More foods from Japan

Here are some more tasty and affordable foods that I stumbled on in Japan:

 That's cow over rice with stewed onions.  It costs little under $4.  It's one of those restaurants where you have to buy the ticket first after you give it to the chef.  There's one guy working there at the time.  He was the chef, server, and the greeter all at once.  Is that efficiency or what?

Myth - dining out in Japan is expensive

So, I just got back from a trip to Japan and one of the things that strikes me is how darn cheap and good the food is.  Americans like to believe they are #1 in everything, so they can't accept the possibility that someone out there may have it better than them.  When it comes to food, Americans are just starting to wake up and learning how to eat.  However, Americans are still stuck on this whole status thing, especially here in the Bay Area.  I've mentioned it before, but I really think that some people just aren't happy unless they spend a lot on their food.  They really don't care about the quality of the food, just the status associated with it.  I think for an American, it is more important to brag to their friends and spend a ton of money, rather than the actual value.  How else can you explain the incredibly over priced food in the San Francisco Bay Area?  It's absolutely ridiculous, but I think that dining out in San Francisco is more expensive than Tokyo, supposedly one of the most expensive cities on earth.

Here is an example:

 

There, you see a bowl of clam soup, salmon, tuna, and horse mackerel nigiri.   How much did this cost me?  About $5.  Yes, I'm not joking, just FIVE BUCKS.  Five bucks wouldn't even buy you the plate of tuna nigiri in San Francisco.  This was at a 100 yen sushi place, where every plate costs 100 yen, or about $1.  It is considered "low end" sushi, but it completely blows away what California can offer.

Oden Dinner

This is some oden I made the other night for dinner with the family.  It was the first time I tried making this dish.  Broth is made from konbun and dashi.  Ingredients are cabbage, mushroom, daikon, potato, carrots, eggs, and assorted fish cake out of a frozen pack.

The eggs were boiled first before adding to the soup, which is why that one egg on the left looks mutated.  Otherwise, this oden came out pretty much like I expected it.  It's been cold lately, and oden makes a great meal.  Maybe I'll try it again with a different package of fish cake.

Chinese-Owned Japanese Restaurants 

Japanese food has not gone away in America.  Since the introduction of sushi in the 1980's in L.A., Japanese food has only gotten more and more popular.  With this popularity comes opportunity for profit, which brings me to the topic of today:  Chinese-owned Japanese restaurants.  Many people who are unfamiliar with Asian food don't see the big deal, but it is a very strange phenomenon if you think about it.

In any major city, you will find Japanese restaurants popping up, but almost none of these are owned by Japanese people.  Japanese food is perhaps the only ethnic food in America that suffers from this.  Would you walk into an Italian joint owned by a Chinese guy?  How about a Mexican place owned by an Italian?  I'm not saying the food can't be good in such places, but it just doesn't happen with any other type of ethnic food.

Of course, the distinction is not merely a question of authenticity.  If the Chinese owners and staff can deliver a good dining experience, then it would be no big deal.  However, when Chinese people run Japanese places, they also bring along Chinese sensibilities - and you get some really heavy Japanese food.  Also, these Chinese run places tend to cut corners - serving ramen cold to cut down on heating costs, using old oil for the tempura, etc.

So, when you decide to check out a Japanese restaurant, some tips:

-Is the inside decorated with all sorts of kitschy Japanese stuff like mini samurai armor?  It's mostly run by Chinese.  A Japanese run place won't have all that gaudy Japanese tourist stuff all over the place.
-Do they specialize or do they try to serve everything?  Most Japanese run places tend to conentrate on a specific type of food - ramen or yakitori, for example.  Chinese run places will try to serve everything, from sushi to ramen to izakaya style
-Do they have side dish menu?  Most Japanese run places with have a side dish menu serving home-styled cooked food.  Chinese run places will never have this because they just tend to stick to the well known recipes.
-Finally, if the place has a cheesy name such as "sushi a go go" or "zen garden", you know you're in for a ride.