It has grown on me!

Showing posts with label foods. Show all posts

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Nakau, Japanese Fast Food Bowl Restaurant - What I Ate in Japan

Nakau (なか卯)

As I mentioned in my previous entries, my husband and I visited Japan and stayed in Tokyo last year. We found that there was Nakau (なか卯), Japanese fast food bowl restaurant, located near by the hotel we stayed at. As I mentioned in my previous entry, How to Order Gyudon, Japanese Beef Bowl, at Matsuya, In Japan, there are four major gyudon restaurant chains, Yoshinoya (吉野家), Matsuya (松屋), Sukiya (すき家) and Nakau (なか卯). I love beef bowl from Nakau. Yet, Nakau's most popular menu is oyakodon (親子丼), Japanese chicken and egg bowl.

Nakau Menu

They also have some kinds of Japanese bowl dishes, Kyoto style noodles and more.

Nakau's Oyakodon (親子丼), Japanese Chicken and Egg Bowl

If you are planning on visiting Japan and love oyakodon, you should try Nakau's Oyakodon.

Oyakodon Topped with Sauteed Butter Mushrooms + Side Dishes (Chicken MeatBall Soup and Salad)

My husband ordered this oyakodon topped with sauteed butter mushrooms (3種きのこの親子丼) for 650 yen. He added chicken meatball soup and salad with sesame seed dressing for 200 yen. This set was 850 yen in total, which was equivalent to $6.

Oyakodon Topped with Sauteed Butter Mushrooms (3種きのこの親子丼)

This had three kinds of mushrooms, maitake mushrooms (舞茸), shimeji mushrooms (しめじ) and eringi mushrooms (エリンギ). These were sauteed in butter, so they had nice and rich taste.

Wafu Gyudon (和風牛丼), Japanese Style Beef Bowl

I ordered this Wafu Gyudon (和風牛丼), Japanese style beef bowl, for 490 yen and added a raw egg for 80 yen as I always do. This was 530 yen in total, which was equivalent to $3.75. I love Japanese beef bowl!

Nakau changes their menu sometimes. The mushroom oyakodon he ordered was seasonal menu, so it's not available for now. I was surprised that they have stopped serving their popular Wafu Gyudon! Instead of that, they started serving Gyu Suki Don (牛すき丼), sukiyaki style beef bowl.

Gyu Suki Don (牛すき丼), Sukiyaki Style Beef Bowl

I miss their Wafu Gyudon...😥 I was very lucky since I was able to enjoy their Wafu Gyudon before it's gone.

These are also my entries you might like.

♥Nakau, Japanese Gyudon Restaurant

♥Nakau, Affordable Japanese Beef Bowl Restaurant

♥Breakfast Meal at Sukiya, Beef Bowl Restaurant, - What I Ate in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

♥Hotel Room Tour and Review - Sunshine City Prince Hotel - Ikebukuro, Tokyo

♥My Shopping List for Japanese Beauty Products - What I Want to Get in Japan

♥How to Purchase Japanese Affordable Eyeglasses at Zoff

♥Driving A Rental Car in Japan, 6 Things You Should Know Before Driving in Japan

♥6 Facts about Kokyo Gaien Jogging Course

♥How to Purchase Japanese Affordable Eyeglasses at JINS

♥6 Japanese Products Loved by Foreign Tourists in Japan

♥Top 3 Japanese Powder Sunscreens

♥3 Best Japanese Sunscreen Products to Try This Summer

♥3 Best Japanese Eye Creams Won Beauty Award This Year

♥3 Best Facial Sheet Masks Loved in Japan This Year

♥7 Most Popular Japanese Facial Cleansing Wipes for Removing Makeup

♥7 Best Japanese Beauty Products Hall of Fame

♥Top 5 Life-Changing Japanese Beauty Products

♥Top 5 Most Popular Japanese Charcoal Soap

♥5 Best Japanese Facial Lotion (Toner), Kesyou-sui

♥The Most Popular Facial Sheet Masks in Japan

♥4 Reasons Why I Love Kose Softymo Cleansing Oil

♥10 Best Japanese Beauty Products on Amazon Japan, You Can Also Purchase Them at Drugstores in Japan

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.

   My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

   My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Tsukiji Tamasushi - Sushi Lunch in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Tsukiji Tamasushi (築地玉寿司) in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

As I mentioned in my previous entries, my husband and I visited Japan in 2022 and stayed at Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. We went to Zoff, eyeglass store, at Ikebukuro Sunshine City Alpa, to make his glasses. (By the way, if you are planning on visiting Japan, you should make new eyeglasses because it's easy and affordable to purchase those in Japan. You can check out my previous entry, How to Purchase Japanese Affordable Eyeglasses at Zoff.) After ordering two pairs of glasses there, we were told that it would take 30 minutes to receive new glasses. That's why we decided to have lunch nearby until eyeglasses were ready. We found this sushi restaurant, Tsukiji Tamasushi (築地玉寿司), located on the third floor of Alpa. As I mentioned in my previous entry, My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods, I always look forward to having authentic sushi in Japan.

Tsukiji Tamasushi (築地玉寿司)

3rd Floor at Alpa shopping mall

3-1-2 Higashi Ikebukuro

Toyoshima-ku Tokyo, Japan

Tsukiji Tamasushi, Established in 1924

There were many sushi dishes we could choose from. Since it was lunch hour, we decided to order sushi from lunch special menu. When you order lunch menu, you can also choose soup (お椀) or Undon noodles (うどん).

Lunch Special Menu

10 Pieces of Nigiri and 6 Tuna Rolls with Udon Noodles

My husband ordered this sushi set (10 pieces of nigiri sushi, 6 tuna rolls and udon noodles) for 1,518 yen, which was equivalent to $10.76 ($1 = 141 yen).

Kaisen Sushi Bowl with Miso Soup

I ordered this Tsukiji Don (築地丼), kaisen sushi bowl with miso soup for 1,628 yen, which was equivalent to $11.54. It was so fresh and so good! If I had this quality kaisen sushi bowl in the U.S., it would be over $55 with tax and tip. I felt like it's the 80% discount when you eat sushi during lunch time in Japan.

We were really satisfied with our delicious sushi lunch that day, and we really miss authentic sushi in Japan already. When we visit Japan next time, we will definitely eat sushi again! By the way, I also recommend you to try sushi from Costco Japan. You can check out my previous entry, What Do They Sell at Costco in Japan?.

These are also my entries you might like.

♥Tsukiji Sushiko in Shinbashi, Tokyo

♥Breakfast Meal at Sukiya, Beef Bowl Restaurant, - What I Ate in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

♥Hotel Room Tour and Review - Sunshine City Prince Hotel - Ikebukuro, Tokyo

♥My Shopping List for Japanese Beauty Products - What I Want to Get in Japan

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Breakfast Meal at Sukiya, Beef Bowl Restaurant, - What I Ate in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Sukiya (すき家)

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I visited Japan in 2022 and stayed at Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. For breakfast, we decided to go to Sukiya (すき家) because Japanese beef bowl is one of our favorite foods in Japan. You can check out my previous entry, My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods. We've visited Sukiya many times since we lived in Japan for many years. Yet, I think that this is my first time to enjoy their breakfast meal. (We also enjoyed beef bowl at Sukiya in Japan in 2019 and 2014.)

Sukiya has 1,942 branches in Japan in 2022, so you can easily find Sukiya restaurant in Japan. This time, I visited Sukiya Ikebukuro Sunshine Mae branch.

Sukiya Ikebukuro Sunshine Mae Branch

Times Station Ikebukuro

4-25-9 Higashiikebukuro

Toshima-ku, Tokyo

Open 24/7

Order Through Sukiya Touch Screen Menu

Even if you don't speak Japanese, you can order meal in English through Sukiya touch screen menu.

Sukiya Touch Screen Menu

You can choose your preferred language from Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.

Sukiya Touch Screen Menu

You can also choose size of rice. 😀

Sukiya Breakfast Combo Meals (すき家の朝食)

I've always wanted to try breakfast meal at beef bowl restaurants in Japan. It's because it looks nutritious and affordable. The cheapest breakfast combo meal is 290 yen, which is equivalent to $2.05 (1USD = 141 yen)! Sukiya's breakfast menu is only available from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. You can check out Sukiya official website for their breakfast menu. Today, I'm going to share what we had for breakfast at Sukiya with you.

Beef Bowl with Raw Egg Combo with Grilled Mackerel

My husband ordered this beef bowl with raw egg combo with grilled mackerel for 580 yen, which is equivalent to $4.11. It included rice, beef bowl plate, raw egg, grilled mackerel, simmered hijiki seaweed, nori and miso soup.

Beef Bowl with Raw Egg Combo with Grilled Mackerel

We were surprised that the meal was served in paper plates to reduce plastic waste.

Beef Bowl with Raw Egg Combo with Pork and Vegetable Miso Soup

I ordered this beef bowl with raw egg combo for 350 yen, and I chose pork and vegetable miso soup (とん汁) for extra 100 yen instead of regular miso soup, so in total, it cost 450 yen, which is equivalent to $3.19. It included rice, beef bowl plate, raw egg, simmered hijiki seaweed, nori, and pork and vegetable miso soup.

Raw egg on rice is called tamago kake gohan (たまごかけご飯) in Japanese and is popular breakfast meal in Japan. You might think eating raw egg is insane. However, as I mentioned in my previous entry, How to Make Tamago Kake Gohan - Raw Egg on Rice, because Japanese people eat raw egg, eggs are sold on the premise of being consumed raw in Japan. That's why egg producers make eggs perfect cleaning before marketing those. If you are interested in tamago kake gohan, you can try it with ease in Japan.

Raw Egg

I'm going to share with you how to eat tamago kake gohan. First, put soy sauce in raw egg bowl. Then, mix the egg and soy sauce together thoroughly.

Make a hollow in the center of the rice.

Then, pour the mixture into a hollow, and stir the mixture into the rice. That's it. You can enjoy tamago kake gohan.

I put beef over tamago kake gohan, and topped it with kizami shoga (刻み生姜), pickled ginger. This is my favorite way to eat Japanese beef bowl.

We really enjoyed our first Sukiya breakfast meals! If we have a chance to visit Japan next time, we will definitely try Japanese breakfast at beef bowl restaurants such as Sukiya (すき家), Yoshinoya (吉野家), Matsuya (松屋) and Nakau (なか卯).

These are also my entries you might like.

♥How to Make Tamago Kake Gohan - Raw Egg on Rice

♥Hotel Room Tour and Review - Sunshine City Prince Hotel - Ikebukuro, Tokyo

♥My Shopping List for Japanese Beauty Products - What I Want to Get in Japan

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Stand Gen Chan, Japanese Fish Bar - What I Ate in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Stand Gen Chan, Japanese Fish Bar

As I mentioned in my previous entries, my husband and I visited Tokyo last year, and we stayed at Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, for two nights. The hotel was pretty close to the hospital we would go to for complete medical checkup, which is called ningen doc (人間ドック) in Japanese.

　On the day we arrived in Tokyo, we decided to go to a restaurant near by the hotel for dinner. We finally decided this restaurant, Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar, located in Sunshine Alpa Mall. It took us five minutes or so to get there from the hotel by walk.

Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar

Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar

Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar

B1F Sunshine Alpa

3-1-1 Higashi Ikebukuro

Toyoshima-ku, Tokyo

Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん) is a Japanese teishoku (定食) and izakaya (居酒屋) restaurant.

This is teishoku menu. Teishoku (定食) means combo style meal such as main dish, rice and soup.

Teishoku Menu of Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar

As we have been living in the U.S. for many years, we always think that Japanese foods especially fresh raw fish is very expensive in the U.S. When we visit Japan, we are often surprised at how affordable Japanese foods are!

Bowl Menu of Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar

This is izakaya menu, which means small Japanese dishes you would like to enjoy with alcohol drinks.

Izakaya Menu of Stand Gen Chan (スタンド源ちゃん), Japanese Fish Bar

We were going to have medical checkup next morning, so we were thinking about having lighter and healthier meals, but after looking at the menu, we decided to have teishoku, combo meals. 😅

Sutamina Yaki Sashimi Teishoku (スタミナ焼きと刺身定食)

My husband ordered Sutamina Yaki Sashimi Teishoku (スタミナ焼きと刺身定食), combination meal of stir-fried pork with ginger and garlic, fresh sashimi, miso soup, white rice and Japanese pickles. This was only 1,188 yen, which is equivalent to $8.42.

Honjitu No Yakizakana Sashimi Teishoku (本日の焼魚と刺身定食)

I ordered Honjitu No Yakizakana Sashimi Teishoku (本日の焼魚と刺身定食), which is combo meal of today's grilled fish, fresh sashimi, miso soup, white rice and Japanese pickles. When I ordered it, I was told that today's grilled fish would be nishin (ニシン), herring. When I received it, I was surprised at how big the grilled fish was. The fish was bigger than the plate. This combo meal was also 1,188 yen, which is equivalent to $8.42.

The meals we had at Stand Gen Chan were affordable and pretty good. Sashimi was very thin, but we were able to enjoy five kinds of fresh sashimi.

Next time, I will also write about another restaurant we went to in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

These are also my entries you might like.

♥Hotel Room Tour and Review - Sunshine City Prince Hotel - Ikebukuro, Tokyo

♥My Shopping List for Japanese Beauty Products - What I Want to Get in Japan

Friday, March 27, 2015

Healthy Diet - Chia Seeds, Buy in Bulk at Costco

One of my new year's resolutions of 2015 is trying to eat healthy. As I decided to do so, I have been eating a lot of vegetables and some fruit on a daily basis since then. In addition, I drink plenty of water every day. As soon as I wake up morning, I make my chia drink, which contains 1 teaspoon of chia, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 24 oz of water. According to Wikipedia, chia seeds are a rich source of the B vitamins thiamine and niacin, and are a rich source of the dietary minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc. Chia seeds are also a good source (10-19% DV) of the B vitamins riboflavin and folate. Adding chia seeds to your diet is an easy way to get a good amount of nutrition. However, you should also know that chia is high in calories. One tablespoon, 12g, of chia contains approximately 60 calories. That's why I don't eat too much chia every day. Just 1 teaspoon (maximum 1 tablespoon for me) of chia per day makes my diet healthier. :)

That being said, I repeatedly purchased a pack of chia seeds at Trader Joe's or Mexican supermarkets. I finally decided to purchase this 32 oz bag of chia seeds for $9.99 at Costco! According to my calculation, it will last for four months for two people. As you might know, organic chia seeds are usually pretty expensive, so I think it might good idea to buy in bulk. Considering that 12 oz bag of Nutiva chia seeds costs $17.99 at Walmart, the 32 oz bag for $9.99 at Costco was a bargain. :)

Nutiva Organic Chia Seed 32 oz for $9.99 at Costco

Nutiva Organic Chia Seed

This is my previous entry about Mexican chia drink recipe.

How to Make Aguas Frescas de Limon Con Chia

My entries related Costco can be seen here.

http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Costco

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Aguas Frescas

Last Saturday, my husband and I went to EL Super, Mexican supermarket. Because we really love Aguas frescas, a fresh Mexican drink, we are always interested in their deli section. We found red drink, Agua de Flor de Jamaica, Hibiscus tea, and tried its sample for our first time. Oh, it was so sweet and sour! Even though we love Aguas frescas, we didn't think we could drink up that strong taste drink. We ended up getting pina y espinaca this time. Pina y espinaca is made of spinach and pineapple. This green Mexican drink was so sweet with pineapple taste. :)

Pina Y Espinaca

My entries related to Mexican Supermarket can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican%20Supermarket

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

EL Super Mexican Food Deli

Yesterday, I went to LAX to pick up my husband, who came back from a business trip. We hadn't eaten lunch yet so were very hungry. On our way home, we found EL Super, which is a Mexican supermarket. We decided to stop there to purchase aguas frescas, Mexican fresh drink, but ended up ordering lunch there. We asked a staff who worked at deli about their foods, and he let us try sampling.

We were interested in this green drink, pina y espinaca, and asked what was in it. He told us this was spinach and pineapple juice. He offered us some sample of it. It was slightly sweet and had spinach taste. It was pretty good actually, and my husband liked it. However, we ended up ordering the white one, horchata.

We purchased Carnitas Burrito for $4.99. It was huge and tasted so good!

Aguas frescas horchata was $1.29. This drink is our favorite. It had cinnamon taste.

Aguas Frescas Horchata

My entries related to Mexican Supermarket can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican%20Supermarket

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Menudo - Mexican Soup

Today, my husband and I went to Mexican supermarket, EL Super, and decided to get something we could eat for dinner at the deli section.
At the deli section, the staff spoke in only Spanish. We ordered their Carne Asada Burrito in English, but she told us in Spanish. We were confused a little at first but understood her gesture. I guessed that she was trying to say that it was sold out. Anyway, we eventually ordered their Carnitas Burrito, which is my husband's favorite, for $4.47.

I asked him that I wanted to try their soup because we had a great experience with Mexican soup which was chicken tortilla soup at Mexican restaurant last month, so I thought that Mexican food never disappoints me. I asked her if they had something soup, and I guessed that she said that it was something "noodle soup." It sounded good, so I ordered it anyway. When she was ladling soup into a cup, I saw honeycomb tripe in the soup. Frankly, I don't like honeycomb tripe at all but thought it would be okay because he likes it.

I was really looking forward to trying new soup. When we opened the cup at home, we immediately noticed its nasty smell. We heat it up anyway before eat.

Menudo - Mexican Soup

We didn't know how to eat the soup, so I looked it up on Internet and found out that this soup is called Menudo. It sounds like "noodle," is it? We served it in bowl and added onion, cilantro and lime juice.

Menudo - Mexican Soup

I held my breath and tasted it. It was good and bad. Its taste was not too bad, but the horrible smell didn't disappear even though I added enough lime juice. It was kind of nightmare. Our room was filling with terrible nasty smell. I had thought that my husband liked honeycomb tripe, but he gave it up after the first sip. We didn't like it unfortunately. We wish we could like it though.

However, their Carnitas Burrito was as good as we expected. :)

Carnitas Burrito

My entries related to Mexican Supermarket can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican%20Supermarket

Monday, September 8, 2014

Ceviche at Mexican Supermarket

When my husband and I went to Mexican supermarket last Saturday, we bought these two kinds of Ceviche. It's because while we were waiting in a line at the deli section, a man ordered two large cups of shrimp ceviche, and they looked so good. That's why we couldn't resist trying their ceviche! :) There were shrimp ceviche and fish ceviche we could choose from, and both of them looked so good, so we decided to buy both. :)

Ceviche

This ceviche de camaron, shrimp ceviche, was $6.49 per pound. Our small cup one came out $3.76. This was pretty spicy and good! The shrimps were pretty fresh.

Ceviche de Camaron, Shrimp Ceviche

This ceviche de pescado, fish ceviche, was $3.97 per pound, and this came out $2.30 with the small cup. We didn't know what kind of fish was in it, but it was also good. Frankly, we liked this fish ceviche more than the shrimp one. This had more fresh sour taste. :)

Ceviche de Pescado, Fish Ceviche

I have never made ceviche before. I would like to make ones like these some day, but it's pretty difficult to find great quality fresh fish to be eaten raw with reasonable price here unlike Japan. Fresh fish is always pricey here. I hope I will find great fresh fish and make my first homemade ceviche some day!

My entries related to Mexican Supermarket can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican%20Supermarket

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Aguas Frescas, Fresh Mexican Drinks at Mexican Supermarket

Today, my husband and I went to Mexican Supermarket, ElSuper. After shopping there, we found their Mexican fresh drinks, Aguas Frescas, at next to the entrance. All flavors were new for us, so we really wanted to try them for our first time!

Aguas Frescas, Fresh Mexican Drinks

These small cups of drinks were $1.29 each.

Aguas Frescas, Fresh Mexican Drinks

I ordered limon con chia because I have been really into chia drink these day. :) I think this drink contained chia, lime, mint leaves, and sugar. It was really fresh and cool. :) I should make it at home someday.

Aguas Frescas - Limon Con Chia

My husband tried horchata. We had no idea what horchata was though. It was slightly sweet and had milk and cinnamon tastes. We really liked it. :) According to Wikipedia, horchata is made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, or tigernuts.

Aguas Frescas - Horchata

       We were only Asians at the Mexican Supermarket today. Haha! There are still many foods we have never tried before, so we should go there again soon!

        My entries related to Mexican Supermarket can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican%20Supermarket

      This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking