[Hong Kong & Japan] McDonald's in Asia

Location Review
Mcdonald's  in Japan & Hong Kong



I don't know about you, but I really love going to different places and seeing a new and interesting Mcdonald's menus. I know it's not fine dining or gourmet food, but something about Mcdonald's just gets to me. I guess it's one of those places that just grew up with you, been through thick and thin, early and late, and no matter what happens you'll probably still eat it. A timeless classic in my books  that you can never get bored of!

So when I went to Asia, I had Mcdonalds a couple of times. It's interesting to see how they have different twists on common North American food items (mango flavoured flavoured ice cream, taro pies, etc), but it's even more exciting when you see an item that you don't find in your homeland.

[Japan] Coco's Restaurant

Location Review
２８−１ Teradai, Narita, Chiba Prefecture 286-0022, Japan

Coco's Restaurant

Have you ever played the game Cooking Mama? It was actually the very first game that I got for my Nintendo DS, and it just amused me so much. It might've been the mindless nature of the game, but I think part of the attraction was seeing all the Japanese dishes and how they're made. If you've ever played it, then you might remember making the hamburg steak. That was probably my favourite dish to make! Anyways, while I was in Japan I finally got to try this dish, and put a taste to all those digital ones that I made!

[Japan] Ganso Zushi (元祖寿司)

Review Location 
Dogenzaka 2-29-14, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 〒 150-0043

Ganso Zushi

I think you can probably tell by the amount of Japanese food posts I have on this blog, that I really love it. That's why this trip to Japan was such heaven for me. Another day in Japan, another day of sushi!. This time around, Rob and I opted to go conveyor belt sushi. I had gone once while I was in Hong Kong, but you can never really have enough sushi. No, especially not when you're in Japan.

[Japan] Grom Gelato

Location Review 
6-31-15, Mansion 31 1F, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku , Tokyo,- Japan

Grom 

Before coming to Japan, it was an unknown fact to me how good the milk is here. I thought living in Canada with its abundance of cattle and other livestock out in the Praries, we'd have incomparable milk. It wasn't until my cousin Dawnee from Hong Kong enlightened me about how good Japanese milk products were, that I made it a goal to have some while I was visiting Japan. I believe her exact words were "I had a ice cream/gelato everyday!". Well then, gelato it is.

[Japan] Gindaco

Location Review
Tokyo Shinjuku Kabukicho 3-24-3
東京都新宿区新宿３丁目２４−３

Gindaco Homepage

I always find myself constantly searching for a good takoyaki place in Toronto. The best I've had is so far probably at Guu. If you've never had takoyaki before, then you're definitely missing out. It starts off with a bite size peice of grilled octopus dropped into a sphere-like mold along with a savory batter. As it cooks in the mold, the  batter cooks and the outside becomes crispy. The result is a takoyaki ball! (This Gindaco page has a pretty neat visual of the creation process) It's then topped with takoyaki sauce and usually mayo along with other toppings. For something that doesn't contain a lot of ingredients, its surprising how different it can taste.  Sometimes its too soggy, sometimes the consistency isn't right, and sometimes the squid inside just tastes downright awful. Lucky for me, on one of the last days in Japan, I was graced with the opportunity to eat some decent takoyaki right outside the Shinjuku nishiguchi train station.

[Japan] Dinner @ Asou (大衆割烹 あそう)

Location Review:
Tokyo Shinjuku Kabukicho 1-22-4
東京都新宿区歌舞伎町1-22-4

Another day in Tokyo, means another dinner! After a long day at Tokyo Bay, we treked all the way back to Shinjuku where we stayed. In the same area as where we had ramen the first night, we found a nice little restaurant.


I was really attracted to this particular restaurant because of the display of live seafood outside, and there was also a guy outside the restaurant grilling shrimp on a barbeque looking grill. The combination of the two sealed the deal for me!

[Japan] Lunch @ Tsukiji Market

Location Review
Tsukiji Market

5-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

The Tsukiji Market is one of Tokyo's popular tourist spot, as it is the largest wholesale food market in the world. It has a long history dating back to 1935 (if you are interested you can read it here), but essentially its a wholesale market where seafood and other supplies are auctioned off to authorized buyers (like restaurants), and immediate wholesalers (vendors at the market). Some of the restaurants that purchase the goods are situated right inside the market, serving fish purchased that very same day. Sashimi heaven! But more on that later.

[Japan] Ramen @ 回高屋

Review Location:
1-30-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
(closest address)

The next leg of my Asia trip was one of the most highly anticipated countries on my own travel list : Japan! I don't know what it is about it, but the culture, food, and people just appeal to me so much! What would we do in a world without sushi, Hello Kitty, sexy cars, and super advanced technology?

Anyways, the area I stayed in Tokyo was the region/ward of Shinjuku. It's known for having the busiest train station in the world (Ican definitely vouch for that!) and one of the more popular red light districts. But I think regardless of what region you stay in, one thing in common, the food is great!