Skip to main content

Hungry in Tokyo?


The art of plastic food display reaches its zenith in Japan. No other country in the world has such a wide array of the most delectable plastic dishes (and not limited to Japanese food only).


Surrounded by Japanese restaurants, this window display announces an Italian pizzeria in Asakusa. Italian food has an affinity to Japanese or Asian cuisine as noodles = pasta. What differentiates them is the sauce.


At this noodle restaurant close to my hotel in Hanzomon, you need to get an order ticket from a machine with instructions in Japanese. So I took the menu and compared the Kanji characters of the combination dish I wanted for dinner with that of the machine but nothing matched. I narrowed down my choices by the price indicated on the menu but still couldn't find a match. So finally I gave up and stood by the counter until the chef was free to help me. He was very accommodating as he had seen me figure things out for a few minutes but as he had a steady stream of customers, couldn't get away immediately. Finally, after figuring out which button to press, I fed the coins necessary to pay for my meal and handed my ticket to the chef and voila!, I had a nice soba (buckwheat noodle soup), a bowl of rice and deep fried chicken a few minutes later. It was interesting to observe the chef as he made the soup. First he dipped the noodles into a hot pot to soften them and then put them in a bowl before adding flavored soup and some scallions. It was all so well orchestrated. I was mesmerized! The combination I ordered is called Mini Torikara Don and costs $9.00.


Lunch at Narita Airport prior to departure with mackerel, a bowl of rice, miso soup, cucumber salad, sweet almond jello and green tea. While it appears to be a lot of food, the portions are small enough to fill but not to feel overfed. This meal costs $12.00.


No surprises when ordering food as window displays often show the price of each dish. And how aesthetically beautiful a lot of these displays are! This one has a mask and mini folded screen.


For dessert, these cookies are some of the most coveted sweets on Sensoji Temple grounds. You can buy them fresh and warm. What's interesting is seeing how they're made in these flat, fish shaped iron griddles. Then you really want to try one but the queues are long. And the crowds on weekends just sweep you off. So you walk away empty. Next time.

*  *  *

Images by Charie
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by  Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with   Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...
Read more

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the ...
Read more

Timbulan ng Laya at Diwang Dakila

Timbulan ng Laya at Diwang Dakila, Carlos Botong Francisco, 1968, oil on canvas In 1963,  Mayor Antonio Villegas wrote a report, Building a Better Manila, where he indicated in detail his accomplishments on his first year as Mayor of Manila and his vision for the future of the city. Villegas aspired for a prosperous Manila by providing its residents access to health, family and housing services, opportunities for education and employment and improved infrastructure for water and road systems. *Notice the hands at the top of the painting. These hands symbolize the protective reach of God over the city of Manila. Central Panel On either side of the seal of Manila are the former mayors of the city. At the bottom are the city’s old seals. Seal of Manila adopted in 1965 under Mayor Antonio Villegas Timbulan ng Laya (Beacon of Freedom) at Diwang Dakila (Noble Spirit) are written on the seal. A sunburst with 15 rays cast light across the canvas. Below the sun, in red, is the Baybayin let...
Read more