Slice of life anime at McDonald's

Anime is a medium that allows for wild, out of this world visuals and story telling but some of the most popular stories of all are the slice of life stories, the tales of the regular highs and lows. They also make for great advertising for various products in the real world from educational courses to Disneyland!

Check out the youtube version below!

Studio Colorido have produced another endearing food advertisement, but this time related to recruitment. They were also the company behind the endearing miso soup commercials that I wrote about here. (click) As McDonald's is a huge name in Japan, the commercial features the vocal talents of AKB48 singers Rin Okabe and Yui Yokoyama, the video begins with a fresh first year college student names 'Sumire Hibino' noticing a help-wanted poster as she rides past. Soon enough, she’s working alongside 'Ikumi Hoshino', another senior college student working at the restaurant part-time.

Keep it together Sumire!

Ikumi embodies the helpful senpai (senior) concept that is prevalent throughout Japanese culture and guides Sumire through the various trials of starting a new service job. How to handle customer's requests for the trademark McDonald's smile as well as backing her up when she has trouble with a food order. Whispering to calm down and keep it together.

The animation is smooth and beautiful, they make the food look delicious too!

Strawberry Milkshake!

Sumire eventually grows into the role and offers great service herself, gaining the approval of those around her as well as job satisfaction. While you may think that this is glorifying the service industry as something more fabulous than it is. It does keep its roots grounded, it acknowledges that for many the service industry is often a spring board to future jobs, giving valuable work experience and soft skills. Ikumi senpai eventually moves on with a tearful goodbye. At the end, history repeats itself as Sumire welcomes a fresh recruit who goes by the name of Wakaba.

The recruitment website itself highlights that this is an ideal job for those who do not have to support a whole household such as housewives, part timers and university students. Various characters from different backgrounds are shown who will no doubt be featured in future commercials!

I look forward to seeing their stories too!

Jobs for people of all ages

Yakisoba and chocolate : Valentines match made in heaven?

Japanese manufacturer Myojo is well known for selling their popular and super convenient 'Ippei-chan' yakisoba noodles. They apparently thought that their marketing needed something completely wild and crazy and jumped on the Valentine's bandwagon, by adding...chocolate sauce, what?

As soon as I saw the promo for this on the internet I decided on the spot that I HAD to eat this. Who the hell thinks of chocolate and noodles together? Typically yakisoba is ramen noodles fried in a slightly salty soy, Worchestershire kind of sauce. Some flavour combinations just naturally don't work together. You aren't going to add whipped cream to your squid and you won't put baked beans on a chocolate cake. So how anyone decided to make this combo is beyond me. But I remained faithful, after all, adding chocolate to a curry is a great way to add some bitterness to it, maybe this would work?

My local supermarket had an ample stack that was larger yesterday.

Sites like RocketNews have gone for the 'sensational' OMG it's so gross, so unique, rare and hard to find reporting approach. Whilst it will certainly disappear quickly like all limited edition flavours here, within a week or two max, I could find them in pretty much every convenience store and supermarket. Interestingly, it is a good 50 yen cheaper than the standard flavour, I guess even the most adventurous need a little cash incentive...!

So you buy a packet, what do you get inside?

You get the standard packet with the cool drainage lid and 3 packets that you simply need to add after boiling the noodles and draining them, then just mix the hell out of it. Adding the furikake packet last, which is kind of the crunchy topping. Even if you don't know Japanese, the instructions are crazy simple.

So you mix it all up, wait with anticipation and you see this...oh.
I'm sure the obvious comparison is very clear...I tasted a quick sample of the sauce before putting it on an it did indeed taste like legitimate chocolate sauce!

Appetizing?

However, if you go beyond the visuals and mix it up, the taste is pretty surprising.
The texture is very much the same as your standard yakisoba but with a little added crunch from the topping. The starchyness of the noodles actually helps to mellow out the chocolate taste into something a bit more natural.
My immediate comparison would be a standard chocolate mister donut's donut. What I hadn't realized until I had began eating is that it is noodles plus chocolate AND cinnamon. This was a real deal breaker. The cinnamon, for me actually added a nice after taste and complimented the natural noodle taste. You could even say it was pretty good!

Mix, mix...!

That's a bit more natural looking...!

It became one of those dishes where the more you eat it, the more you begin to like it. I found myself saying "Hey...I could actually eat this again!" and not just to be edgy. I have had worse tasting regular yakisoba's. Perhaps I have a more forgiving palate but for that combination and for so cheap, it was a nice surprise!

If you want to try this novelty noodle dish I really recommend you go out and grab one within a week or so otherwise you will have to hunt hard. It has been released for valentines but often it seems that Japan removes these items way before the event has actually finished, marketing is weird.

If you give it a go, let me know what you think! 

Osaka Thailand Festival 2015

May is an awesome time of year to be in Japan, it is starting to get hot without being unbearably comfortable and there are a ton of international or cultural events taking place each weekend. In Osaka alone there are a few events and festivals happening every weekend! This weekend on the 23rd and 24th May, the 13th Annual Thai Festival comes to Osaka! If you are a big fan of thai food, I highly recommend it.

It takes place in the Osaka Castle grounds so its a good excuse to enjoy the local sights while also enjoying some foreign food. Unlike other events, there is no entry fee, you can come and go as you please and there is no problem with taking out your food an drinks. Which is a blessing considering that the available seating is ALWAYS full if you don't get there early. Near the event there were a ton of people sitting on the grass and walls happily enjoying a Singha while munching on some Pad Thai.

So you enter the area and are faced with this...!

The layout of the area seemed a bit...bare to be honest. Everything was laid out in a big semi circle with food stands on the right and centre, a stage and culture related goods in the middle, and general thai stores on the left. The remaining space was filled with lines, lines and more lines, like every festival event in Japan...the line for mango ice alone was roughly 60 people long!

There were a variety of drinks available, with 3 local beers and 2 local wines, with a variety of extra cocktails too, thankfully the booze bars had the shortest lines! So stock up on something to drink while you wait for food.

As you can see here the food was reasonably priced! Comparable to local prices for food at Japanese festivals, it doesn't break the bank. Normally international events like this charge WAY more, for example at Octoberfest, they were charging 1200+ for a small selection of sausages, whereas here I can get a big packet of pad thai for 500yen, good stuff! This combined with the open entry meant that this event felt a lot more 'free' than the others which often restrict you.

The food was pretty reasonable, it obviously doesn't compare to a decent thai restaurant but if you want your fix you can definitely get it here. I don't recommend the pad thai as the flavour was lacking but the noodle curry dish above was epic, really really good value for the price. The fried goods such as chicken and spicy pork were really good too. Most of the servers and cooks appeared to be Thai which was a nice bonus!

However, apart from the food and drink, there was a lot going on...events were few and far between with long lulls between performances. The cultural stores too were located too far away from everything else and too small to actually have an impact. The one thing I did get hyped about was the Thai Boxing ring but found out that I had sadly missed the time slot!

I did managed to catch a music performance as well as some Muay Thai fighters doing a traditional dance though.

Overall I would say that the Thai Festival is worth it but don't plan on spending the whole day there, especially if you don't get there early enough for seating. It is best enjoyed as a few hour detour on a day out, due to its location you can go and enjoy the castle grounds or hop on a train to Shinsaibashi or something with a belly full of Thai food and beer!

To find out more information you can visit the official website at http://www.thaifes.com/

No.1 Takoyaki in Osaka!

No.1 Best Takoyaki in Osaka : Naniwa, Nagai

Most countries usually have a few signature dishes that define it's country's cuisine whether it be fish and chips for the UK, pasta and pizza for Italy or curry for India. While some regional variants are available such as Chicago Pizza or Cornish Pasties, Japan has them in ridiculous abundance! If you are a food tourist, you need to add Japan to your list. Every prefecture or sometimes city has more than one local speciality to offer travellers, these are often well known across Japan, compounded by the omiyage and package tour culture here.

I live in Osaka, Kansai and if you ask anyone what food is famous in Osaka you will probably hear "Okonomiyaki, Kushikatsu and...Takoyaki!" To be honest, Kushikatsu has been revealed by surveys to not actually be eaten much by local Osakans but is very popular with tourists but that's a discussion for another day. Today I want to talk about Takoyaki, Takoyaki's literal translation means 'grilled octopus', but its a lot more than that! Takoyaki is made with a special indented pan that is filled an egg and flour based batter with octopus slices and any additional flavourings which could include kimchi, ginger, green onion or any other variations. The pan then moulds the mixture into a ball shape as it is expertly rotated and formed by the chef. Various toppings are available but the most popular combination is Takoyaki sauce and Mayonnaise.

There are a ton of Takoyaki stalls in Japan, it's a popular street snack, according to Tabelog there is a whopping 1130 in Osaka alone! But which is the best one? Each one has their own recipe or cooking technique, I've eaten a lot of damn Takoyaki but I want to share what I, and the majority of Tabelog eaters recommend as the NO.1 place for Takoyaki!

That place is called 浪花や - なにわや、read as 'Naniwaya'. It is a small stall located in Nagai on the Midosuji line, next to Nagai park, for more in depth directions check the end of this post! If you look at the poster below they proudly announce that they are currently the no.2 rated Takoyaki store out of a whopping 1130 stores. However looking further, it was rated no.1 overall for both the cooking/taste and cost performance categories! I'm pretty damn lucky to have this place within a 15min walk from my house and have visited many times.

Naniwa is a small and humble establishment that has been running for 25 years, it offers a small seating space of just 8 seats but I have always managed to grab one as most people order to take away. Inside there is a free iced water machine which is heaven on a hot day. The store is ALWAYS serving someone, I have never seen them not busy or idle, there is a constant flow of custom which explains why they have been around for 25 years! But enough about the place...lets check the menu!

There are four variations available. 

1) Shouyu aka. soy sauce. This is included within the batter so there is no actual topping.

2) Takoyaki Sauce

3) Mayonnaise (Chefs recommendation)

4) Mayonnaise and Takoyaki sauce, my personal favourite.

The prices vary depending on how many you order, ranging from 8 to 24 pieces per order. As you can see it is CHEAP, really really cheap despite the amazing taste and reputation.

Myself and my partner went for options 3 and 4 which you can see below, each order comes with a side of pickles and is served piping hot, sadly my camera didn't capture the steam coming off of them!

Takoyaki is traditionally eaten with these little toothpicks, which may prove to be a little tricky for those without good dexterity! Some Takoyaki can be quite farm or even crunchy on the outside depending on the place but Naniwa's texture is pretty soft and malleable. As you can see it is kind of drooping off my toothpicks and can easily break if you randomly jab at it! 

Fortunately chopsticks are also available if you don't want to fiddle around and just want to tuck in! Much easier and can take advantage of how hot it is! The batter has a nice smooth texture and isn't 'stodgy' like most cheap places, it is satisfying from beginning to end and the pieces of octopus are of good quality. Not rubbery or chewy like cheaper variations, taste satisfaction guaranteed, at Naniwa there are also small pieces of Konyaku to add texture, they aren't really noticeable so don't worry if you aren't a Konyaku fan. I personally love option 4 as the the sauce and mayo blend well with the Katsuobushi dried tuna flakes and smooth texture to create a tangy sweet ball of awesomeness.

If you have never had Takoyaki, you are probably thinking that this sounds really fishy but it isn't at all so give it a try! Its more like a savoury tangy dumpling that happens to have some octopus in it! I highly highly recommend this place because despite the staff being busy they are always friendly, the seating area is clean, plus even with the popularity, the waiting time between order and service is really quick! Definitely No.1 in my eyes.

Where to find Naniwa: It is located about 30m from exit 5 of Nagai park, Nagai is located on the red Midosuji line that connects to Tennoji, Namba, Umeda and so on. It is just around the corner from Mister Donuts so use that as a marker point! 

It is open from 10am to 7:30pm but please note that it is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays! I have attached a few googlemap pictures of my location at the time to help!

Naniwas official website is http://takoyaki-naniwaya.com/top

You can also view their tabelog at http://tabelog.com/osaka/A2704/A270404/27003447/

Next time you are in Osaka, come and try the best Takoyaki that Osaka can offer!

Take a bite out of Kyubey's schemes!

Kyubey's head available for consumption!

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (魔法少女まどか☆マギカ) is a magic girl anime that broke stereotypes and brought the genre into new territory, becoming popular across the world. If you haven't seen it I recommend it, especially after 'that' episode which completely changes the tone. I was sceptical of the series at first but it quickly grew on me.

The series featured a magical creature called Kyubey, he could create contracts to make wishes and give power to girls who desired it. However, beyond his cutesy exterior was a much darker hidden motive. Now, if you go to Lawson you can enact sweet delicious revenge by eating his cute head!

For a limited time you can buy a steamed meat bun adorned with Kyubey's cutesy features...doesn't he look adorable!

But much like in the series, if you bite him in the wrong way, he begins to take a sinister turn...not so cute now huh?

The bun itself is actually really, really tasty. With a sweet and tangy sauce and plenty of meat to go with it. Sometimes with convenience store meat buns you can barely taste or notice the difference between fillings but not in this case!

I had only intended to but it once for novelty value but have bought it twice since and its better than the standard offerings, perfect for warming you up on the chilly days that have crept up on us recently.

Seek out your revenge at a Lawson store near you before he disappears!

Tower Cheese Monstrosity Returns!!

Cheesy Monstrosity was back for one day only!

Despite my intended focus of this blog being games and Japanese media and culture I keep getting sucked into the wonderful world of Ltd. Edition foods and drinks that are constantly being churned out here!

On 20th November, the hamburger chain Lotteria re-released their limited edition tower cheese burger for one day only. The last time they did this they sold out so quickly, but this time I got lucky!
For ¥500 you get just the burger, or for ¥700 you get a small drink and fries too. The drink is essential for all the damn meat you are about to eat...!

The tower cheese burger consists of a bun, 5 big meat patties and ton of cheese wedged inbetween. I saw some pretty horrific monstrosities on twitter the last time this promo took place so was pleasantly surprised to see that mine sort of resembled the promo photo!

It's difficult to eat, being bigger than the average mouth. I chose to attack it from the side, a salaryman infront of my tries to attack it from the bottom but he became a greasy mess within seconds...! The meat is...disappointing. It is edible but one word I would use to describe it is 'mushy'. Didn't feel solid at all, compared to other popular burger chains this is definitely dog food tier meat. There is no way cheese should have that bright yellow colour either, just doesn't look natural!

The main problem was grease, the bun inevitably gets soaked and makes your hands stink! I had to use a bunch of gatsy wipes to get rid of it. As you can see here, the greasy aftermath after you have finished instantly makes you regret your decision.

Is it worth it? For ¥500 you can argue that it is cheap for what you get, 5 patties is filling! But the taste leaves a lot to be desired. It is a good novelty burger to show your friends (...or the internet/instagram!)

If you are interested, I recently saw a sign for another one day only buying chance for the 10th of December, so go find a Lotteria near you and try one!

Burger King's KURO Pearl VS. McDonald's Cheese Tsukimi!!

In Japan, who is better?

During my three or so years living in Japan I have probably eaten way more McDonalds than I have in my entire lifetime in the UK!! Why? It's cleaner, brighter, friendlier, tastier and the staff smile and go out of their way for you. Not to mention the fact that they release some AWESOME specials that always seem to be experimenting and keep things exciting. (As exciting as fast food can be anyway...)

Right now in Autumn 2014 the two rival chains have released two seasonal specials:

McDonald's contender is the '月見 (Tsukimi - literal translation is moon viewing!) Burger' that draws from the traditional harvest moon festivals. Its main attraction is the juicy egg on top to resemble the moon with some bacon and 'special sauce' to go with it. It comes in at 491 calories for those of you that care about that kind of thing. I chose the cheese version as this rivals the BK offering more closely. 

Burger King have capitalized upon their successful Star Wars burger campaign of last year and have released another set of 'KURO' burgers, essentially 'black' burgers....literally the entire thing is black from the bun to the cheese. It comes it two variants, one with salad and one without, I chose the basic one since the 月見 is one of the rare burger offerings that comes with zero salad. Good for the fussy fatties out there! This comes in at 465 calories, probably due to no bacon.

Lets see what they actually look like!

McDonald's is up first!

Ta-da! We open it up to find...

Sexy eggyness

The first thing you might notice is that is actually kind of looks like the actual damn photo! That's one main point I have noticed since eating here is that more often that not, what you see is what you get.

Sexy bacon

Inside too is an actual chunky piece of bacon, a pleasant surprise from the paper thin stuff back home. The egg is surprisingly soft and 'just right' too, none of that stiff, stodgy overcooked type of eggs that I usually associate with fast food. The special sauce though is pretty much just a combination of ketchup and Japan's sexy mayonnaise. The burger has a good balance between sweet and savory and is pretty moist without making the entire thing soggy. Overall a really tasty choice! Also the fries were piping hot and fresh too!

Burger King's turn...

I actually had to go out of my way to find a BK restaurant since they are far fewer in number!

Black wrapper, nice start...

DARRRRRRKNESSSSSS

 What Burger King's limited edition burger has going for it is definitely the novelty and shock factor of eating an entirely black burger. Some would find it massively off putting, associating it with something dirty or burnt. It actually tastes quite fresh and has been darkened using bamboo charcoal, same goes for the cheese...

Yay or Nay?

 The sauce is a squid ink enhanced garlic sauce, it has a pretty tangy taste to it, one of my friends commented that it has a strange smell but I was too infatuated with the colour to notice! Taste wise there isn't a lot else going for it due to the basic ingredients. They provide a ton of sauce though which inevitably drips out.

Looking at this pic in hindsight, the bread does look kind of 'doughey', similar to the chocolate bread that is so common here. Tasted fine though! One other big difference between McDonald's and BK is that the BK burgers actually feel meaty, almost twice as thick and you can definitely taste it more. The burger itself looks cool but it didn't actually taste that special.

The Verdict?

The McDonald's 月見 Burger is by far the better burger overall, despite costing the same you get more for your money, both in taste and ingredients. Coupled with the app coupons you can get you can usuall score a large drink and fries with it too.
Burger King are slowly expanding again in Japan after having given up several years ago and are vastly outnumbered by McDonald's but if they continue campaigns like this then their appeal should grow! This burger is good for a novelty meal and something to say HEY LOOK, I ATE THIS! But it isn't something I would rush to buy again.

Wow...I've never written so much about fast food before!