Lunch @ Misokatsu Yabaton

Complete sampler of teppan tonkatsu (far left), hire tonkatsu/fried pork fillet (right), rice, miso soup, potato salad and apple pie for dessert.
Saucing the teppan tonkatsu up close.

Popular katsu chain combining crispy katsu with their signature red miso sauce. Originally from Nagoya, but they have locations everywhere too.

Singapore Airlines Chicken Satay

The sampling of signature SQ food continues. Normally, I would leave the satay for stalls back home that sell them by the kilo, but being a signature dish for an airline, I simply have to try it at least once! Definitely flavorful, but not worth shelling out for airplane tickets just to sample it.

Galette au Fromage and Pain au Chocolat

Came back for breakfast. Pricey but delicious and the owners were wonderful.

Indoors 12 – Japanese Curry Rice

It takes some effort to whip up, but you can make a big batch and it’ll keep for a long time, and as someone who loves Japanese curry, I’d happily settle with fridging and slowly consuming said batch over several days. Despite the allure of eating piping hot curry straight after cooking, it is also a dish that simply gets better the next day, due to the improvement from having the beef soak up the curry flavor overnight.

Tsukemen @ Tsukemen Tetsu

Cool noodles and rich, warm dipping broth tastes great in the summer. There’s several places throughout the country, but I ate at their shop above Nagoya Station.

Ningxia Night Market

Night markets are a must-visit in Taiwan. Many choices in Taipei alone. The pork belly and the roujiamo are definitely the standouts here, but I sampled a lot of other things, from fried mushrooms to stinky tofu and fried milk.

Last time I went, I visited the Shihlin Night Market, which is arguably the most popular. That being said, they all have generally similar vibes and you can’t go wrong with Shihlin, Ningxia, Raohe or the many others just in Taipei alone.

Car Curry @ Toyota Automobile Museum

We ate pretty late in the day so most of the other dishes were sold out at the Toyota Automobile Museum, but their signature curry is still available. Good thing it’s only car-shaped. The low-card konjac rice option is a nice touch.

Ghibli Park Is Overrated

Having visited the Ghibli Museum in the past, I was excited to see Ghibli’s attempt at a bigger, Disneyland-like venue. Unfortunately, I was quite underwhelmed by what I saw.

Continue reading “Ghibli Park Is Overrated”

Tebasaki and Beer @ Sekai no Yamachan

Being in Nagoya, of course I had to sample the local specialty. Yamachan’s one of many popular chains selling fried chicken wings, locally known as Tebasaki. I favored their “Phantom Chicken Wings” which packs a ton of pepper, while my traveling party favored the sweeter soy sauce-flavored chicken wings more. Regardless, definitely enjoyed best with local beer (sorta mandatory since they require every guest to purchase a drink) and other snacking dishes like fish cakes with cheese inside, gyozas, as well as tofu and potato salads.

Breakfast @ Komeda’s Coffee

Came here from a friend’s suggestion, and was attracted by their breakfast special – free toast, egg/red beans and jam with any drink. Generous offer, but we added a few things we wanted to try. A repeat of the Viennese coffee along with yoghurt and honey was a good choice, but my traveling companions were drawn to the salad and the tasty dressing. Unfortunately after the some questions and requests, there was no way to buy a bottle of their (apparently original) salad dressing to take home.