Before I describe a dinner we recently had, let me provide a photo of something you see EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. These are vending machines for drinks, which you would find on nearly every block in Tokyo. There are hot and cold selections: coffee, tea, water, soda, etc. I guess I'm jaded in that I expect these things to be broken, vandalized, or just gross. However, they are all in perfect condition.So one of Christian's colleagues had us over for dinner on Saturday night. His wife prepared the meal (not sure the colleague actually knows how to cook, but I digress). She claimed that she had just thrown things together, but this was like a 10-course meal. Christian and I feel that this was the best meal we've had in Tokyo. Let me try to remember the courses.... (1) salad with a typical Asian-type dressing, (2) roe, (3) cooked oysters, (4) chicken wings, (5) pork shabu shabu. Actually, let me stop here. I don't think it's called shabu shabu, as this is for beef. In this case, thinly sliced raw meat is brought out on a plate, and then you dunk the meat into a bit pot of broth. The broth was full of scallions. You let the meat simmer until it's cooked, and then you take chopsticks (or in my case, a fork) and take it out and eat it. This is all family style. Let's go back to the list. (7) udon noodles thrown into the same pot of broth, (8) rice and eggs in the same pot of broth, (9) cheese, nuts, and some dried fruit, and (10) a custard-type of dessert with a liqueur at the bottom. This was all so yummy. Here's what Joseph ate: plain rice, some dried fruit, and some "boro" cookies. I'm just happy he ate something.
I'm kind of scared to ever have people over to eat because (1) I am not terribly confident with my cooking abilities and (2) how the heck will I come up with 10 courses????
Because we're not yet in our apartment, we've been eating out a lot or ordering take-out. Tokyo really has every kind of restaurant imaginable. However, when you find an Italian restaurant, for example, there is always some Japanese flair to it. Like you'd never find veal parmesan...you'd instead find all these seafood combinations topped with some tomato sauce and pasta.
As much as I'd rather go to non-chain restaurants in the US, those chains are looking mighty appealing sometimes. Outback Steakhouse, anyone?
Oh, one thing that is really missing here is the "diner." It is impossible to find a place that serves breakfast/brunch-style food. I guess, though, if we'd venture over to the Park Hyatt Hotel, there might be some options for $50. Oh well.
