torakris

I found this in the supermarket yesterday, yuzu green tea. I liked it, the green tea had a subtler taste than most green tea drinks and there was a just a hint of yuzu.

This is my new ponzu of choice. Aojiso ponzu (flavored with green shiso)

That tendon is just beautiful!! I haven't had one of those in a long time...

I have only tried to make ponzu a couple times in the US with "American" recipes. These recipes usually call for lemon juice and I was always disappointed with the final taste as it wasn't what I was looking for. If someone has a great recipe I would love to hear it!

I have never bought a pack of miso here in Japan that did not have an expiration date. In general the more salt the miso contains the longer it will keep. He is a general guide (in Japanese): http://www.miso.or.jp/dictionary/q_a/qa03/06.html For rice based miso sweet ones (most of the white miso) are good for 3 to 6 monthsalike. salty ones are good for 3 to 12 months Barley based miso are good for 3 to 12 months Soybean only miso are good for 6 to 12 months Mixed miso are good for 3 to 12 months These are just general guidelines as no two miso brands are created equal. I keep my miso refrigerated and keep it no longer than a year unless it is the sweet variety.

Wow! I have never seen anything like that, I found it quite gross and I often eat sashimi when the fish is still flopping on my plate.... The chef explains that when he was a child he read in a manga (comic) about a guy doing this and he has wanted to try it since.

I have scrolled back through the thread and I can't believe I never reported that I did find Asahi ponzu here in Kanto. It was in the basement of one of the Tokyu department stores near my house. While it was good I found it to be stronger than any other ponzu I have ever had, almost to the point of being fizzy. I can't think of any other way to describe it. I prefer the flavor of my yuzu and sudachi ones.

There is a new shop popping up in depachikas( department store basements) here in Japan, it is called MOCHICREAM. (their homepage is currently under construction) The only thing they sell are daifuku, but in a semi-frozen state. they have 24 flavors and are 158 yen a piece. A couple weeks ago Whitegold and I shared 2 of them, sweet plum and black sesame, they were both wonderful! I can't wait to try all the flavors. We had them at Matsuya in Ginza and another store is located in Ebisu's Mitsukoshi. I am unsure currently of other Tokyo area locations. Since their site is under construction, I found this site that has a picture of their menu.

← Not really. I described the inside of the restaurant as having an old Japan feel to it, but since you only see the interior of the place as you are being led to your seat or when you are leaving, the atmosphere is lost. There was nothing about our little cubicle that I would describe as wabi sabi. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of wabi sabi please check out this thread.

A couple weeks ago fellow eGullet member Whitegold and I got together for dinner at Tofuro, thir Ginza Ichome location. We chose the place based on good reviews from other parts of the internet but I wasn't particularly impressed.　The restaurant was huge and had this very old Japan feel to it but since we were seated in a little cubicle with a curtain at the only entrance the atmosphere was lost on us. The drink menu was quite impressive but I found the shikwasa flavor in my drink to be very weak. Their specialty is freshly made tofu that is made a couple times a night and brought to your table in a wooden box, they then scoop it into a bowl and serve it with various condiments. This was one of the best dishes, sorry for the very off color picture. I really enjoyed this salmon-avocado dish This dish of Nagoya cochin tenderloin was disappointing and most of it was overcooked, rendering it tasteless we both enjoyed this maguro (tuna) katsu served with a ponzu sauce Their version of goya (bitter gourd) champuru was excellent We then finished off the meal with a plate of freshly made soba noodles that were another specialty of the restaurant and they were quite good.

I am having a hard time trying to imagine what these would taste like. The picture of them in the bowl looks quite similar to a couple types of seaweed that are also cut into strips like that that. I can't imagine using them in place of pasta, I usually use them in salad style preparations. Please do take some pictures.

I just found this wonderful nama yatsuhashi with yuzu flavored shiro-an, it was wonderful!

My son and I picked up lunch at the supermarket a couple days ago, I had a donburi style dish with a black vinegar sweet and sour chicken. It is a lot bigger and deeper than it looks in the picture. My son chose inarizushi and karaage http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11698183..._4148_43076.jpg

The new Kit Kat It is a combination of sakura (cherry blossoms) and sakuranbo (Japanese cherries), though it tastes like neither...

This was really good!

I am sure most people would be hard pressed to think of a Japanese condiment, but there is a wonderful green paste called yuzu koshou that has just recently made its way from Kyushu to other parts of Japan and even overseas. The paste is a mix of the very fragant Japanese citrus fruit, yuzu, and green chiles, referred to as koshou in the Kyushu area. There really isn't anything you can't use this on. I like it with miso soup, noodles and tofu but it is also great in marinades for meat. the yuzu koshou thread

Yes, I do realize it is January but I just got around to pulling these off my cell phone... and with a little help from mom and dad they did manage to finish those!

They are very sweet and are often used raw in dishes, the really good ones you can even eat like an apple....

As I said in my very first post I would ask for some yuzu koshou. If you like sweets ask her to look for the newest flavors in kit kats, hi-chu, etc.

Do you get Vidalias, WallaWalla, Oso Sweets or Maui Sweets (onions) in Japan? ← I haven't yet found them if they are here....

This is one of my favorite dishes from a food court at a nearby mall. It is a cell phone photo so the quality isn't that great... The restaurant is called Hathi and they sell most Vietnamese style dishes. I really love their kabocha salad that is on the side of the dish. At 700 yen ($5.75) it isn't a bad price for a hot lunch.

We had lunch last week at a food court at a local mall and daughter Mia chose this omuraisu with a hayashi sauce, It was about 580 yen ($4.80)

I saw a commercial last night for a new nabe base product from Ebara: Tan tan goma nabe Tan tan men is a popular spicy noodle dishes that you can in many ramen shops, I have never used a bottled base for a nabe before but this one looks very tempting. Here is a photo by someone who has tried it.

Thanks for starting the thread! I actually buy more lunches from supermarkets than convenience stores as well. I rarely shop at night but in the early evenings they often discount the very perishable meals to half off.... Just this week alone I had an unaju (boxed eel on rice) for 580 yen ($4.80) and for dinner on a day I was really rushed I picked up menchi-katsu (deep fried patties with ground meat and these ones have cabbage as well), 5 medium sized ones cost 195 yen ($1.60). I promise to take pictures next time! I probably eat more supermarket sushi than from anywhere else...

From the article: "We opened Kanso in July 2002 after deciding we wanted to create something unique. As we had lots of connections to food suppliers, getting cans of food cheaply and quickly from overseas was no problem. It was, we believe, the first establishment of its kind in Japan," says company spokeswoman Hitomi Sairyo. Kanso's bohemian atmosphere has been described by certain critics as "late '90s chic homeless-shelter," and the menu will satisfy a variety of palates. Unique it is, I guess I don't have any other comments....