Taiwan-style Japanese Resto (part 3)

Yaki Tofu
NTD 60

oops, forgot the tofu... how could i have forgotten the tofu?
i love this stuff, it's slightly crunchy on the outside and mushy soft on the inside
...and the special soy sauce, yum!

i should probably go back to that resto for another round... heehee

Taiwanese-style Japanese Food (part 2)

Here's what else we had for lunch that day:

o-nigiri
NTD 170

As you can see, the servings are enormous and are extremely filling. Definitely worth your money! Next time you drop by Taipei, leave me a message and I'll give you the address to this restaurant. Be warned, though, that you'd have to wait in line for 30 minutes to an hour if you come for dinner or during weekends!

Taiwanese-style Japanese Resto

So I went to this Japanese Resto in Taipei, Taiwan for lunch with some friends yesterday and we ate til we couldn't budge. It's fairly affordable and very filling, too. Here are some snippets into our enjoyable meal:
(Note that the current exchange rate is approx. USD1 = TWD32)

free miso soup!
drink to your heart's content!
TWD 0

yaki udon
yum!
TWD 90

chicken + rice
(dunno the proper name for this, somebody help!)
TWD 100



more to come...

Japanese Fast Food

I had this for dinner at one of the chain fast food stores they have in Japan. I had Katsudon (Pork Strips on Rice) and the meal came with a half-boiled egg, kimchi, and soup. It was pretty good... and filling too! I was famished from all the walking.

Anyway, the most interesting thing about the whole meal was the ordering part. There were only two people minding the place, one in the kitchen and one outside taking care of the customers. Right by the door is a machine that has pictures of all the meals they have. And... guess what? You press the meal you want and put in some coins. Voila! You can a meal ticket and that's what you give to the waiter. No Japanese needed. Hmm... efficient too.

Clever, huh?

Starbucks Tumbler (Osaka, Japan)

This is an Osaka-themed Starbucks tumbler I bought on my trip to Japan. And... waddayaknow, I comes with a free drink! So, I told the waitress, give me something that is not sold elsewhere. So she suggested Macha (green tea) :P

Yum

Takoyaki-Themed Souvenirs

here are some souvenirs designed with "takoyaki" in mind... they're really very interesting :P

look! it's spidey~ with a humongous takoyaki ball
(if you look closely, you'll see a couple of takoyaki on sticks on the plastic bag)

can you make out what this is? it's a takoyaki hat!
(look at the drawing for visual support... haha)
(that's about 12 dollars USD)

want them for yourself?
go to 'dotonbori' in osaka, japan
:D

Japan: Takoyaki

Takoyaki can roughly be translated as "squid balls." It is a famous Japanese specialty hailing from Osaka, the second largest city in Japan.

The outer part of this round-shaped delicacy is made from a flour mixture. The whole dish is topped with mayonnaise (or wasabi if you like that) as well as shaved dried fish (not really sure how to properly call these ingredients...)

Anyhow, hope the pictures speak for themselves, enjoy!

here's a takoyaki stand...

and here's the takoyaki!

here's another shot! i got this one from the Nagoya Castle
(Nagoya is the fourth largest city in Japan)

...more on takoyaki on later posts!!!

Bonus: Food Encounters in Japan

Here are some pictures of food and food-related stuff from my first trip to Nagoya and

Osaka in Japan!

mmm... ice cream~
Baskin Robbins

i did ask what this is, but i didn't fully understand what she said... basically, it's some sort of glutinous rice cake (sweet) covered in salty sauce... interesting taste

Cold Stone Creamery (more flavors)

Strawberry Banana Rendezvous (a personal favorite)


Apple Pie.... something

Ramen

What can I say, this ramen looks good and tastes so good. This actually is my first time to eat authentic ramen, all the while i thought ramen is just instant noodles. The order comes with the sauce (or soup) which is also so delicious. The tea is also very good, it actually tastes like coffee n_n.

Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream

Cold Stone ice cream rocks! Here's a peek of the delightful ice cream from cold stone creamery. Yum yum! I think this flavor is the Banana Caramel Crunch, not sure though because I tried almost all flavors and I can't remember everything!

Full Meal at Sogo

This meal is really delicious.. yumyum... we ate this full meal in the food court area of sogo in downtown taipei, i always enjoy full rice meals and this is no exception! The meal had a lot of vegetables, meat, rice and soup. yeah!

Tang Hu Lu

This sugar coated snack on a stick is called Tang Hu Lu (i think) it resembles the container of water that is used in early chinese history. This snack is basically composed of round fruits including strawberries, tomatoes (i hate it), and prunes and then dipped into caramelized sugar. Looks good though! n_n

Tea egg

This is a tea egg we bought in a nearby convenience store in tamshui, it's basically egg boiled in tea, the taste is ok if you like drinking boiled tea.. haha