Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
food (Page 245)
On 17 April, a man whom the Chinese media is referring to as Zhang headed for the toilet to perform a crucial part of his morning routine. There would be no chance to catch up on the sports section of his paper this day, however.
During his bowel movement the man in his 40s experienced a severe pain in his anus. It wasn’t until the pain grew so intense that he could barely walk that Zhang decided to seek medical help.
And so begins a lesson on chewing your food properly.
If you’ve been to an onsen resort in Japan, you’ve probably tried onsen tamago, eggs slow-cooked to runny perfection in the nutrient-rich waters of local hot springs. While the unusual texture and reported health and beauty benefits make these immensely popular with visitors, nobody has thought to capture and reproduce the flavour of hot spring eggs. Until now.
Curious for a taste, we went hunting and picked up a bag of the limited-release chips. Would they have a pungent, sulphur-like aroma? Or could this be as refreshing as a dip in onsen waters? Come with us as we find out!
If you have a penchant for eating right, you’re no doubt familiar with the importance of a balanced diet that includes all of the major food groups. But even if you’re making sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, have you got the Pikachu food group covered?
Sure, you already know how to make a Pikachu burger, but if you’re looking to up your Pokémon intake (and skip having to do any real cooking yourself), you can now buy quick, convenient, and adorable Pikachu ramen.
It’s finally the weekend, so what better way to squander our precious time off than by arguing over things that don’t really matter?
This week we’re asking: Which is better? Salmon sushi or tuna sushi?
For decades, the international perception of ramen was that it was something for lazy college students to buy in bulk for when they wanted a quick, hot meal, with only minimal thought given to flavor or presentation. And while ramen does sometimes take that form, assuming it’s all like that is sort of like basing your whole image of pizza on microwavable frozen varieties.
Thankfully, there’s a ramen renaissance going on, as the rest of the world is getting onboard with just how delicious Japan’s favorite noodle dish can be. In response, some restaurants in Japan are adapting to make their food more accessible to foreign visitors, such as this restaurant in Tokyo that serves halal ramen.
I’m sure we can all remember those happy childhood days when Mom would go into the kitchen to wrestle a squid. The sound of tentacles swishing through the air and muffled curse words could mean only one thing: Squid Ink Pizza for dinner!
But now, having grown up into the cold world of adulthood, that simple joy of Mom’s homemade squid ink pizza has fallen by the wayside. Luckily, Nippon Ham has stepped in to help take us back to those days with their new Squid Ink Pizza.
Could a toaster oven pizza from the supermarket capture such a familiar taste of home? We bought one to find out!
Japan’s convenience store- (conbini) littered landscape is a breeding ground for competition, and with that comes increasingly more delicious food and drink in an increasingly wider variety.
This shouldn’t be news to anyone who lives in Japan, but our self-confessed conbini connoisseur Mr. Sato says he has developed a way to make one of their snacks 100 more delicious than its regularly sold.
You can probably describe about 90 percent of fast food with some combination of the words “convenient,” “greasy,” and “delicious.” In the case of Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria, though, you’ll want to make an addition to your vocabulary list: “crazy.”
Oh, sorry, looks like a typo slipped through. That should actually be “crazy!!!”
Lotteria is sort of the playground daredevil of the Japanese fast food scene. On just about any given day, you’ll find at least one item on the menu that seems to have been created not so much because it’s a good idea, but so that the restaurant can say, “Hey guys! Look at what I can do!” Every now and again, though, Lotteria gets its batch of crazy sauce just right, which is why it’s bringing back the awe-inspiring Burger with Everything on It.
Beating on smiling blue slimes for single points of experience and coins of gold is taxing work. So for those famished dragon questers and/or warriors in the Tokyo area Square Enix and TBI are set to open the Dragon Question Super Light Cafe (DQSL Cafe).
The cafe is expected to be modeled after the Dragon Quest world and feature dishes based on its characters. This may be the only time that you can nibble on a metal slime (risotto) and sip on a killing machine at the same time. But there are more secrets to be had here as well! Command?
“Cooking school for my cat and me”? Sounds like a dream come true for ailurophiles (cat lovers) the world over!
ABC Cooking Studio, a popular chain of cooking schools across Japan, has recently teamed up with MonPetit, a brand of gourmet cat food under the Purina label, to offer cooking lessons on how to craft the perfect meal which can be eaten by both you and your cat! With four special recipes to learn, this is the ultimate chance to pamper your adorable kitty and to partake of a top-quality meal together.
While perusing Japanese restaurant website Tabelog recently, I came across a little cafe in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, called Pink Pussy. Quite what it was I don’t know, but something about the place really appealed to me so I hopped on a train over there. It was a bit of a journey but I’ve traveled farther to get some, and you can’t put a price on a good cup of coffee.
However, when I arrived I was shocked to find that Pink Pussy had been put up for sale.
As RocketNews24 readers, you are probably a bit more savvy than most about what Japanese food is, but for many, the concept doesn’t extend far beyond sushi. Despite its recent elevation to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status and its potential for international popularity, washoku still lacks global recognition and understanding.
That’s about to change, however, if newly launched project Peace Kitchen has their way, and we might all be better off for it.
If you’re someone who enjoys making treats like cakes and pastries, then perhaps you have first hand knowledge of how baking can sometimes be a tricky affair. Well, in Japan, we have a whole category of wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweets, that aren’t baked at all, called namagashi (literally, “raw confectionaries”). Namagashi are typically made from various colorful bean pastes and often crafted into delicate seasonal-themed shapes.
Earlier this month, we participated in a seminar to experience what namagashi-making is like. Join us as we see how a master chef creates beautiful flowers from bean paste, and then try our not-so-expert hand at creating our own confections!
Recently, we shared five tips for extra-yummy curry rice with our dear readers, because we believe that everyone should be able to enjoy the very best of this mildly spicy, sweet and hearty Japanese comfort food the right way. But one thing we forgot to mention is that presentation is an important part of the curry experience. You can’t just slop spoonfuls of the yummy brown stuff all over the rice and expect it to look appetising.
Luckily, we’ve now stumbled upon a new serving method that’s gaining popularity in Japan: “Dam curry”!
One of Japanese most popular TV personalities is Rola, a fashion model of mixed Bengali, Japanese, and Russian descent. If you live in Japan you’ve undoubtedly seen her on TV or billboard advertisements numerous times. But who knew she was also harboring delicious and easy recipes?
Not only are they stylish looking but Rola’s Apple Fried in Coconut Oil and Avocado Scrambled Egg Toast and surprisingly simple to make…so we did. But can we really trust a model when it comes to delectable home cooking?
Yoshinoya, Japan’s most ubiquitous domestic fast food chain, is known first and foremost for its beef bowls. So strong is the mental connection between the restaurant and gyudon, as beef bowls are called in Japanese, that Yoshinoya’s nickname among fans is Yoshigyu.
So we were surprised to hear that Yoshinoya’s newest menu item is not only beef-free, but doesn’t contain any meat at all! A vegetarian option at the king of beef bowl restaurants? Not only does it exist, but we’ve tried it.
Lots of restaurants offer condiments for customers to use freely, but how “freely” are they actually meant to be used. For example, one ramen shop in Japan had a poster offering to let customers take as much green onion as they want, until someone came in and did just that.
The patron piled on about two bowlfuls of diced scallions per single bowl of soup, because apparently that’s the way he likes it. After a few repeat visits the staff interceded and asked that the customer cool it with the onions.
So, who is in the right? Was the gluttonous customer abusing the kind offer of the restaurant, or should the shop stand by its explicitly written offer? Japanese legal website Bengoshi News called in a lawyer to find out.
It’s well-known that people in Japan are fond of green tea, especially the precious matcha green tea made from tea leaves grown in the shade. Matcha flavored Kit Kats have grown popular in Japan as well as overseas, and celebrity pastry chefs like Sadaharu Aoki have turned matcha confection making into an art. We’ve even tasted matcha-flavored ramen, so it’s not just sweets we’re talking about either.
Well, we recently found another fascinating matcha product that once again shows how much the Japanese love the green stuff…matcha green tea curry! What’s more, it’s instant curry that comes in a heatable pouch, so you can have it right at home in less than 10 minutes. A quick and easy, green-colored curry? Of course we had to try it ourselves!
Think Japan loves it some rice? Well, you’d be right. Japan is definitely a rice consuming nation, and the little white grains are most certainly one of Japan’s staple foods. But would you believe the country doesn’t even break the top 10 nations when it comes to rice consumption?
It appears neither would Japanese Netizens, as a chart making the rounds on the Japanese interwebs has onlookers incredulously dropping their morning baked goods.
“Buying local” is about to have a whole new meaning in the Tokyo area soon since the Tokyo Metro is going to start selling vegetables that have been grown really locally. Called Tokyo Salad, these special veggies are being marketed as some of the freshest vegetables that are grown close to home.
But if you look around Tokyo, you’ll be really hard pressed to find much farming land. So where exactly are they growing these local foods?
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Room 404: What happened when we stayed in an unlucky hotel room in Japan
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New Family Mart cinema opens inside Japanese airportStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026Man arrested in Japan after leaving car in coin parking lot for six years, racking up three-million-yen billJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
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Studio Ghibli releases new “komorebi” plush toys from Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away
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Japan’s Naruto theme park now offering real-world version of Minato’s kunai ninja weapon
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStarbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Asakusa’s Yoi no Yoi bar crawl is one of Tokyo’s best local nights out
Room 404: What happened when we stayed in an unlucky hotel room in Japan
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Man arrested in Japan after leaving car in coin parking lot for six years, racking up three-million-yen bill
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Cup Noodle maker Nissin teams up with thick-broth ramen chain for instant ramen rice[Taste test]
Man in Japan takes four parakeets hostage in attempt to force woman to meet with him
Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free
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Real-life Spirited Away train line found in Japan?
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