torakris

Some more interesting ones It's a somewhat slower pace at Ginza Yuji, which has been furnished to resemble a public bathhouse. Dishes are served in the same type of wooden bowls usually reserved for washing, coats are stored in the baskets identical to those used for packing clothes in bathhouses and towels are hung on faucets that are replicas of taps, reminding people of the days when it was rare for Japanese homes to come equipped with a bath. For something more challenging, Zauo provides its customers with a fishing rod they can use to catch their own meals from the massive pools within the restaurant. Coming up with a catch within an allotted time can result in a discount, while the snared fish can be served raw, grilled or boiled. restaurants that serves school lunches

Yes the school themed restaurants do exist, I have seen a couple of them though I have never been tempted to try it. Here is one,click on where it says lunch on the left and you can see pictures of the food. An article about some school lunch themed restaurants

There is a new shop in Tokyo, aclled Mamido Burger, that sells sweets which are made to look like hamburgers, french fries and other fast foods.... The article from the above article: The Mamido burger, for instance, which sells for ¥390 ($3.25 at ¥120 to the dollar), is a highlight of the menu. The "bun" is actually a sponge cake, the "patty" inside is chocolate cream, and the "pickles" are kiwis. The deep-fried fish burger, meanwhile, priced at ¥440 ($3.70), features a banana shaped like a fish fillet in sponge cake. It is topped with "tartar sauce," which is actually fresh cream. And the gratin burger, also at ¥440, is a sandwich with a cream cheese and fruit filling. The side dishes are equally ingenious. The French fries look like the real thing but are actually custard cream covered in starch powder and deep-fried. The fries, diners are told, are delectable when topped with ketchup. Without exception, every item on the menu is a sweet of some sort. The Mamido webpage

Ok this isn't Balinese food but close to our hotel was a Japanese restaurant called Ryoshi that we stopped in for dinner one night. This was the Sanur branch but they have branches in other parts as well. It was quite good and the price was unbelievable. I had an 18 piece sushi plate for only $7 and it was good! I started eating before I remembered to take a picture My husband ordered a couple of different dishes one being a baby lobster tempura with baby lobster miso soup I found this a little on the greasy side though..

laksa, this was my first time to try it and I couldn't get enough... nasi goreng a mini Balinese feast oops, how did that get in here? the berry and lychee jelly donuts were good though An Indonesian buffet from our hotel in Lombok (not Bali but it is still close...) the view from the restaurant

We ended up eating in the Hotel's restaurants more than I planned and when we did go out I often left the camera behind so I didn't get as many pictures as I had hoped. Here are some pictures though we all fell in love with the salt/pepper/spice servers that were on evey table

no accessories included... I had the yubari melon one almost a year ago, here is the post from a year ago (in the candy thread): picked up the new yubari melon kit kat this morning it had a great melon taste, but I didn't really care for it with the chocolate...

We decided to make another day trip to Ubud and had the most wonderful driver for the day, a man named Ketut. We spent the morning walking around (and shopping) in Ubud and then drove up to Tegallalang and lunch at Kampung Cafe. I had the nasi campur while sitting on the open terrace gazing out over this

If we ever go back to Bali, I think we are definitely going to stay in Ubud for at least a couple days. I think that most of the best meals I had were in this area and I really loved the quietness and slow pace. Upthread Rona and I mentioned a Balinese feast we enjoyed at Ketut's Place in Ubud, I only took two pictures.... the buffet my first trip to the buffet One of my favorites was the coconut sate lillit, if I remember correctly it was made with 95% grated coconut and only 5% meat.

Check out this thread on fried rice in the Japan forum, there are lots of great tips for perfect fried rice. The initial rice prep will depend on what kind of rice you are using. If you are making the fried rice with Japanese short grain rice it needs to be warm when it is added to the pan. If it is cold it will be in one large lump that is almost impossible to separate. Most other rices (medium and long grain) should be chilled before using.

Sakura Kit Kat I was sooo disappointed by this, it tasted like a Barbie doll. Not that I have ever eaten a Barbie doll before but for some reason this is what popped into my head as I was eating it. Sakura flavoring and even smell was completely nonexistent. I also picked up a Look A La Mode, this one was called Look WA La Mode (wa referring to the Japanese flavors). This was a special pack with 4 Japanese flavors: yuzu matcha kinako black sesame they were all pretty gross...

Cool! I am off to the store as soon as I drop my son off at preschool! I will be back with a picture.

The wonderful thing about chirashi sushi is that you can add any ingredients you want! The chirashi sushi thread with lots of pictures!

The other type of sushi I make is chirashi sushi (scattered rice), here is a previous post: Made a gomoku (5 flavored) chirashi last night. First I cooked the rice in a rice cooker with some sake and a strimp of kombu (kelp). Then I made sushi rice my mixing it with vinegar, sugar and salt. Earlier I had simmered some kampyo (dried gourd) with dashi, soy,sake and sugar and separately simmered some dried shiitake, aburage (tofu pockets), and carrots. These were then combined together and mixed to the rice along with a bit of the leftover simmering liquid. it was then topped with (all separately seasoned) lotus root, anago slices, shrimp, egg shreds and nanohana (broccoli rabe)

Temaki (hand rolled sushi) is the one of the only kinds of sushi I will make at home. It really takes less than 30 minutes of prep, less if you buy the fish pre-sliced. I don't season my rice for temaki as my husband doesn't really like vinegared rice, you can't even tell the difference. A typical temaki set up for my family of 5

Kris, I can't tell from the picture. Is that taco as in octopus or ground beef with tex-mex seasoning? ← Taco as in ground beef with tex-mex seasoning. This was really. really good and I can't find it anymore.... by the way, this is a picture of a taco rice I made a little while ago think of it as a tex-mex chirashi sushi (scattered rice)

Yeah, I was always under the impression that the cabbage was there to cut the grease. Although, in Korea, it looks like this: So, a lot of grease nonetheless. Notice the cutlet is already smothered in sauce - which I hate, as it makes the bread crumbs soggy. Bleah. The cabbage has both mayonnaise and ketchup - a charming combination! This one has a side of curry rice as well. Hearty! ← Wow! now that is a grease overload!! Is this a Japanese restaurant in Korea? or just a general restaurant that serves various dishes? Is it common to put the sauce on top like that? In college I had this Korean friend who made the best tonkatsu, after salt and peppering the the pork he would smear it with that jarred minced garlic (a lot of it) then flour, egg, panko and deep fry. It was really good..... I don't think I have welcomed you to eGullet yet, welcome!

This is from a post I wrote a while ago about tontoro: Actually it is not from the belly, rather the jowls and is quite pricey because only 300 grams can be taken per head. For anyone who doesn't know what this is take a look at this website, it is in Japanese but has great pictures, I am drooling already! http://www.e-2929.com/syouhin/tontoro/tontoro.html When I was looking for some info for it in English just now though, I ran across it being translated as both fatty loin and fatty rib, hhhmmm.....

I tried looking in a couple Korean (in Japanese) cookbooks that I have and the recipes for their misodare were all really different, most of them are also dipping sauces rather than marinating. I did find one recipe in English, you might want to use this as a starting point for experimenting. Some of the misodare in yakiniku shops contain kochujang which can account for the red color. If you want to add a kick to your sauce I would suggest replacing some of the miso with kochujang. As to what kind of miso, I would avoid using just white or hatcho (dark red) as alone they would be either too sweet or too strong. A blend would be the best, start with some plain all purpose miso and add something stronger or sweeter depending on your taste. Though the recipe is for a dipping sauce I don't see why you can't use it for a marinade as well.

I love the cabbage! How I eat it depends on the mood I am in and the way it is served. In most places it seems to be served with a lemon wedge, so I usually just squirt this on and eat it like that. Some places serve it with a dollop of mayo, on the rare occasion I might mix it in but I usually just leave it. If I find the tonkatsu sauce to be quite tastey I might pour it on the cabbage and and eat it like that. This is the way my husband always eat it. I don't think there is a special way to eat or if it even has to be eaten, I have seen plenty of dishes go back to the kitchen with piles of cabbage. As to when to eat it, my husband and I both eat after we have finished all of the tonkatsu but we have no particular reason for doing this... tug, Welcome to eGullet and the Japan forum! Your katsudon sounds great!!

Hmmm...chicken brain sashimi??? Can we invite uncle Sam Manella for dinner? ← chicken brain sashimi with 4 different sauce, this was very nice..

What kind of equipment are you using for the grinding and stuffing? Did you buy it in Japan or in the US? And where'd you get the casings and back fat? Did you have to special order them? I really miss good sausages--those Johnsonville brats from Costco are the best I can get, and I want better! ← The grinder/stuffer I am using is the Porkert model and I picked it up in the US. The casing I picked up in the US but last year I was able to get a local sausage shop near my house to sell some to me. The place I got them at in the US is called Leeners and when I was at the shop this summer he said he sends a lot of stuff to Japan, especially their cheesemaking kits (which I also have ). This is a really cool shop! I picked up the back fat at shop called Hanamasa, they don't seem to have any shops in Kansai though... I paid about 300 yen for 2kg, I am sure almost any meat shop could get you some.

deep fried balls of tofu and vegetables In Japan these are called hirousu or hiryozu (Kansai, the second name more specific to Kyoto) and ganmo or ganmodoki (Kanto). Though they are deep fried they are usually eaten in simmered dishes. Though they can be made at home there are plently of ready made products in the freezer and refrigerated sections. This is one frozen product that contained yuba (tofu skins) as well as various vegetables. I made the simmering sauce and added a bit of okra, they are also good just heated in the microwave and eaten with ponzu.

saba no miso-ni mackeral simmered in miso the stick things are gobo (burdock root) It was much prettier in person (the color is off) and the photo would have looked better plated, but..... I cut the saba into small pieces so it is easier for the kids to eat, normally the pieces are much larger. This is probably one of my favorite dishes and it is also one all 3 kids really like.

onsen tamago ( purchased product) this is what the yolk looks like, in onsen tamgo the yolks are firmer than the whites