (RAMEN)

Back on Japan Trip 2K15, we had a day-long excursion from Kyoto to Osaka.  We did many things in our short time in Osaka: we saw the hometown Hanshin Tigers beat the Chunichi Dragons (of Nagoya) in extra innings, but before we did, we had really good ramen.  This ramen stuck in everyone’s minds, particularly because it had a slow-cooked rib in it.  When we returned to Osaka, we knew we had to go back to that ramen place.

Unfortunately, there was a problem.  We didn’t even know what the restaurant was called.  But, somehow, we found it:

Hanamaruken is the name, and pork rib in ramen is the game.

Not much explanation is needed here.  Them ribs are fatty, them noodles are cooked to perfection, and them pounds are gained just by eating a bowlful.

10.  ジャンボ (JUMBO: WAFFLE ICE CREAM SANDWICH)

One of our guilty pleasures of Japan is Jumbo, a waffle ice cream sandwich sold at convenience stores near you, or rather not near you being that you’re stuck in Trumplandia.  Waffles are good, ice cream is good, waffle ice cream sandwiches are better.  Especially for a dollar a pop.  The cold weather at night did not stop us from having these several times a week.

The waffle is crunchy, and there’s a thin layer of chocolate mixed in with the vanilla ice cream.  It is light and crispy, and really just sensational.

Japan is my favorite food country by far.  I could’ve made a Top 20 so some stuff didn’t make the cut.  But, lucky for you, I listed a few runners-up.  Without further ado, here we go-o-o-o (again).

Runners up:

11.  焼肉 (YAKINIKU)

The name “yakiniku” comes from two Japanese words: 焼 (yaki), meaning cooked, and 肉(niku),meaning meat (though it is used normally just for beef and pork).  Together, it means “cooked meat” but, more specifically, moist and succulent beef that you grill for yourself right at the table.

It is basically the Japanese version of Koren BBQ.  We had it in Osaka’s Korea-Town, so along with our beef, we received kimchi, rice, and some sort of seaweed soup.  This is one of Maya’s favorite things to do in Japan.  I agree, cooking your own food is really fun (and also really tasty).

12.  たこ焼き (TAKOYAKI)

One of our goals on this trip is to find where Anthony Bourdain went and eat there if possible, as we did in Penang.  It just so happens that he visited Osaka nearly six years ago.  He went to numerous places including one where you make たこ焼き right at your table.  (Editor’s Note:  If you have not noticed, Zev and Maya like cooking for themselves at the table – why we pay more for this is beyond us.)

What is takoyaki, you might ask?  Takoyaki is circular octopus dough-balls that are made on a special grill.  Served with sauce and various toppings including okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and aonori (see #4 above) – it’s Maya’s new favorite Japanese food.

And, so we went to this place, called Pizza Ball House, for some odd reason, where there is a takoyaki grill embedded in your table.  The staff pours the batter over it, turns the grill on, and leaves you to it.

Turning over takoyaki balls is very stressful, especially when all the Ramblers are yelling at each other.  “That one’s burning!  Quick, turn it over!  Those aren’t ready yet!” and a few other things not suitable for publication.  But, we did it.  And, they were amaze-balls!

13.  餅ベーコンチーズ (MOCHI-CHEESE-BACON)

For those who don’t know, mochi is a sticky, gooey rice cake.  So, this amazing dish is mochi, with melted cheese, and wrapped in bacon.  Diabetes?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Yes.

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“Stay hungry, my friends.”