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Showing posts with the label plastic food

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, cou

Ordering food in Japan

I've been studying the Japanese language while driving between home and work for the last year since I got my Pimsleur CD's. But I'm not there yet. That is, I don't know enough Japanese to order from a menu. My very limited knowledge of the language is no hindrance though from enjoying Japanese cuisine when I can point to a plastic replica of what is served in the restaurant. How about a shrimp tempura with a bowl of rice, soup and tea? All for 1430 yen. The window display above shows a variety of enticing dishes. Surely one of these will whet your appetite. As for drinks, Japan is a country of vending machines. When traveling in Japan you're never far away from ice cold water or your favorite soft drink or juice. Another way to find the best meals is by checking out the food counters at various department stores. There's usually an incredible array of selections that you might feel a little overwhelmed, in a good way. Take your time and let your eyes have