Advntures in Dining
So yesterday we had a plan, we were hungry and we wanted food. The plan was, find a Japanese restaurant close to home, walk in and get food. This plan slowly became more and more complicated as the night wore on...
So Brandon, Jason and myself headed out from our house to find the first Japanese restaurant we came to, or perhaps the third as we drove by several with out realizing it until we passed. So we parked the car in front of a one story restaurant with a wooden door and gras screens on the windows with not nary one letter of English written any where on the outside and like typical Americans we sauntered in filled with bluff confidance.
The dark interior, once it came into view, was distinctly Japanese with mostly sunken floor tables (sit on the ground) and a sushi/sashimi bar as soon as you walk in the door. So after walking past the fish staring at me, and the live eels squirming in a bucked behind the counter we took one of the few 'western' tables (often there for older people) with chairs and sat down. We put on our best, we know exactly what we are doing faces and waited.
It took a small while to get a waitress and once she came over we found out why. Very carefully (and in pretty good English) she told us they only had a Japanese menu, the waitresses had been trying to figure out who spoke the best English. We all looked at each other, not wanting to get up and leave. We just got here, we were supposed to be being culturally adventurous and eating 'local' food.
Seeing that we were not run running for the door already she then opened up to the only 4 pictures in the menu and tried to explain what these things were (with mild success). This apparently was a seafood kind of place, or at least a we want to show pictures of our seafood kind of place. I don't eat sushi or sashimi, Brandon doesn't really like much seafood and Jason, well he will eat anything. More staring at each other.
We are NOT going to get up and leave as ones brain is likely to tell it to do when you can't order, you don't like what you think you see in blurry pictures and it would probably be better for everyone if we did just leave. Oh no, we are stay and we are eating -something-.
So now we ask for something that I am sure generally isn't done in a place like this. We point to the 'fish broth' (which wasn't fish broth it turns out) set (stuff comes with it) and point to all three of us and say 'share'? She tell us it feeds just one. A few blinks later we ask to share it, and she goes to put the order in.
Now that the waitress is done we paw threw the menu. Jason and Brandon attempt to use their knowledge of Chinese characters to see even the name of the place we are eating at. There is little success. We are all pretty sure we don't want to eat what ever is coming out of that kitchen but we are all willing to try this 'fish broth', which we assumed was fish soup.
We are NOT leaving, we are going to try something new and cultural. Even if it has eyes that are still blinking we are going to try what ever come out on that plate, its a determination thing. You have to want to try new things when you walk into some of these places, you never know what you just pointed too.
Other times, it may have English and it may read 'Beef Stew' but when you get it, its unlike any beef stew you have ever seen. Its more like a Turkey Sandwich than beef stew really, sometimes they just don't really know what Beef Stew is, so they make what they think it is. Japanese people like to try new things too, they love other cultures and other foods so many restaurants have more than just Japanese food and its not to cater to the tourist. Its for locals too.
So here comes the waitress, she has brought us some sort of baked fish with mushrooms, miso soup, some sort of fish custard, rice and three types of what we think were condiments. We are hungry, the food looks pretty good, lets eat.
The fish turns out to be excellent even though its looking at us as we try to eat it. However, as I discovered yesterday, to eat a baked fish with chopsticks takes time, patience and small bits of meat flying everywhere. Just when you think you have a decent hunk of flesh you find your chop sticks only hold the smallest of bites that would barely feed a fly. Why must the fish mock me! I am trying new things!
The rice was quickly devoured, it was the easiest thing to get into our hungry bellies. The fish was soon mutilated and some of it, though not as much as we would have liked, was consumed. The miso wasn't all that good here really, if it was miso at all (we were guessing). The fish custard... well... it tastes good but nothing should have that slippery consistency of flan and taste like fish. The texture is just all wrong to my American pallet. The condiments, well... we didn't really understand what they were or how to use them so while we tasted them they went unused.
The fish was excellent, the rest was... just okay but the experience was defiantly worth it. We paid for our food, the one plate the three of us split and headed for the the Pizza House Junior because we are starving! We did just try to split a meal made for 1 and only ate half of it. Pizza House Junior has a Japanese, English and pictorial menu and we gorged ourselves on Taco Rice and Japanese Pizza.
With full bellies we headed for home, feeling more cultured, a bit confused and finally full.
Next week will be round two with the restaurant next door to the one we tried yesterday. They however have plastic food in a window that shows what they have to eat (many places do that here). So if worst comes to worst we can walk the waitress to the window and point to something that looks like something we might eat. Dining in Japan is always an adventure!
So Brandon, Jason and myself headed out from our house to find the first Japanese restaurant we came to, or perhaps the third as we drove by several with out realizing it until we passed. So we parked the car in front of a one story restaurant with a wooden door and gras screens on the windows with not nary one letter of English written any where on the outside and like typical Americans we sauntered in filled with bluff confidance.
The dark interior, once it came into view, was distinctly Japanese with mostly sunken floor tables (sit on the ground) and a sushi/sashimi bar as soon as you walk in the door. So after walking past the fish staring at me, and the live eels squirming in a bucked behind the counter we took one of the few 'western' tables (often there for older people) with chairs and sat down. We put on our best, we know exactly what we are doing faces and waited.
It took a small while to get a waitress and once she came over we found out why. Very carefully (and in pretty good English) she told us they only had a Japanese menu, the waitresses had been trying to figure out who spoke the best English. We all looked at each other, not wanting to get up and leave. We just got here, we were supposed to be being culturally adventurous and eating 'local' food.
Seeing that we were not run running for the door already she then opened up to the only 4 pictures in the menu and tried to explain what these things were (with mild success). This apparently was a seafood kind of place, or at least a we want to show pictures of our seafood kind of place. I don't eat sushi or sashimi, Brandon doesn't really like much seafood and Jason, well he will eat anything. More staring at each other.
We are NOT going to get up and leave as ones brain is likely to tell it to do when you can't order, you don't like what you think you see in blurry pictures and it would probably be better for everyone if we did just leave. Oh no, we are stay and we are eating -something-.
So now we ask for something that I am sure generally isn't done in a place like this. We point to the 'fish broth' (which wasn't fish broth it turns out) set (stuff comes with it) and point to all three of us and say 'share'? She tell us it feeds just one. A few blinks later we ask to share it, and she goes to put the order in.
Now that the waitress is done we paw threw the menu. Jason and Brandon attempt to use their knowledge of Chinese characters to see even the name of the place we are eating at. There is little success. We are all pretty sure we don't want to eat what ever is coming out of that kitchen but we are all willing to try this 'fish broth', which we assumed was fish soup.
We are NOT leaving, we are going to try something new and cultural. Even if it has eyes that are still blinking we are going to try what ever come out on that plate, its a determination thing. You have to want to try new things when you walk into some of these places, you never know what you just pointed too.
Other times, it may have English and it may read 'Beef Stew' but when you get it, its unlike any beef stew you have ever seen. Its more like a Turkey Sandwich than beef stew really, sometimes they just don't really know what Beef Stew is, so they make what they think it is. Japanese people like to try new things too, they love other cultures and other foods so many restaurants have more than just Japanese food and its not to cater to the tourist. Its for locals too.
So here comes the waitress, she has brought us some sort of baked fish with mushrooms, miso soup, some sort of fish custard, rice and three types of what we think were condiments. We are hungry, the food looks pretty good, lets eat.
The fish turns out to be excellent even though its looking at us as we try to eat it. However, as I discovered yesterday, to eat a baked fish with chopsticks takes time, patience and small bits of meat flying everywhere. Just when you think you have a decent hunk of flesh you find your chop sticks only hold the smallest of bites that would barely feed a fly. Why must the fish mock me! I am trying new things!
The rice was quickly devoured, it was the easiest thing to get into our hungry bellies. The fish was soon mutilated and some of it, though not as much as we would have liked, was consumed. The miso wasn't all that good here really, if it was miso at all (we were guessing). The fish custard... well... it tastes good but nothing should have that slippery consistency of flan and taste like fish. The texture is just all wrong to my American pallet. The condiments, well... we didn't really understand what they were or how to use them so while we tasted them they went unused.
The fish was excellent, the rest was... just okay but the experience was defiantly worth it. We paid for our food, the one plate the three of us split and headed for the the Pizza House Junior because we are starving! We did just try to split a meal made for 1 and only ate half of it. Pizza House Junior has a Japanese, English and pictorial menu and we gorged ourselves on Taco Rice and Japanese Pizza.
With full bellies we headed for home, feeling more cultured, a bit confused and finally full.
Next week will be round two with the restaurant next door to the one we tried yesterday. They however have plastic food in a window that shows what they have to eat (many places do that here). So if worst comes to worst we can walk the waitress to the window and point to something that looks like something we might eat. Dining in Japan is always an adventure!
posted by Crystal at 9:14 AM
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