torakris

Certain cellphones can be used to charge things, right? Do they work by just sending an amount to be charged to an existing account? Is there any reason a disposable cell phone with a built in debit amount wouldn't work? ← Yes cell phones can be used to buy various things, this article explains it a bit. The problem is the only restaurants I have seen set up for this are the "family" restaurants and other mediocre chains. You will not see this in any high end place and even most of the smaller mom and pop kind places. My husband uses the new mobile suica in which you no longer need to purchase an actual train ticket you just swipe your cell phone.

Cherry blossom products of every sort where VERY popular at last month's Foodex in Tokyo, I am sure you will be able to find some distributors.

Oh I know that corner well.... Nothing does seem to last there very long.... Another place to check out this summer.

4/22: でんぷ denpu Though this can be made with most firm white fleshed fish cod seems to be the most popular. The cod boiled and flaked, it is then placed in a pan and sugar and salt are added and then it is heated until all the water evaporates and you are left with a very light fluffy (and very sweet) product. Most people are probably familiar with this in its pink form (from food coloring) where it is called sakura (cherry blossom) dempu. 桜でんぷ　さくらでんぷ You are most likely to run across it in futomaki (thick rolls) and chirashizushi (scattered rice). Denpu (the pink stuff on the rice)

This one place I was definitely going to try on my trip home this summer, thank you for reporting on it. Finally someone mentions a good place in my neighborhood.....

Robyn, I am glad you are enjoying your trip! I have no idea what that picture is though, maybe an Osaka thing? It does look good though.

From the Daily Nihongo thread: word for 7/12: 長ネギ naganegi (nah-gah-nay-giy) This literally means long onion, it is the onion that is refered to by a variety of names: Japanese bunching onion, Japanese onion, Japanese leek, Welsh onion, etc It is very long and its thickness falss somewhere between scallions and leeks, it is quite mild and is eaten raw as a garnish as will as cooked. It is quite common to them on a yakitori skewer as well as atop a bowl of ramen noodles. This picture will give you an idea of their size.

A couple days ago I really messed up a pineapple upside down cake. I came to eGullet and did a search to see if there was a thread on the secrects of the perfect upside down cake only to discover the main thread was on started by me the last time I had an upside down disaster..... I also rediscovered this picture The grid like thing on top of the cake is from pattern on the cake pan, as you will see my cranberries ended up on the bottom when they are supposed to be up top.

* THUMP--Sound of Korean mother somewhere having a heart attack and hitting the floor...* ← As a manager I should know better than to make a post with only emoticons, but this comment was just too funny. As a mother who makes bento lunches weekly I can really relate.

just an additional note. the "dunkass" restaurant is kind of considered japanese. its taken from the japanese tonkatsu. the way koreans would spell it would be don-ggaseu. i think there are donggasseu places and there are also more broader places called 'gyeong-yang-shik jip' or literally 'light western place', where you would find the koreanised ideal of western foods which include spaghetti, curries, hambak steak and tonkatsu type dishes...i kind of like the name dunkass though. it would also be an appropriate name for a doughnut shop no? ← Dunkass Thank you for explaining this.... I thought it was some new slang word to describe a restaurant (or other cool place ). I have been out of the US for so long that there are quite a few new words that take me by surprise.

oh my god! The guy on the right Matsuo-san is a friend of mine! I was just talking to his wife this morning.....

ZenKimchi, welcome to eGullet!! Thank you for those very informative posts and pictures, I have learned a lot.

Special flavors of the kinoko no yama come out every now and then. I have seen flavors such as strawberry, chestnut, azuki and matcha and even cranberry.

so dosirak aren't necessarily shaken up? It was just that one specific one? The pictures melonpan linked to look quite similar to a Japanese bento though a little more scattered. Japanese bentos tend to be very compartmentalized. Do the ones that you shake up have a specific name?

I posted quite a bit about both unagi and anago in the Daily Nihongo thread, The posts start here. There is a lot of information on how they are prepared and other little tidbits of information including a nice article on anago fishing in Tokyo Bay.

I agree with Rona in terms of taste I would describe unagi as fattier and more flavorful. By far the most common preparation of both eels is kabayaki (grilled with a soy based sauce) with shirayaki (grilled with no sauce) being a distant second. Then can also both be used in tempura but I think anago may be a little more popular with that prep. Anago is more common in the Kanto (Tokyo) area, and though I almost never see raw eel in the supermarket, I have seen raw (butterflied and ready to cook) anago. In terms of availability, they are both in season in the summer but since they are easily farmed and imports are high you can find them in Japan all year round. The price doesn't fluctuate much either. In general unagi is more expensive but it will also depend on farmed vs wild and domestic vs import. I have to admit to being a fan of domestic Japanese unagi, I have eaten various imports (mostly from China) because they are almost half the price but they tend to be bland where the Japanese ones have this really fresh taste.

To get back to actual Japanese baby food.... In the US most of the prepared baby foodds came in jars, though it has been years since I have even looked at it so it may be completely different now. In Japan jars make up a very small part of the baby food market. For younger babies just starting on weaning many of the foods are in powder form to be mixed with the liquid of choice. These are often sold in small packs of about 1 tablespoon and are perfect for testing that first taste or for mixing into other foods. Many of the teas and juices also come in powder form to be mixed with hot water (and then cooled a bit). Some examples of the powders. As the babies get a bit bigger the prepared foods consist mostly of retort packed foods, freeze dried (to be mixed with hot water) and jars. Some examples of the retort pack foods. here are some examples of freeze dried food, I know there are some more meal type like products but I am blanking on the baby food manufacturer's names.... Japanese baby food definitely uses a lot more fish than the American ones do, they also add liver to quite a few of the products.

4/19: Mentaiko is just as versatile! mentaiko in Japanese style dishes mentaiko in western style dishes mentaiko in Chinese dishes mentaiko in dishes that don't fall into those 3 categories mentaiko in desserts/snacks click on any of the titles to see the picture and recipe

I have never seen anything like this and find it even more interesting that it was served in a restaurant. Are there boxed meals more similar to a Japanese bento in Korea? What would a family pack for a lunch in the park for example?

The dosirak conversation has been moved here.

The first show (2 hour special) airs tonight, this is the new homepage for the show. I have no idea how to streamline a video but I will see what my husband can do, he has his computer set up as a tv and is always downloading stuff to his ipod. Helen, The gyoumu store by my house sells frozen mentaiko paste in a tube like thing, but I think it is something like 500g......

Back to tarako! There seems to be nothing tarako can't be used with! Just take a look at this recipe page.

Well the filming has finished, we spent the day at the studio yesterday taping the last part with Miyake-san and Takeda-san. We had a blast! Those guys are hysterical! The show is still set to air on 5/9. Now it is back to normal life..... where did we leave off??

For those interested in discovering more about umeshu, this weekend's Japan Times has a great article on the recent boom. Sweet Tipple Comes of Age by Yukari Pratt also check out all of the related articles...

goya chu-hi?! cool!