Kobe Chef Club Royal Cheese Pudding

Pudding.  I love pudding.  And it turns out, Japan makes some seriously good pudding. I read about a particular brand of pudding, "Kobe Chef Club", known for great puddings sold at convenience stores.  I failed to find it the first few days (although I did have a decent pudding from Family Mart instead), but finally found it near the end of my trip. It turns out, the one I grabbed was a new product, not the tried and true variety I was supposed to...

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Croquantchou Zakuzaku, Tokyo

Several years ago, when I went to Tokyo, my visit was all about fine dining.  I racked up Michelin stars, and I ate a lot of big, fancy meals. This time around, I went to the other extreme - super casual.  I was all about the street food, convenience store items, and experiences where I was the only non-local.  Most of my meals cost <$10.  To that mix, I added plenty of dessert though. I discovered my first day, at Silkream, that Japan...

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Kyourakutei, Tokyo

You've heard my spiel before about Tokyo and Michelin stars.  Nearly 300 Michelin stars in the city.  On past visits, I made it a point to rack up as many as I could, but on my visit in 2017, I was all about more unique, authentic experiences.  I dined at 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart, yes, the convenience stores.  I went to a tiny place for monja, where we were the only non-Japanese, and our meal was less than $10 a head.  Same thing with...

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Tempura Yamanoue, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Store, Tokyo

Tonight's story is a sad tale. It begins with me picking a tempura restaurant I really, really wanted to try in Tokyo (Michelin-stared Kyourakutei), 3 of us venturing all the way there (it was quite out of the way from our hotel), and finding it ... closed.  On a Saturday night.  (Don't worry, I went back a few days later, stay tuned for that). I frantically consulted my list of back-ups, but there was no where, of any cuisine type, anywhere near...

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Lawson Station, Tokyo

As you know from my review of 7-Eleven in Tokyo, convenience stores are a very different thing there.  As in, people actually *like* to go to them for food. Lawson Station is one of the big three chains in Tokyo (alongside 7-Eleven and Family Mart).  It is notable in that Anthony Bourdain strongly endorses the egg sandwiches and fried chicken, thus, we sought it out. Hot Items Lawson sells a number of fried chicken products, plus warm buns near the registers. None...

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