torakris

In Japan none of these would really be considered desserts as the Japanese don't really eat dessert except for possibly a nice piece of fruit. Most of the foods discussed in this thread would be more of snacks. I recently had an incredible dessert/snack at Monsoon Cafe a South east Asian restaurant, it was a cold shiruko (normally made with soupy red beans and some kind of mochi) with kabocha and coconut milk with little balls of mochi and a large spoonful a thick azuki paste, it was wonderful and really hit the spot on that hot day. Wish I had taken my camera...

word for 9/10: スモークハマチ sumouku hamachi (sue-moe-koo hah-mah-chee) smoked hamachi Though I haven't really seen this in Japan, I have seen it on menus in the US quite a bit....

some of the many ways omuraisu can be served: http://images.google.com/images?q=omuraisu...-8&start=0&sa=N

My husband uses a 3 tiered bento everyday, it has one bowl for soup, one for rice and a third for the okazu (main dishes/small dishes). Because it stays warm we have had a couple problems with foods that don't do well for prolonged periods at that temperature and I have now learned what foods to avoid. My kids have the typical Kitty-chan/shinkansen bento boxes and we have one large one of 3 tiers that I pull out for undokai (sports day) and family outings. That is it. I will take some pictures tomorrow.....

sounds great!

Alex's reply just reminded me to tell you to not miss the 100 yen shops! It you are looking for nice dishes, snack foods and gifts for friends back home this is definitely to place to find them. I currently buy all of my dishes at the 100 yen shops!

the most common ketchups here are probably Heinz and Kagome (Japanese brand), I prefer Heinz (it is what I grew up with) but the taste is really quite similar.

Morning sickness, oh am I glad those does (hopefully ) are over..... I had it really bad with #1 and ended up being hospitalized because I couldn't keep anything down, with #2 and #3 it was still bad but I was able to avoid hospitalization. Everyone I talk to seems to crave slightly different foods but I have known of many that seem to prefer cold foods. I was addicted to cherry tomatoes and various fruits, also Subway sandwiches. Anything that was raw, I could have eaten sushi every night! like it has been said before the smells are worse than the foods sometimes, it was the smells that would make me vomit more than the actual eating. Avoid cooking foods that have strong smells while cooking if she is in the house, even things that you don't think have a smell be very careful of. For me the rice cooking in a rice cooker would send me straight to the bathroom.

Sounds like a good plan! I would start your second day early and go first to Yoyogi/Meiji Jingu as those will be open early. then finish up with a walk through Harajuku/Shibuya maybe Omotesando as well? These are all in walking distance. There is a new trend for stores, especially those in department stores, not to open up 11:00am! so try to plan the mornings for things that are outside and save the shopping for a little later in the day. Depending on how lost you get this could be a whole day in itself maybe ending at Tokyo tower for a nice view. Day 3 you might want to spend at Roppongi and other areas, do you have any interests? anything else you really want to see? By the way, don't bother going to the top of Tokyo tower if it is overcast or cloudy, you will not be able to see anything and it will be a huge waste of money! Tokyo tower itself is a fun place to go, besides and aquarium they also have a wax musuem and a museum of "magic" tricks, can't think of waht else to call this...

I don't think this is the crab restaurant I am familiar with but I found one by shinjuku st. called Tarabaya, looks great! http://www.kora.co.jp/html/shop/tarabaya.htm

word for 9/9: 手巻き temaki (tay-mah-key) This is another sushi preparation, te means hand and with maki meaning roll this referred to in English as a hand roll. These are the cone shaped rolls that are rolled by hand rather than with a mat as in the hosomaki style. This is another way you may find negihamachi presented. temaki: http://jikuso.jp/kikoriya/syoku/pages/img/..._temaki_img.jpg

word for 9/8: 細巻 hosomaki (hoe-sew-mah-key) hoso 細 is from the word hosoi which means thin, narrow or slender and maki means a roll, from the verb maku meaning to roll. So this is a thin roll and you can often find negihamachi as the filling for a hoso maki. some pictures of hoso maki: http://www.hosinoko.co.jp/menu/hosomaki.jpg

there are also a lot of good ideas in this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19628&hl=

It was sliced into quarters lengthwise. As to the double posting, you can always copy and paste anything you have written and put it into a different thread when you feel it is appropriate as I did with my myouga tempura comment above by posting in this thread as well as the myuoga thread.

You have only been lost 3 out of 9 times???!! I have gotten lost EVERY SINGLE TIME!! It takes me about an hour and asking at least 5 different people before I can even find an exit and it usually isn't even the right one!! I have started avoiding Shinjuku station whenever possible, come out the wrong exit and you could be lost for days........

Like Palladion said ,yaki niku (yaki = grilled niku = meat) is the Japanese style of Korean grilled meats. There are loads of yakiniku places all over Japan and they often sell other Korean dishes as well. This is a type of do it by yourself cooking, so normally you will be presented with a platter of raw meat (sometimes seasoned, sometimes not) and you will cook it by yourself on a grill at your table. You will probably also receive dipping sauces to dip the meat into before eating. Other variations can include wrapping the meat in a lettuce leaf. Here is a previous thread that discussing Korean style beef as well as yakiniku restaurants in the US: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...st=0&p=286737

I can't wait for the larb pictures!

My favorite is simialr to Helen's with lots of grated daikon but with shredded shiso instead of natto. I also like it hot with tempura on top....

I also forgot to mention that I don't marinade for too long, I usually pop the chicken in the marinade and then get everything ready, letting it sit at room temp for 15 to 30 minutes. I make ginger juice by grating the ginger on a grater and then picking up the pulp and squeezing it. I use slices of ginger because it is even easier! As to the oil I usually use canola because that is what I have in the house, but that or vegetable should be fine. mirin should not be substituted for sake as it is sweeter, they do sell "cooking sake" but it isn't worth buying, it is similar to using "cooking wine" instead of real wine. Get the real stuff your taste buds will thank you and it isn't that much more expensive. Can't wait to hear more!

I just had myouga tempura for the first time at a restaurant a couple of nights ago. Wow! I can't believe I never though of doing that before it was incredible!

I forgot to mention that my ex-boyfriend's mother made wonderful karaage, beside the regular marinade ingredients she also added oyster sauce, ketchup, honey and garlic....

I think favorite karaage recipes may have a lot of persoanl preference. I like mine really crispy with some of the white still powdery like..... I marinate the thighs in equal amounts of soy and sake with a couple slices of ginger and some smashed up scallions. Then I beat up an egg and dip the pieces in the egg then in a mixture of cornstarch and flour (2:1) Then for the frying I follow a trick I saw on tv a while back, I fry them at a medium temp (sorry I don't follow exact degrees) until they turn a very light brown, then I remove them and let them rest for 4 minutes and then deep fry them again at a high heat until they are the color I want them.

I just had myouga tempura for the first time at a restaurant a couple of nights ago. Wow! I can't believe I never though of doing that before it was incredible!

are you going to be able to fit this all in in 3 days!!? My first question would be how much are you looking to spend? Are you on a pretty tight budget? want to go all out? or somewhere inbetween? You can kill two birds with one stone and go to Senzan, a crab restaurant and get their wonderful kani (crab) shabu shabu ( a type of hot pot). I will be back with a link.... EDIT: oops Senzan seems to be Yokohama based..... I thought there were branches in Tokyo as well.. I know there is a crab restaurant just one minute from Shinjuku station, easily identifiable by the huge crab clinging to te wall outside. I will be back later with more...

See I knew you guys would learn something from this thread! anything with the word negi refers to the Japanese bunching scallions, so negi toro is just like negi hamachi but with tuna instead. negi maki (maki means roll) is a dish of something rolled around negi, usually beef, pork or chicken, but I have seen fish dishes as well. one type of negimaki (this time with pork): http://www.asahigp.co.jp/cuc1-60.html