Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
food (Page 297)
In perhaps the most genius use of french fries we’ve seen in years, Japanese convenience store chain Mini Stop has begun selling a number of Dragon Ball-themed sweets and fried foods as part of a promotion for upcoming movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods.
We’ve never been ones to shy away from fast food challenges, and today is no exception. Today may well be Friday to the rest of you, but for the RocketNews24 team, and especially our champion eating machine Mr. Sato, today was and will forever remain the day that we took on the challenge of the 100 slice onion tower.
From the people who brought you the 1,000 cheese slice whopper and the 1,050 rasher bacon burger, we proudly present: The Onion Tower Challenge.
Now that everyone has probably sobered up from last year’s Rolling Stones and Suntory collaboration, a new rock legend is bringing a slightly classier offering to Japan.
For just a few weeks of March, in Ginza, Tokyo you can enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Thin White Duke – David Bowie.
To promote The Next Day – his first album in 10 years – Sony will be converting part of their building into the David Bowie Café with a special selection of food and décor.
It’s famously said that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and while that may be true, you can at least get some of the ingredients without laying down a penny. We check out a new website that claims to offer free produce, straight from the farmer to you. Swag!
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It happened again! Yet another “large order” at McDonald’s has caused controversy on the Internet. This time, a group of young people in Korea gathered at their local McDonald’s restaurant and ordered an obscene amount of french fries. These kids could be described as mischievous or simply hungry, but either way the end result of their fry ordering rampage was a row of tables filled with greasy fried potatoes that cost 270,000 won (US$250) in total. After witnessing the mound of french fries in his store, a McDonald’s worker decided he had had enough of these shenanigans and told the kids, “Stop causing trouble, you brats! Get out of here!”
As it turns out, a majority of the Internet supports the McDonald’s worker’s harsh words.
Natto, which is also known as fermented soybeans, is a dish well-loved by the Japanese for its high nutritious value. Recently, we introduced a restaurant which served all-you-can-eat natto, and this time we’re back with another great natto dining experience!
Ibaraki prefecture has opened a local goods retail store and restaurant, named Ibaraki Marche, in Tokyo’s Ginza. Natto is widely used in many of the local dishes of Ibaraki, so one can expect Ibaraki Marche to serve the best tasting natto.
Ms. Rinko, a reporter over at our Japanese sister site Pouch, headed over to the restaurant to try out their natto lunch.
Even Japanese who have never been to Okinawa have probably eaten Okinawan food at one time or another due to the spread and popularity of Okinawan restaurants across the country.
The same unfortunately cannot be said for the food of Japan’s northern indigenous people, the Ainu. Even in cosmopolitan Tokyo, there is only one restaurant serving Ainu cuisine. Thankfully, though, the chefs at this restaurants are true masters of the art. Let us introduce HaruKor! Read More
Usually when people think of curry, the first country that springs to mind is India. But even in the land of sushi, ramen and okonomiyaki, curry and rice (or “kare raisu” as it is known here) often tops people’s lists of food favourites.
On Feb. 25, Japanese curry chain Go! Go! Curry launched its annual speed eating championship, which challenges famished food fans to consume two servings of their regular house curry and rice as quickly as possible. Unlike many eating contests where participants must simply force down as much food as possible, Go! Go! Curry’s challenge focuses entirely on how quickly diners can shovel food into their respective shout holes.
Always ready for a challenge, RocketNews24‘s eternally hungry reporter Mr. Sato grabbed his younger coworker Tashiro-kun and marched over to the branch of Go! Go! Curry nearest to Shinjuku station’s east exit to take part. Suffice to say, Tashiro-kun learned a lot during their visit. They say that every apprentice eventually becomes the master, but it’s clear that this young Jedi still has a long way to go.
The full video of the pair’s frantic face stuffing after the jump.
Here’s a story that’s bound to ruffle a few feathers down south. According to those in the know, okonomiyaki – a savoury “pancake” dish loved by millions and one of Osaka’s most acclaimed culinary delights – may in fact have been created in none other than Tokyo.
This is the end♪My only friend the end♫
“Yangon… $#@%. I’m still only in Yangon!” Kuzo thought to himself as he awoke in his hotel room in Yangon (aka Rangoon), the largest city in Myanmar (aka Burma). He had been sent on a mission from RocketNews24 to find the fabled spawn of forbidden love between two high ranking mascots – Donald Duck and Ronald McDonald.
Code named Ronald McDonald Duck, it was rumored to be doing small-time rep work for a fast food joint around the city.
When it comes to preparing a gourmet meal you can be proud of, an investment of time and a good recipe book are often required. If you’re a busy parent or living alone while working full time, just dashing out to gather the ingredients — not to mention actually preparing the meal — can prove rather time consuming and, let’s admit, a little bothersome.
The intricacies of it all leave many abandoning hope, opting for the greasier ‘ready prepared’ meal option or dining out at a local restaurant. But even those who do make the effort to cook have probably found themselves saying “This just doesn’t have the same impact as the dish I tried at the restaurant the other day,” every so often. If only there were a way to replicate the same taste at home!
If you live in Japan, a collaboration between convenience store chain Lawson and Yahoo! (yes, that Yahoo!) may be the answer to your culinary conundrums: a new home delivery service that offers not ready-to-eat meals, but rather a combination of ready-to-cook dishes that can be thrown together to create a tasty meal of your own.
Unveiled earlier this week, the “Tohoku Emotion” is a train unlike anything ever seen before in Japan.
Combining “food, art and scenery”, on board this train the journey itself takes the main role and passengers are able to cruise through Northeastern Japan’s beautiful countryside while sampling food freshly prepared before their very eyes.
McDonald’s Japan’s Texas burger is back, but it won’t be around for long! Having missed out on the chunky beef sandwich the last time they invaded the country, our man Kuzo headed down to his nearest restaurant and grabbed a couple to poke, prod and shove down his gullet. The experience left him confused: there’s plenty here to delight burger fans, that’s for sure, but not everything about this little slice of Texas is worth writing home out. Kuzo’s full impressions after the break.
Consumers are always hoping to get more than they paid for products and services, but in reality, the reverse is just as common. We’ve all been suckered in by a wily shopkeeper at one point or another, but what knowledge and preparation can we arm ourselves with to avoid being taken advantage of?
There are a bounty of goods and services available to us, all of which are marketed with beguiling strategies. Some of them will be such good values our hearts will delight in our own cleverness, while others will simply satisfy with their averageness. Of course, the remaining products, for all their appeal, will be deeply disappointing. Maybe billionaires can just spend for the joy of spending without worrying if something is really a good value, but for common people like you and me, making a poor decision can impact our wallets and our self-esteem for a long time to come.
In the hope of protecting their readers from it, Japanese weekly magazine SPA! has set out to discover what exactly is behind this buyer’s remorse in all its complex forms. Read More
There are train hobbyists and then there are train hobbyists. Japan’s particular breed of railway aficionados are referred to by the somewhat-affectionate term densha otaku, or train nerds, and are famous for feats like memorizing complex, phonebook-size timetables or visiting every single one of the country’s almost 10,000 stations.
Of course, when they aren’t trying to increase their encyclopedic knowledge of all things rail-related, they are out looking for like-minded people to impress with it. As it turns out, Tokyo offers the densha otaku a wide selection of appropriate watering holes, or perhaps we should call them bar cars. So grab your subway map and let’s go see this elusive creature in his natural habitat. Read More
I think we’re gonna need a bigger bun.
Japanese fast food chain Lotteria, home to the mountain of melted cheese that was our own 30-patty cheeseburger tower, announced yesterday that it will be providing diners with an altogether larger eating experience as of February 22. The above burgers are part of the chain’s “hamidashi” (meaning to jut or hang out over the sides) range, but we’re affectionately dubbing them the “hangover” series.
From 18 January 2013, Japanese sweet specialist Cozy Corner released a dessert that will leave anyone with even a slightly sweet tooth wiping the drool from their lips and exclaiming, “I’m witnessing a dessert revolution!” Just what type of dessert could we be talking about? None other than a gigantic 65-piece strawberry parfait weighing in at, wait for it, a shocking 2,000 kilocalories! Shortly after hearing this announcement, our reporter Mr. Sato carried himself off to the establishment in question to see what all the fuss was about.
Natto, also known as fermented soybeans, is a unique food hailing from Japan. The smell alone (often described as smelly feet or chemicals), not to mention the slug-like texture, are enough to turn even the most adventurous eaters away. But for some, natto is a delicious and healthy treat that is enjoyed daily.
A restaurant in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo is now offering patrons all the natto they can fit in their bellies for 780 yen (US $8.50). The all-you-can-eat natto lunch gives natto lovers a great deal on a delicious meal and natto haters a cheap way to challenge themselves to eat as much fermented soybean as they can before throwing up. Why would you want to do that? We don’t know, but now you can if you want to.
Instant noodles – also known as cup noodles and what this writer lived off during most of his university days – have been a food staple for the busy, cost-conscious and kitchenphobic since their inception back in 1958. Peel back the lid, pour in some hot water, wait a few minutes and you have a hot, filling, if not especially nutritious meal for about the cost of a cup of coffee.
But with the handy meals being something that many associate with students and lonely bachelors, many women shy away from instant noodles, regardless of the fact that they’re just as pressed for time as their male coworkers. And all stigmas and stereotypes aside, few women in their 20s and 30s would be especially happy about replacing their nutritious mid-day meal with a plastic cup of rehydrated noodles swimming in a salty broth.
Enter the girly noodle.
The world is full of countless foods and ways of eating them. It’s impossible to keep track of them all. I was surprised to discover salty watermelons, just as other people were surprised by my preference of putting peanut butter on waffles.
Such an incident happened on 19 January when a Japanese test maker unknowingly confused thousands of university entrance exam students with a recipe for a meat sauce calling for a “delicious kimchi base.”
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam is getting a new look before its end-of-summer removal
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in Japan
When is miso ramen not miso ramen? When it’s the new ramen at one of Japan’s top beef bowl chains
Reinvented traditional Japanese hearths may be coming to a restaurant near you
Japan’s Pokémon Slowpoke Train goes on hiatus, but a mini version could be yours to own
Japanese bento shop touches hearts by selling super cheap boxed lunches for around a dollar
Abandoned pirate pleasure ship sinking south of Tokyo Bay, city orders destruction
Universal Studios Japan is giving Frieren anime fans the chance to make unforgettable memories.
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel styleNew Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
East Japan Railway announces plans to abolish magnetic-strip tickets
New Square Enix Cafe reveals Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Nier, and Fullmetal Alchemist menu itemsUniversal Studios Japan is giving Frieren anime fans the chance to make unforgettable memories.
Japan’s cheap beef bowl chain goes upscale with Matsuya Premium, but is it worth the higher price?
Family Mart commits “reverse fraud” in new Giant All-Star Festival, and we couldn’t be happier
7-Eleven Japan joins the craze for Korean Gamja Cheese Balls
Shakey’s Japan creates matcha mochi, Kyoto fish, and Kansai Chili Con Carne pizzas
Anne Hathaway creates PR frenzy in Japan after mentioning Tottori in Devil Wears Prada interview
7-Eleven Japan has a new Creamy Iced Cafe Latte that’s a hit on social mediaNew Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Kyoto public junior high school becomes first in Japan with a hoodie school uniform
Japanese convenience store shows us how to dress for the rainy season
Starbucks Japan unveils new Frappuccino showcasing “mottainai” culture
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks 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
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’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】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Japan’s Pokémon Slowpoke Train goes on hiatus, but a mini version could be yours to own
Japanese bento shop touches hearts by selling super cheap boxed lunches for around a dollar
Abandoned pirate pleasure ship sinking south of Tokyo Bay, city orders destruction
Universal Studios Japan is giving Frieren anime fans the chance to make unforgettable memories.
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Japan now has “edible cat fur” for people who really love felines
Studio Ghibli adds My Neighbour Totoro futon bedding to its anime store in Japan
7-Eleven’s new green tea rice ball and sweets are only available in Japan’s top tea-growing area
Japanese soccer fans show excellent manners as World Cup opens[Pics, video]
Japanese Sakuranbo Mochi goes viral online with millions of views, but is it worth the hype?
These rare eggs cost more than a typical meal in Japan but are they really that special?
7-Eleven Japan has a new Creamy Iced Cafe Latte that’s a hit on social media
Shakey’s Japan creates matcha mochi, Kyoto fish, and Kansai Chili Con Carne pizzas
Totoro and Calcifer become little light-up lanterns for Ghibli-style excursions or at-home decor