Supermarket eats

[Hiroyuki]

This is a sister thread to convenient eats.

The latter thread is fairly interesting, but the problem for me is that I don't frequent convenience stores, and I do like going to supermarkets for a change. Thus, this thread.

The other day, I decided to go to a local supermarket with my two children, buy some premade meals, and eat them at the place in the supermarket they call Cafe.

I bought this pack of sushi for 698 yen:

My son picked up a pack of two rice balls, and my daughter a fish burger.

So, what are your favoriate premade meals that you get from a supermarket?

[torakris]

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...

[sk_ward]

I pick up croquettes and gyoza from my supermarket every now and then. When I get off of work late, most of the freshly made foods are 50% off and then I'll add maybe a gobo or potato salad.

[pirate]

I probably eat more supermarket sushi than from anywhere else.

←

So do I when I'm in Japan. I can only eat one big meal a day and I frequently purchase take out sushi from a supermarket for a light meal. There is one big distinction I'd like to point out. In the USA the date stamp includes only the day the item was packed., usually followed by a good to date. I would not buy sushi dated that way. At the Japanese supermarket I most frequent the time stamp includes the date AND the time of day. So one can purchase sushi made and packed within an hour or better. of purchase.

[torakris]

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

[Pouncy]

I'm quite fond of the Daiei supermarket on the waterfont here in Yokosuka. I'll get a little box of tonkatsu, some noodle salad stuff, and an onigiri for later, along with a Coke. I'm surprised at how well the fried items in stores here hold up for transport home - I've usually at least a 30 minute walk home, and they don't get soft!

[flowbee]

we were in tokyo for 10 days in september, we loved it! i found great value and quality in those supermarkets in the basement of big department stores. i usually bought chirashi's:

if we ever go back, i would be happy just eating food from depachikas everything tasted fresh. much better than most of the stuff available in Vancouver.

i think these were from Isetan somewhere in Shinjuku...

Edited January 29, 2007 by flowbee (log)

[cookaburra]

I've just come back from Japan and am in the process of documenting everything we ate so I can post it on egullet.I just keep getting busy(and sidetracked).We got plenty of meals from the supermarket-breads,pastries savoury and sweet,sushi,bento boxes,yakitori,salads to name a few.

Always good value and the quality is OK too.

[helenjp]

I have just the tiniest supermarket fetish. I get really worked up figuring out which regions certain supermarkets are active in, and what characterizes each one .

Daiei...not the cheapest, and reputedly the Titanic rather than the titan of the supermarket world, but surprisingly strong on "western" foods for a regional supermarket. I mean, we're talking grated cheese rather than whole edams, but every little helps.

Recently a Tsurukame-Land started up near me - a good move, as they are pretty cheap, but their vegetables and fish/meat are reasonable in quality. I was surprised to see Tesco-brand cookies there, but apparently Tesco owns Tsurukame...

Neither of these supermarkets (in my area) are really big on take-outs, although Daiei has a lot of sushi, and Tsurukame has about as many bento as you would expect for a station-front location, but very little in the way of "souzai" or individual deli dishes.

A friend of mine worked in an upmarket supermarket, and told me that they are very finicky about how long take-out food has been on display. When it is whisked off display however, it isn't always disposed of. Sometimes it's sold on to less finicky supermarkets .

[torakris]

After another busy day I found myself hungry at the supermarket, so I picked up lunch.

A nice mix of sushi for only 380 yen ($3.15).

[Hiroyuki]

After another busy day I found myself hungry at the supermarket, so I picked up lunch.

A nice mix of sushi for only 380 yen ($3.15).

←

I don't understand the Japanese on the label, even though I'm a native Japanese...

Ebi katsu naka maki set

Ebi katsu = Shrimp cutlet?

Naka maki = Roll with something in it?

[torakris]

I don't understand the Japanese on the label, even though I'm a native Japanese...

Ebi katsu naka maki set

Ebi katsu = Shrimp cutlet?

Naka maki = Roll with something in it?

←

I never thought about it before, I just assumed it was read chuumaki meaning a medium sized roll. Sort of something in between a hosomaki (thin roll) and futomaki (thick roll).

Is chuumaki even a word then??

[Hiroyuki]

I don't understand the Japanese on the label, even though I'm a native Japanese...

Ebi katsu naka maki set

Ebi katsu = Shrimp cutlet?

Naka maki = Roll with something in it?

←

I never thought about it before, I just assumed it was read chuumaki meaning a medium sized roll. Sort of something in between a hosomaki (thin roll) and futomaki (thick roll).

Is chuumaki even a word then??

←

Thanks, your description of hosomaki, chuumaki, and futomaki is right, but I'm not sure which of chuumaki and nakamaki sounds right.

[WHT]

A lot of the chains here in the states do almost the same thing. Hot or heat and eat prepackaged food. It ranges from chicken (roast and fried in many forms.), ribs, salads, pizza and other main and side dishes. One chain has sushi being made throughout the day but rather limited selection and they don’t do custom orders.

All-in-all I like the looks of the stuff shown here so far.

[crinoidgirl]

←

What was in those rolls, Kris?

[pirate]

After another busy day I found myself hungry at the supermarket, so I picked up lunch.

A nice mix of sushi for only 380 yen ($3.15).

←

I notice the package has two time stamps (which I commenrted on earlier) Does the second time stamp indicate it was repackaged and reduced in price?

[Route246]

"Ebi katsu naka maki set" might mean:

Ebi,

Katsu naka maki,

Set (including kappa and tekka maki, etc.)

Just a gaijin perspective.

After another busy day I found myself hungry at the supermarket, so I picked up lunch.

A nice mix of sushi for only 380 yen ($3.15).

←

I don't understand the Japanese on the label, even though I'm a native Japanese...

Ebi katsu naka maki set

Ebi katsu = Shrimp cutlet?

Naka maki = Roll with something in it?

←

[torakris]

What was in those rolls, Kris?

←

The rolls on the top contained a panko'd and deep-fried piece of shrimp (ebi katsu) with an eggy tartar sauce, some fake crab meat and a piece of lettuce. It is a really nice combination that I enjoy.

The thin rolls in the middle contained negi-toro, minced tuna and scallions.

The bottom rolls are cucumber.

Edited February 2, 2007 by torakris (log)

[torakris]

After another busy day I found myself hungry at the supermarket, so I picked up lunch.

A nice mix of sushi for only 380 yen ($3.15).

←

I notice the package has two time stamps (which I commenrted on earlier) Does the second time stamp indicate it was repackaged and reduced in price?

←

The two time stamps are when it was made (top) and the expiration time (bottom), this was not a reduced price item rather it was a special sale of the day. I actually bought it about 20 minutes after it was made.

[pirate]

After another busy day I found myself hungry at the supermarket, so I picked up lunch.

A nice mix of sushi for only 380 yen ($3.15).

←

I notice the package has two time stamps (which I commenrted on earlier) Does the second time stamp indicate it was repackaged and reduced in price?

←

The two time stamps are when it was made (top) and the expiration time (bottom), this was not a reduced price item rather it was a special sale of the day. I actually bought it about 20 minutes after it was made.

←

Thank you very much for the explanation. The special price put me off but both times on the label made me wonder.

[Hiroyuki]

On Setsubun Day (Feb. 3), my family had eight eho maki for supper, which I had ordered from the supermaket.

Four of the eight:

Left to right: Authentic eho maki, maguro tataki maki, tekka (maguro) maki, and umi no sachi salad maki.

Close-up of the umino sachi salad maki:

[flowbee]

i love those hand rolls! nice and cheap and filling. does eho maki mean "hand roll"? i see them marked as hand rolls here in vancouver canada. i see "tuna salad" here mostly, and sometimes natto

[prasantrin]

One thing I always get at supermarkets are cream croquette. I usually get crab or shrimp, sometimes both. I've never made my own, and though it would be nice to have a bit more crab or shrimp in the croquette, the convenience of the supermarket ready-made ones are hard to beat!

I just had two yesterday, purchased at my local Coop. They weren't as fresh as they usually are when I buy them (they were already cold), but I ate them as is. I was starving after going to the gym (and I think the calories in the cream croquette wiped out any benefits of that gym session....).

[Hiroyuki]

i love those hand rolls! nice and cheap and filling. does eho maki mean "hand roll"? i see them marked as hand rolls here in vancouver canada. i see "tuna salad" here mostly, and sometimes natto

←

No, eho means lucky direction, as I described here. Hand roll is temaki in Japanese. Temaki rolls are often conical in shape rather than cylindrical.

I loved the umi no sachi rolls because they contained squid, crabmeat (not fake), ama ebi (sweet shrimp), tobiko (flying fish roe), tuna, sunny lettuce, and a bit of mayo. Yum, yum.

[torakris]

a quick, nice lunch from the supermarket

bibimbap with a soft boiled egg

398 yen ($3.35)