Breakfast hot dog? I’m not sure what is the fascination of hot dogs in buns (although the bread for their buns has a slightly sweet taste) as a breakfast pastry. I suppose it’s just a different twist on breakfast sausage.
After a visit to TMG, I had a lunch of udon- I’m going for the one at the bottom row for 600 yen- because a sign in the plastic food window says their specialty is buckwheat noodle. One of the quirks of Japanese places is many have machines where you match what you saw in the picture or in the display of plastic foods to what you want to press to get a ticket for that dish which you just hand to your server or the counter. They never need to handle your money and you get to order as quickly as you decide (or go back to the machine for more). The tempura at this place wasn’t as good as my business lunch, but eating the warm soba helped prepare me for the chilly weather of Tokyo that I would be walking through all day.
For dinner I was in the Akihabara area and saw two ramen places right next to each other. I had been anticipating ramen since the beginning of my trip. On the plane from Newark to Tel Aviv, they had individual players for each seat, and usually I like to watch foreign movies since I could get stuck on another plane and be forced to watch the US releases on a cabin screen, so might as well save those for later. One of the movies I watched was about a man trying to invent his own ramen recipe after inheriting his father’s ramen cart, and the movie told their story simultaneously on their pursuit of delicious excellence. Then, in China, I had watched a whole NHK special on unique ramens. So I had to have it.
Inside both little tiny shops that only seated maybe a dozen people, it was packed elbow to elbow with all men on little stools on very little counterspace around the open ramen kitchen, so I walked around a bit more and then came back. I thought I saw a woman in there so stepped up in line. In retrospect maybe it was a guy with dyed reddish hair that was shoulder length. I could not quite slurp as loudly and well as my neighbor though and in retrospect I should tie my hair back, heh. I don’t know how everyone around me was eating it so fast, it was so hot, but I was definitely conscious about the line waiting outside, and also that this was so delicious. It was the only time I had ramen during my visit, though I was tempted every single time I walked by a packed ramen bar. Oh well- yum tonkatsu ramen was still mine!
Next post: a Sunday full of snacks
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