Shabu shabu in Kagoshima (Dolphin Port)

I forgot how much the set was, but it was around 1000 yen.
It came with some fish (first pic, very tasty!), tempura, meat (in the paper 'pot'), and plain rice.
It was a great meal!

Raku Men Ya (Le Mian Wu in Chinese)

The name of the restaurant literally means "Happy Noodle House." I love their noodles although it's a bit on the pricey side based on Taiwan standards (prices start from about NTD200 (approx. USD7)). You can ask for seconds and thirds at no additional cost.

I always go for the ramen + dip combo (see first picture). You are basically served cold noodles and a hot dip. The concept is simple, dip and eat.

The second and third pictures show two of their soup ramen flavors. If I'm not mistaken, one is soy sauce flavor and the other is garlic flavor.

All flavors come with pork slices, seaweed and onsen eggs. I don't much care for the pork and the seaweed, but I enjoy the onsen (hot spring) eggs a lot; it's basic half-cooked eggs but it has a very special taste.

Do try it if you have the chance to swing by Taipei!

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!

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

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.