Rhys’ New Foods List – November

11/1 – Takoyaki:  Bits of octopus fried in doughy balls with MOLTEN insides.  Tasted a bit like extra-rubbery shrimp.  Not a fan.

11/2 – French Fry Chips, Udon:  The french fry-shaped-and-flavored chips were bizarrely accurate, and salty.  Liked ’em, as you would have guessed.  Udon are super-thick noodles that I enjoyed somewhat, but not tremendously.  Kind of bland.

11/4 – Mos Burger, Earl Grey Tea:  Mos Burger is a Japanese chain that advertises ‘best’ in the country.  It’s okay…definitely better than any other burger in Asia, though.  I’d never had Earl Grey Tea, and it may be my favorite.

11/10 – Sasame Cheese Chicken:  marinated chicken breast, topped with cheese, and grilled in a charcoal pit.  How could it not go wrong?

11/11 – Lime Chuuhai:  Chuuhai is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from flavor and sake.  Lime tasted like half a Sprite with a bit of a kick.

11/12 – Shabu Shabu:  A Japanese type of restaurant that has an open charcoal pit in the middle of the table.  You order various raw meats, cook them to your liking, and eat ’em.  It was a mite expensive but the marinating options were varied (and I have no idea what the sauces/spices were) and reminded me how much I miss grilling.

11/13 – Carrot-flavored Kit-Kat, Wheat Chocolate:  The Kit-Kat was pure evil.  Nasty stuff.  It’s even orange.  The Wheat Chocolate was a small chocolate-covered wheat kernel (thing) that was a little strange and still hard to explain.  Evidently it’s popular in Japan.

11/14 – Yoshinoya Pork Bowl:  Yoshinoya is Japan’s quintessential fast food establishment, which still isn’t really fast food.  Bowl of rice with some marinated pork and small veggie bits was great for me, not for the wife.  Too bland for her.  I left happy.

11/20 – Sushi:  This was the big one for November.  We all went to a small conveyor-belt sushi place near the guesthouse and ordered some.  I tried cucumber sushi but couldn’t get past the seaweed texture.  Not my scene at all.  I did try the hamburger sashimi (seriously) and even it was unsatisfactory.  Sadly I was not won over.

11/22 – Pork Belly, Rice Triangle:  Pork Belly was grilled on a skewer, and reminded me of thick, salty bacon.  I loved it of course.  The Rice triangle was grilled and coated in yakitori sauce and became an instant favorite.  I must learn how to make it at home!

11/24 – Melon Soda Kit-Kat:  Surprisingly ambivalent.  Still amazed at all the Kit-Kat varieties in Japan, though!

11/27 – Mochi Ball, Miso (x2):  Mochi is a thick rice-based substance.  This was also coated in some vile black stuff and the chewy ball just felt wrong.  I had miso again, which was ENTIRELY different from the miso I had last month.  Still not big on the warm salty liquid, as it reminds me of gargling salt water.