Ramen is serious business

I have been in Japan for almost two months and one thing that I have learned is, ramen is serious business. Like saying that all ramen tastes the same will give you some odd looks and always one person chiming in that you are wrong. You should consider the texture, the flavor, the soup it is served with, toppings, thickness of the soup and a thousand more points that make every ramen unique.

To prove this point I got invited out together with some other housemates to try what should be the best ramen ever according to one of the long term housemates.

If you ever wonder if a restaurant is any good you can always check for how long you will have to wait to get your food. The restaurant we went to was on a main street, had room for ten guests at a time and you had to walk in and out sideways to get to your seat. It was really weird to see such a small place being able to stay open in what I assume an expensive location. There was already a line of maybe ten more people waiting to get in and be served this amazing ramen, with us the line suddenly grew to sixteen. According to my calculations (in my mind) this should be an amazing experience.

We had to wait for maybe 45 minutes or so for us to be able to sit and when we finally got our ramen I got pleasantly surprised. I was sceptical at first as to why we would wait for so long just for ramen, but I once again was proven that quality trumps quantity. That is not to say the quantity was small, it was more than enough to get full, but as I was analyzing the different points of ramen quality and soup I noticed the difference between the stuff you buy at a convenience store and this.

It was think, creamy, lots of flavor without being too much, spicy in a non-intrusive way and a perfect temperature to keep you warm on a cool November evening.

Expenses

• 850 yen for a regular size ramen with ajitama egg

There is sushi and then there is sushi

 One of my housemates got a sudden craving for sushi and asked if anyone wanted to tag along. I have never turned down raw fish and thought it would be another delicious meeting with nature's little snacks, of course I tagged along.

He asked us what we thought of sushi and all of us said that we liked it. One of my housemates were a little sceptical to the fish but really loved the fried tofu variety. 

What  I didn't consider what that I had never really had freshly made sushi prepared less than a minute from consumption. I had eaten lots of sushi before in Sweden, Ireland, Taiwan, America and on my previous visits to Japan. I mostly enjoyed it like a lot, the exception being the frozen sushi dishes bought at Swedish food stores. They were at best tasteless and at worst the rice was not cooked enough making it taste like wet sand and gave away Nemo's hiding spot.

 Our sushi craving housemate told us that the place we were going to was a so called conveyor belt sushi restaurant. That means that a small conveyor belt is running along all the seating areas in the restaurant with small plates of sushi up for anyone to grab. Different colored plates had different prices and in this case the red plates had a 21 yen discount per plate due to the recent baseball tournament landing one plate neatly on 99 yen.

I had been to conveyor belt sushi restaurants before but this one had this! Tes, that's right, you could special order anything you didn't find on the conveyor belt and have it delivered to your seat on a small toy train! I am not going to bash other restaurants but I definitely think this would be an awesome idea for other kinds of restaurant as well!

When we got our first plates I was first struck by how clearer and brighter the fish looked. I had gotten used to sushi looking like, well, sushi. To start with the salmon had a bright red color I hadn't seen before and it can't really be seen that well on the pictures, but you get the idea.

And the taste was definitely much better than I had ever tried before. It almost melted right away in my mouth. My housemate also taught me that you don't dip the rice in soy sauce but instead either take the fish meat and dip it lightly or use your hands and turn the sushi up side down and let the top barely touch the surface of the soy plate. And wow, that made a huge difference. My other sin was that I mixed large amounts of wasabi in the soy, turning it to a small plate of brown fiery liquid. Instead, a properly made sushi should have a small amount of wasabi between the rice and meat as glue. This gives it just that extra kick without killing your tastebuds.

I loved them all, but I didn't care too much for the squid or octopus as I found it to hard to chew. They both tasted great but only the texture was a bit off putting.

I managed to finish ten plates with two pieces per plate and I could barely move afterwards. Though it might've been considered not that high scale of a restaurant, this experience truly taught me a valuable lesson between what is food and what is an experience. I have reconsidered sushi from being a trendy kind of fast food to a gourmand's trekking through the deep seas. Properly made, properly enjoyed.

Expenses

• 20 pieces of sushi 880 yen (got a discount coupon that I used right away)

Tried a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo

 One of my housemates, Ruri, is studying Chinese at the moment and decided to put her already great skills in Chinese to use and invited me and Shin, another housemate, out to try real Chinese food. 

The restaurant is located not many stations from where we live and when you see it you won't notice it is a restaurant until you actually enter. The entrance was, just like for many other stores in Tokyo, a simple staircase down to a nicely decorated dining area. The atmosphere was very pleasant with lots of little details in wood on all the tables, chairs and wood carvings on the wall. The owner greeted us heartily and showed us where we would sait and where to place our umbrellas. It was a typhoon right next to Tokyo that day so it was wonderful to get under a roof.

Since we left the house Ruri had over and over advised me not to choose any of the spicier dishes since most Europeans might find them uncomfortably strong. I like spicy food, but thought it would be better to actually listen to her advice and choose between the level one spicy dishes.

The meals were not in sets so we had to order several different kinds of dishes which made it possible to mix our food as we pleased. By recommandation from both Ruri and Shin I chose the ribs with a secret herb blend which we were not allowed to bring home. I can't remember exactly what the different dishes were and I was still not used to hearing Japanese being spoken that fast. But there was lots! Much more than we could eat.

There is no doggy bag culture in Japan so we couldn't bring home any of the leftovers much to my disappointment. I guess that is well enough, now we have even a greater reason to return.

When the dishes came out I couldn't stop simply smelling the different plates. I was also smart enough to listen when I was warned about the spicier dishes. One of the plates had a chicken soup with vegetables of some kind and it left a burning sensation on both the tongue and lips after each bite, but I couldn't stop eating. I am normally a very fast eater but this time I ate much slower than normal just to properly taste the different dishes for as long as possible.

Since Ruri was studying Chinese we mainly talked about China, its' culture and food comparing it to what we have in Europe and Japan. Real Chinese cuisine will leave an impression on you whether you like it or not.

Expenses

• 2000 yen for the best Chinese food I have eaten so far

CoCo Ichi curry restaurant by recommendation by housemate

Curry dishes are very common in Japan and you will find restaurants both small and large serving at least dish of curry. By recommendation of a housemate I tried CoCo Ichi's curry. They had almost only dishes that were served with curry and rice. They also have several levels of spiciness in their curry the maximum being level ten and if you manage to eat an entire plate with their spiciest curry you will receive a certificate and congratulations!

I was not as brave, I remembered the last time I tried chicken vindaloo at an authentic Indian restaurant and had to spend an entire night in the bathroom afterwards and unable to taste food for a week I decided that a low level curry would be enough. 

The restaurant had only about 25 seats so I had to wait for some of the guests to finish but I was given a menu while waiting so I could look over what I wanted. I got an English menu and it looked a bit different from the Japanese menus, I am not sure if they excluded some items, like different levels of spiciness, for foreigners. I didn't really mind, since I was really hungry. I chose a dish with sliced beef and onions and was shortly seated. The waiter was really quick and friendly and the meal showed up not long after.

The curry was definitely not too spicy, but niether was it too mellow. It tasted great and it was once again just enough to make you feel full! This was also my first time eating with a spoon since I came to Japan.

If you like curry or if you think you have an iron stomach go and try their challenge!

Expenses

• Coca-Cola 150 yen
• Beef onion curry 800 yen

Katsudon time

For those who come to Japan, don't know any Japanese and think they will have to spend their time hopping from burger franchise to burger franchise to get something to eat should know that is not the case. If you ever feel hungry and look around you will most likely find food displays outside Japanese restaurant showing what they have to offer. They have incredibly realistic plastic models on many of their menu items and it is very easy to mistake them for the real thing.

The plastic food model industry in Japan is supposedly huge and I have heard of collectors travelling all over Japan looking for rare models of local cuisine.

I have not seen this in Sweden. I mean, we do have menus outside and sometimes a sun bleached picture show some of the dishes that are served, but even high class restaurants only have piecs of paper telling what they serve. I definitely think it would give the restaurant a certain "pop" if they brought out food models. When dining out I definitely think the eyes eat just as much as the mouth and a flat representation of a meal isn't that fulfilling. 

Most typical Japanese restaurants have a certain look I can't explain, but if you see a food display outside somewhere and a door with short curtains covering the top of the entrance you can be sure you will get a dish served with miso soup, rice or noodles.

When I entered around 7 PM there were only two people eating. If you go out to eat most places will be packed with people around lunch time or after 8 in the evening any day of the week.

Dining in Japan can be pretty cheap so don't worry too much if you go out every day on your visit. There are of course luxury restaurants that are expensive, but then you get what you pay for and much more. Even when it is expensive it will feel like a deal.

As a Swede I have been to many noodle restaurants I have enjoyed my meal every time. Not once have I gotten a meal that has made me think that I won't return, but when a couple of my Japanese housemates took me to a newly opened place they said they hated it.  They didn't explain why but said that after having lived in Tokyo you will start to taste the difference in noodles. It sounds reasonable as some people I know in Sweden wouldn't drink certain varieties of coffee or sodas if they so were force fed.

I am not as picky when it comes to food, I gladly try almost anything at least once. This time I ordered a katsudon set. with cold soup. A katsudon is a bowl of rice with a pork cutlet and if you order the set you also get a choice of hot or cold noodle soup and a small plate of pickled vegetables. My meal consisted of fried katsudon dipped in egg and fried again, cold noodle soup with seaweed, leek and a few ingredients I still haven't figured out what they are.

The dish itself is not unusual at all, it exists all over Japan but in different local variations and sauces. If you don't like pork you can always go for the beef, omelette, eel, shrimp or just fried vegetables. Whatever you like you will definitely feel full afterwards. I have barely finished any of the katsudon sets I have ever eaten. 

Expenses

• Katsudon set 900 yen

A monkey show

 Went for a walk today and met this dapper gentleman. He was entertaining the kids (and me) with handstands, ball balancing, jumping and a little two man show. Today is a dayoff in Japan and the Laqua center was full of people riding the Merry-go-round, riding the roller coaster, shopping, eating all kinds of great food and of course, enjoying some street performers. I got stuck at the kids show simply because, well it's a freaking monkey!

I also discovered that the shopping center didn't have two floors, but six with each floor having stores and an increasing wonderful view over the city. The weather was also a little colder, but not by much. A t-shirt was still enough, but I feel I am getting used to the humidity and temperature in Japan.

The Korakuen area has loads of different restaurants, there is a particular Korean resturant I want to try sometime. I miss kimchi and bulgogi.

I already finished my homework, but it is kind of meditative to practice writing kanji.

A small lunch

I decided to have a quick lunch as I passed by a 7-11. As I entered I saw something I haven't seen since Taiwan. I found baozi! Or as they are called in Japan, nikuman. It is like a lump of bread with different fillings. In this case it was filled with meat as the niku in the name hints.

For dessert I chose pineapples pieces and three bananas. The beef bread, pineapple and barely one banana was more than enough.

The beef bread was delicious but it seems they don't make them as thick as in Taiwan.

Expenses

• Pineapple pieces 200 yen
• 3 bananas 200 yen
• Nikuman 110 yen

First class, course books and late microwave dinner

When I was first interviewed while still living in Sweden the teacher told me that my conversation skills were pretty high, but since I still had some problems with kanji she suggested that I start on the fourth level in their eight level system. I have constantly been worrying that it would still be too difficult or that my kanji knowledge would be completely in the toilet, but as usual all my fears and worries were unwarranted. 

I had my first class today. We'll be seven students in my class this term, two Italians, one Chinese, one Korean, one American born Taiwanese and two Swedes. All of us were newcomers to the language level except the other Swede. He had already been here for nine months and was insanely homesick. I wonder if I will feel the same? I try to keep an open mind and let whatever happens happen.

We also got to buy our school books during first class as our teacher introduced us to how the classes would be split up. She was an incredibly energetic, fast talking, speed reading woman. The pressure is on me, but in a good way. We practiced spead reading, information searching in blocks of text and some reading. The four hours flew by so fast I barely noticed it was ten past five.

One of my classmates showed me a different train station close by that meant I could skip switching trains in Shinjuku. She also reminded me that it is best to buy the commuter pass as soon as possible to save money. I choose two stations and pay for one, three or six months. The longer periods of time I pay for the more I will be able to save. The pass also lets me stop at any station between my chosen stations for free. If I choose the six month pass I will at most pay half price on all train rides during that period of time and that does not include using the pass during weekends or more than once per day.

It looks like this and you can read more on the Tokyo Metro homepage.

A pretty painless trip back I swung by the grocery store and bought a microwave dinner composed of Carbonara some Japanese sauce on top and grapefuit something called Hyouketsu(氷結). Most likely cider. 6% alcohol and 4,2% fruit juice. You can get both for 300 yen.

Expenses

• Schoolbooks 6890 yen
• Microwave carbonara and cider 300 yen