160 replies to this topic

[Jason Perlow]

Has Iron Chef completed its run in Japan, or are they filming new episodes there?

[Katherine]

The studio has been broken down. It's all gone.

I think they're kindof mystified by the US Iron Chef craze, too.

[BON]

There is a chance that they will make special edition,
but not on regular basis.
Frankly speaking, the memories of Iron chef have already
faded out.

[torakris]

Last nights program on TV Champion (the same show our very own BON won a couple weeks back) was cooking in 3 minutes.
I was only able to see the first part of the show, but they preapred dishes in 3 minutes start to finish!

The first 2 were a niku-jaga and a napoliatan (sp?) spaghetti dish, both made with bread (instead of potatoes and pasta)
I really wish I could have tasted some of them......

Here are some pictures:

http://www.tv-tokyo....lt/result.htm#1

You will see a bunch of faces and under them there should be a blue circle that says click, click on it to see the dishes that were made. I think there were 3 rounds (maybe 4)

[skchai]

Last nights program on TV Champion (the same show our very own BON won a couple weeks back) was cooking in 3 minutes.

They could use old recipes from another show, 3-pun Cooking (though the recipes always seem to take more like 10-15 minutes). This show has got to have set some longevity record for cooking shows, since I believe it started airing in the 1963. Has anybody watched 3-pun Cooking recently. If so, is Yamamoto Sonoko still around?

[torakris]

I haven't watched 3 pun kukingu (3 minute cooking) in ages but know they are still around because i see the magazine version on every trip to the supermarket.
Here is there homepage:

http://www.ntv.co.jp.../old/index.html

Yamamoto is still listed, but she doesn't seem to have done anything for a about a year.

[skchai]

Here is there homepage:

http://www.ntv.co.jp.../old/index.html

Yamamoto is still listed, but she doesn't seem to have done anything for a about a year.

Kristin,

Thanks for the link! Their faq (kind of) answers the mystery about why the shows always seem to take a lot more than three minutes. Apparently when the show originally aired the on-air time was 3 minutes but after the move to color broadcasting in 1966 it was extended to seven minutes, but they wanted to keep the brand name. Or something like that.

Looks like Yamamoto has been replaced by generic-seeming "ana" (including a man)!

[Akiko]

Does anyone remember Dochi no ryori? Is it still on tv? Do you know if I can buy tapes of the past episodes?

[torakris]

Akiko,
this is my favorite show!
It is still on but I am not sure about videos, they do have a couple books though, take a look here:

http://www.amazon.co...9041153-7348223

[prasantrin]

It was my favourite show when I was in Japan, too! I'm so glad it's still on so I can still watch it when I get back!

I used to tape the shows (as well as Iron Chef) and send them home to my parents. They loved them, even though they couldn't understand Japanese at all .

[smallworld]

I love that show too!

Last night was pork and egg okonomi-yaki versus curry monja-yaki. I thought that was a good fair match but it was pretty obvious the okonomi-yaki was going to win. And it did!

Sometimes the competing foods are just too different though, like apple pie versus crepes. Pretty unfair considering apple pie is apple pie but crepes can be stuffed with anything and presented in any number of creative ways.
But I guess it's hard to come up with new foods after all these years!

I think next week is butter-sauted salmon versus salt-grilled hokke. I'm quite sure that the next day all the shops will sell out of both fish very early!

[Akiko]

WHY DON'T THEY BROADCAST THESE THINGS ABROAD!!!

I'm very pleased to hear that its still on, and sad that I can't watch it!

I love monja yaki... It would have been hard for me to vote for anything else, except if I knew if was going to lose and I'd be watching everyone else eat!

[margaret]

I don't know where you are, but in New York you can rent the tapes.

Tokyo Video, Akean Video, and Midnight Video are a few Japanese video rental stores in the area. They usually only have recent releases, but they can get pretty much anything you request, don't ask me how.

I love this show too, by the way. Definitely the most entertaining of all the recent Japanese cooking shows, I think.

[Akiko]

Margaret,

More reason for me to lament ever having left New York City (although I do love it here in London).

There are many things Japanese I miss from NYC and hear that you seem to be getting more and more Japanese things.

I don't know where all the Japanese video stores renting recent dramas and shows are hiding...

[margaret]

I would try asking some other Japanese ex-pats or people who work at Japanese companies - my company actually gets two video services that come to the office every week, and they also take requests.

I don't know a whole lot about the Japanese population in London, but I'd bet there are enough people to warrant a few video stores.

Also, is there any Japanese TV at all? Over here we get Fujisankei on cable, and while I've never seen any Dochi no Ryori show being broadcasted, they might have some info on how to get ahold of tapes. Maybe?

[skchai]

Hmm. . . never have seen the show, but it sounds interesting. Seems from the program web page that it is associated with the Tsuji cooking school - so the food must really be well-made unlike some other food shows!

[torakris]

The food on this show is so incredible, they present it in such a way that you will be drooling over a hard boiled egg!
The showcase the main ingredients and can make a regular old cabbage look as sexy as hell, I missed the show on Thursday but I have no doubt they took to the farm of the best cabbage farmer in Japan and then plucked a ripe, juicy cabbage right in front of the camera, slicing it in half right in front of your eyes and then the moans of ecstasy from the guests as the cabbage is bared in all its glory.

This show is really food porn at its best!

I am sorry I mised this last show, monjyayaki is one of my favorite foods and it never gets the recognition it deserves!!

[prasantrin]

I love monja yaki... It would have been hard for me to vote for anything else, except if I knew if was going to lose and I'd be watching everyone else eat!

I remember hearing (years ago) that the participants were told not to eat before taping so they would be very very hungry. Can you imagine watching two excellent chefs prepare divine food, then not being able to eat anything because you voted the wrong one? That would be TORTURE!! But boy did they ever make delicious looking food!

I wonder if they'll ever let non-foreign looking foreigners who can't speak Japanese very well on that show. I'll be first in line!

[skchai]

To be honest, I've never watched this show. It's not on our local broadcast Japanese channel, and we don't get the cable-only channels. But I can't avoid reading about it. . .

So what's the deal? Two teams of two members compete against each other to cook something for the guest - I get that much. So who's the member who's left out - Goro-chan - since it seems he's left out of everything nowadays? What exactly do they make? And is the food actually any good? Have they been doing any Korean dishes now that Kusanagi has become "Chonan Kan"? Is this the show in which they made "Hiro"-chan of Speed cry because they didn't like her chocolate cake? Enquiring minds want to know!

[goyatofu]

skchai,

The SMAPxSMAP show has been on the air for ages. The bistro SMAP segment of the show also. It's almost always been teams of two, the one left out being Nakai, who is the "owner" of the bistro. His role is to chat up the guest as the 2 teams cook. Goro-chan left the show for a while after his traffic accident (he hit a cop and tried to flee the scene) so for a while the remaining 4 rotated through the role of the "owner" and the other 3 individuals cooked (including Nakai).

I have to admit, the dishes do look very good. They have improved exponentially over the years. They always make something fusiony (shudder at use of that word); I have several of their cookbooks. The only thing I ever made was a spaghetti dish with mascarpone drizzle, and it was very good.

So there you go....it's not a serious foodie program. I view it as entertainment, but the dishes they make do make me go, "hmmm, never would have thought of that combo before...".

enjoy! you have years of back seasons to watch!

[torakris]

Is that show still on?
I have to admit to never watching it, those SMAP guys have always touched a nerve with me and I normally avoid anything they are in......

[goyatofu]

yup, Kristin, they're still alive and kicking.....I understand, either you're a fan or you're not....I mean really, for a boy-band, they have evolved from those humble beginnings....

[torakris]

I have to admit to enjoying some of their most recent music, my husband even has their popular song "sekai hitotsu dake no hana" as the ringer on his cell phone.
It just that they are pretty much talentless in almost every way, yet they are on tv in almost every type of program...

Oh dear maybe I am getting old...

[torakris]

for those unfamiliar with SMAP here they are:

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~keyuz/smap/

[skchai]

Goyatofu - many thanks for the explanation. Now I am enlightened!

It just that they are pretty much talentless in almost every way, yet they are on tv in almost every type of program...

Kristin - SMAP's apparent lack of talent is not a liabilitiy at all. Indeed, quite seriously, one of the criteria for being a "tarento" is that one not have any talent! Talent creates unpleasant distance between the idol and his / her / their potential fans - in fact it's not uncommon for Japanese fans to start complaining when idol singers become too skillful that they are "se nobi suru" (becoming pretentious). Same with Morning Musume on the girl's side - they were picked for stardom because they flunked the Asayan auditions. This phenomenon is not limited to Japan but is probably more self-consciously recognized and manipulated there than elsewhere!

In fact, I bet the point at which the SMAP members actually become good cooks is the time that the Bistro SMAP ratings start to deteriorate. . .

[goyatofu]

Kristin, darling, you're not getting older, you're getting wiser.

but seriously though....fans of SMAP has nothing to do with age. When I was at their concert last year, I got ran over by the "o-ba-sans" with 2 young kids in tow cuz I was in her way of buying memorabilia.... The fan base is really wide!! from 8 to 80! and most of the folks at the concert were "o-ba-sans"....oh dear, I must be getting old.

[tissue]

Takuya Kimura is cute! I watch his j-soaps.

[prasantrin]

Help me, please! I can't find my favourite food-related show--Dotchi no Ryouri (sp?)! Could somone tell me what station and time it is usually on?

I'm also on the search for new cooking shows. Are there any good ones out there? I tend to avoid the NHK ones, but I need a food fix so anything will do!

BTW, if anyone is interested in where I'm living or what I'm eating, I have some pictures up on webshots under the My Apartment and Japanese Food albums. It took me 5 days to finish that blasted mentaiko spaghetti, but it's finally finished so maybe I can cook something else today!

[torakris]

dotchi no ryouri show is on Thursdays from 9:00 on Nihon terebi. It is channel 4 in Tokyo/Yokohama. It was not on last night for as there was some special.

[torakris]

BTW, if anyone is interested in where I'm living or what I'm eating, I have some pictures up on webshots under the My Apartment and Japanese Food albums. It took me 5 days to finish that blasted mentaiko spaghetti, but it's finally finished so maybe I can cook something else today!

great pictures!

Is the apartment furnished?
I love that oven, can you tell me more about it......