Due to our overall change in venue, lunch became a rather variable meal spanning the gamut from day to day.
Below are the the results of a combi-ni (Convenience Store Run). Cost was about $6.00.
Meiji Black Chocolate. I have no idea if it is available here, but it is a treat when I go.
Even though we do not have the same lobby, I can still get my beloved energy drinks. Cost is 140 Y or about $1.
One of the venues had an included lunch: Bento box, rice, soup, and some sides.
"Indonesian Rice" from a cafe next to one of the training facilities. Not sure what makes ground chicken and a soft boiled egg Indonesian, but it was pretty good.
Lunch from our day at the Kobudo Kyokai Taikai: Bun and a Schwepps. 700 Yen, or $4.5.
Another day of a set meal.
Bottom line: You can eat very in Tokyo, a major metropolitan area, for a pretty reasonable fee if you are willing to eat like a resident, not a tourist.
The packaging is just as interesting as the food. :) Everything looks really tasty.
ReplyDeleteI was interested in the chocolate so I did a search and found it can be ordered online from a variety of places. With a huge variance in price. What I found interesting is that at each site there was usually at least one review that mentioned it didn't taste the same as in Japan. I couldn't help but wonder if it was ingredients or the eater's location. Not sure why that would make a difference, but it came to mine.
The best black chocolate I've found with from King Arthur Flour.
DeleteLeigh, the packaging really is. The chocolate was actually the most interesting as it essentially had a "pull out" container instead of just being scattered in Japan.
DeleteInterestingly, I have heard this complaint about more than one kind of food over the years. Part of it may be the fact that things do not travel well so they are "produced for abroad" or involve ingredients that may not be allowed in the country of destination (for example, Guinness was for years noted as tasting differently in Ireland versus internationally; the excuse was that it did not "travel well"). I also wonder if it has something to do with eating it outside of the country of origin; for me, there is always a little magic (highly objective term there) about foreign food in a foreign country.
Anon - Honestly, I had no idea that black chocolate was more of a thing than just a novelty before your post. Part of me wants to research it; part of me wants to let the mystery lie and just enjoy it in Japan.
DeleteTo Leigh's point, I think location plays a big part in taste at times. I've eaten things on backpacking trips that seemed delightful at the time but for some reason, would taste terrible at home. Perhaps altitude plays a part or just prior physical exertion?
ReplyDeleteEd, I think it can too. Backpacking is a great point - it is as much atmosphere sometimes as it is the item in question. Which, I suppose, is why I leave backpacking recipes for backpacking: I loved some of the things I have eaten (peanut butter, jelly, and corn chip tortillas come to mind) but eating them in the "real world" likely will destroy the taste as it just becomes "regular" food.
DeleteMost interesting TB, straying from the "tourist" path can be is easier on the wallet (old man reference) for nourishment. Whatever was done before plastic entered the scene?
ReplyDeleteNylon12, one of the easiest ways to eat more cheaply most places abroad is simply to eat like a regular person there.
DeletePlastic has certainly become ubiquitous - especially in Japan, where packaging really is part of the product. I will note that Japan makes much more use of incineration as a disposal policy than we do.