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?

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