Majra

Thanks torakris. Can we get hot noodles without soup, or are they always served cold? What about panfried noodles?

Our kids have good stamina, and we took them to the edge yesterday. Needing a simple sit-down meal at the end of our first long and jet-lagged day, we went to Jonathan's near our hotel. Thank you for the recommendation, Blether. This style of restaurant fit the family's needs just right. My husband and I would have preferred something more adventurous, but we took our kids' cues instead. This was the scene as we took our seats. The waitress brought these kiddie place settings which my kids would usually find silly, but when she pointed them towards the self-serve beverage bar, they didn't turn up their noses. Nothing like a little cup of bright green Fanta to perk up a weary soul. My son and I both ordered this tonkatsu with rice and miso soup. My daughter had tonkatsu a la carte (I shared some rice with her). We all ate well. My husband had spaghetti with chicken and mozerella cheese, which he enjoyed too. We are looking forward to more food adventures in Tokyo today!

How do you ask for dry style noodle, i.e. without soup? Alternatively, soup on the side? Thanks in advance.

We arrived at our hotel last night after a surprisingly tolerable 27 hour journey from our home in Florida. Tired but hungry, we set out to find dinner. After strolling a few blocks and looking in many restaurant windows (so much to choose from!), our kids were most intrigued by the system at this little restaurant. Probably no big deal in the Japan forum, but pretty novel for us. Pick your dish from the window display: Buy your meal ticket at the vending machine: Go inside to eat: (This photo is called "Failed Noodle Experiment #1," but I do love her optimism.) I ordered this set, which had soup with soba noodles and a tonkatsu with egg over rice dish. I think it cost either 590 or 690 yen. It was tasty, and the portion was very large. I probably only ate half of it. My son and husband had similar meals, but with udon and different pork and rice dishes. After a luxurious full night's sleep we hit the streets bright and early this morning. First stop was for coffee, which I was thrilled to find so easily. We spent the morning poking around Shibuya, so much to do so much to see. My daughter needed to nap so I am back at the hotel while she rests, but if you see us around town (!) please say hi!

No, no confusion. From your post #6 in this thread, "Though I've been yelled at by our Orlandoian eG members for saying this,..." Whatever. The food scene here is rough.

Agreed! In fact I don't think I've ever seen any eG'er defend the restaurant scene in our fair town. It's pretty dismal! ← As an outsider and someone who visits your fair city often, I beg to ask why. It doesn't make sense to me. Shouldn't there at least be a handful of good quality restaurants for the "discriminating" eater? While the amount of chain restaurants in Orlando is crazy (I'm sure more per square mile than any city in the world) I understand that it fits the typical tourist demographic. I truly hope that before I return someone has the guts to open a decent restaurant. ← Orlando is built around Disney and colleges. It really has no culture of it's own. Good farmers markets, veggie stands, butchers, or even very good fish mongers (mind the spelling) don't really exist. It really is sad, but Orlando is built around chain restaurants. There are a few good restaurants I've heard, a few downtown Orlando and in the Winter Park area. Both areas are at least 30 min. from Disney. If anyone does want a list of what I've heard I can compile it and make it avalible with mapquest links and all. I haven't actully eaten at any of these places however....so you are still on your own trying em! ← I agree with your assessement of the area. Orlando is kind of a cow town. It wasn't on the map until Walt Disney decided to do his thing here. He created this destination, and any "culture" here is an outgrowth of the success of Disneyworld. I can't knock that, it is the backbone of our local economy. Tourism is the industry, and it caters to middle America family tastes, like it or not. I want to emphasize Ross.ucf's comment about locations. Disney is located in the Kissimmee area, which really is not Orlando. As he pointed out, it is at least a 30 minute drive. There is nothing in Kissimmee outside of tourism; it is a captive audience. Those of us living in the Orlando proper/Winter Park area, who are not vacationing or making a life oriented towards Kissimmee, generally stay far far away from that theme park area. (That's why you don't see me posting recommendations for those areas...I *never* go there unless it's an obligatory function.) The Universal/Sand Lake area is closer than Kissimmee, and there are a few decent restaurants there (Cedar's, Texas de Brazil), but honestly those destinations are still a hike to many local residents like me, who usually does not want to contend with the traffic and the crowds. Rather, I prefer to focus on life outside of the theme park/vacation spots. The bright spots are few and far between, but I love 'em for merely existing. Ross.ucf I would *love* and encourage you to build a list! I will offer whatever small advice I can on local eats, and perhaps we can offer those folks looking for alternatives to the chain dining scene something to look forward to when it comes to dinnertime. I'd love to learn something too--I've only been here 3 years, having relocated from the San Francisco Bay area, sob!

Agreed! In fact I don't think I've ever seen any eG'er defend the restaurant scene in our fair town. It's pretty dismal! ← I have. A few years ago on an Orlando thread I wrote, "I just don't find the food in Orlando all that good." Somebody, presumably a local, took offense, and wrote: "I love comments like that. Metro area of 1.2 million, hundreds of restaurants, and a throwaway sentence to denigrate the whole city's options." Defensive as he was, I think we're all agreeing that as a rule the restaurants of Orlando are really poor. ← C'mon markk. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but sorry, I can't let this slide. *One* person wrote that *one sentence* to you a couple of YEARS ago, and here we are in 2007, with you throwing all of the eG Orlando & vacinity citizens to hell in a handbasket, as "people" who "yell?" Not quite, not from where I'm sitting. In my opinion the local folks in our small forum try to steer visitors toward the few beacons of hope that we spot in this culinary wasteland.

Agreed! In fact I don't think I've ever seen any eG'er defend the restaurant scene in our fair town. It's pretty dismal!

Luma did nothing for me...so pretentious and overly confident. I went once with a group of friends and have not/would not go back again. The food was underseasoned, the portions minute, and the wine upselling was positively obnoxious. In the Winter Park area, I've heard good things about Beluga but have not been there yet. When I go by it looks like quite a see-and-be-seen scene like you get at Hue or on the sidewalks of Park Ave. Besides Blue, Dexter's and K Restaurant are also decent for casual date-night dinners. Then there's Midnight Blue, in Thornton Park, for small plates or a nice weekend brunch. My own preference is for these types smaller low-key, food-focused establishments, as opposed to the Hues and Lumas of the area which appear to appeal to the beautiful people, or the huge chain type places that mainly attract the tourists. Texas de Brazil's meats are delicious, but I'm not sure it's a great date place. Just my additional $0.02. FWIW, I live just north of Orlando and don't get down to the restaurant row area of Sand Lake Rd. very often at all, so I can't comment on those places personally.

Blue Bistro is my hands down favorite. The menu changes daily, and I always love my meals there. My husband and I are going tomorrow night for our belated Valentine dinner. Website is here: www.bluebistroandgrill.com As our "go-to" restaurant for a special meal out, my husband and I have taken many friends to Blue and everyone enjoys it.I've mentioned this place several times here on the Orlando forum, but I don't know that any eGers have corroborated my opinion. If you do try it, please report back and let us know what you think. They also do a monthly wine dinner which may be of interest to you.

I have not posted here in the Chinese forum for a while, mainly because it's a struggle for me to juggle the wok and the camera and the BTUs all at once. Then, by the time I come in from cooking outside, I am frazzled and my family wants to eat already! Seriously, I need to expand my Chinese cooking repertoire to include techniques other than stir-frying. Three dishes, or sometimes even two, are hard for me to do a-la-minute. Anyway...back to dinner. Tonight I made two great dishes from Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty. I did a riff on her Fish Braised in Chili Bean Sauce (dou ban xian yu). I used filets of orange roughy that were in my freezer, and cut them into slices. I skipped the recipe's initial call for frying the skin since my fish didn't have any; instead I made the sauce and slipped the fish in it to simmer. And, since we were having an unexpected extra guest join us, I added a package of firm tofu, cubed. This fish and tofu medley in a spicy sauce was delicious! I also made the dry-braised green beans. I have made her vegetarian version several times, but this was the first occasion that I made the version with pork. It was excellent. I can't remember the last time that I've had such success with a single cookbook. Her new Hunan cookbook, on the other hand, remains unused after 3 weeks in my possession. I'm having some weird block about it. Has anyone tried any recipes from this book yet?

I'm not Majra, but her bento set looks like one called "Laptop Lunches" http://www.laptoplunches.com/ They come with an insulated carry case. ← You are correct, these are Laptop Lunchboxes. They do not come with the carrying case, however. You have to buy that part, which I did not. I just put the bento inside a regular lunchbox; it fits just fine.

No worries there, Robyn. We don't eat fast food here, I don't see any reason why we'd start on the other side of the planet. Even my "picky" child would choose tonkatsu over McD's 10 times out of 10.

Blether, thanks for another great response. I followed all of the links that you provided--I love this part of trip planning. It's so fun when you put a couple of stakes in the ground and the rest starts falling into place. Your advice is appreciated.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day (American style), here are some pictures of my kids' lunches. Vanilla yogurt with kashi go-lean crunch and blueberries; peanut butter and bacon hearts; apple; snacky mix of cereal/crackers/pretzels/nuts; and a homemade oatmeal cranberry cookie. Sandwich of hot soppressata, roasted turkey and lettuce on garlic-pesto wrap bread with provolone cheese heart; hearts of romaine salad; parmesan goldfish crackers; strawberries and blueberries, homemade blueberry mini-muffin, almonds, and pastel mints; salad dressing is in the small condiment container. Hearts of romaine with hearts of rosemary ham and provolone cheese; tuna salad with capers heart; crackers for the tuna; strawberries, almonds, blueberry mini-muffin, pastel mints, and a lemon drop.

As in most restaurants anywhere in the world I am sure this would be frowned upon. I would suggest going to the restaurant first and trying to find something on the menu, I am pretty sure you will be able to find something, even if it is just a bowl of rice or a side of french fries. If she is still hungry then stop somewhere on the way back and pick her up something to eat at the hotel. ← That's what I figured; thanks for confirming my suspicions.

Wow, torakris, I think I just hit the jackpot with all of this information. You and everyone else have definitely given me the boost of confidence that I was looking for! Thank you! Your specific recommendations sound perfect. I was hoping for you to reply because I knew that you had kids around the same age and would understand the inner mechanics of family dining. We will be eating the kinds of casual quick food that you recommend in between sightseeing and shopping adventures. Re: Japanese, we do not speak nor read the language. But we're not afraid of the world either, and can fend for ourselves/laugh at ourselves where necessary. My husband did some traveling in Japan last year and he did pretty well for himself considering the language barrier. This will be my first trip to Japan. My travels to Asia before now have been limited to China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. This trip will be my kids' first time out of the US. I've explored a lot of the threads that you linked; it's probably time to go back and take notes. The ramen museum is on my short-list of places to go. Have you been, and would you recommend it?

Thanks for the feedback on Kyoto. From what I've been reading, that train station sounds like a destination in itself! We will have fun exploring there. Re: Tokyo department store foods, I am surprised to hear that there are no tables to eat at. I knew that it wasn't cool to walk around while eating, so I guess I assumed it was set up similar to a food court with tables and chairs. Where do the Japanese eat the foods they buy there? Do they carry it back to home or the office?

I wish I could figure out this quote feature on eGullet, there are so many comments within your post that I would like to insert a response to, but I can't seem to wrap my brain around that feature. Anyway... This is all fantastic info. Thank you. * No, there is nothing wrong with being sensitive, in fact it serves her well in many areas of her life. We do not hold it against her! * She loves Thai food, and grilled meats, and it is nice to know that they are widely available. * In Tokyo we are staying at the Cerulean Tower in the Shibuya area. Do you know anything about that particular area of the city? * Thanks for the links; I'll be sure to check them out. * As for the noodle question, I wish I knew the answer to that million dollar question.

Thanks for your advice. I agree that finding places to eat with a group often comes down to figuring out the lowest common denominator. It's ok with me, we can work around it. We are not planning any high-end dining for this trip, it's a family excursion and we will all be delighted just to be there. I was also a picky eater as a kid, and I sure turned out ok. Question about department store basement food: If she picks something she likes, can we bring it into a restaurant for her to eat while the rest of us eat something from the menu? Or would that be frowned upon?

Oh my goodness, thank you for taking the time to give me such a detailed and thoughtful response. You've given many wonderful suggestions, many that will surely fit the bill. I'm going to print out your entire message and put it with our itinerary. The katsu-age shop sounds like something the whole family will love! The omelet suggestions are iffy--she likes eggs and often eats them scrambled with rice (and hot sauce), but a dish like donburi might backfire if it looks familiar but doesn't taste just like mom's.

We are taking our two kids, ages 12 and 10, on a long-awaited vacation to Japan next month. We'll spend 3 days in Tokyo, 2+ days in Kyoto, and another 3 days in Tokyo. We are looking forward to many aspects of the trip, and expect that our culinary adventures will be a highlight and focus, but I have some concerns about my daughter (age 10) and I'd love some advice. She has an adventurous spirit, but is a sensitive child with a sensitive palate...which means that she can be a picky eater. At home we do eat out fairly often, usually favoring cheap ethnic eats. She likes spicy food, chicken, some vegetables, some starches. Grilled chicken on a skewer is good. Tonkatsu is a favorite, but sauce must be on the side. Rice can't have sprinkles. Soup is out of the question. Noodles must be the way her mind expects them to be. Most seafood and all unidentifiable sea vegetables will make her cry...I'm sure you get the picture. So how do you think she'll do??? Will we be able to go to a department store basement and find lunch that won't cause tears? Is it possible for her to eat tonkatsu and French pastry all week, if that's all she can find? Is fresh fruit easily found? FYI, she doesn't like being picky, and we don't hold it against her. I just want everyone to have a positive experience and delicious memories.

I completely agree with your thinking. Honesty and full-disclosure are not the same thing, not in any area of life and including the bakery business. You don't have to "open your robe" to anyone; a healthy degree of self-preservation will serve you well. If applied skillfully there is no ethical dilemma even. In your situation with the customer, you could follow her question about baking the same day with another question, "Are you concerned about the freshness of the product?" Then wait for the reply, and provide assurance that the brownie will be as moist and delicious as always.

I just melted the chocolate, nothing added except the sprinkles on top. For your project, you may want to consider that white chocolate might look yellowish on top of a vanilla marshmallow. When I make vanilla ones they are a very bright white.

Pretty much, yes. Not tricky nor time consuming.