Some Japanese Snacks and Candy and More 2016

Just sharing some photos about Japanese snacks this time.  One of the great things about all things Japanese is the packaging is very pretty and well thought out, even if there is too much of it sometimes.  I do like the fact that their snacks are usually packaged in individual portions or in small batches inside the box most of the time so everything doesn't go stale if you don't polish it off in one sitting.

Not Japanese, but I thought this was cool with banana flavours for Minions.

These weren't Japanese either, but tic tacs that look like Minions is genius!

Strawberries are a very Japanese thing and Meltykiss chocolates are awesomely good.  They are the masters of the strawberry, even if it is an imported cultivar.  Strawberries are very important for Valentine's Day over there and they are delicious with intense and sweet berry flavour unlike what you get in the supermarket here.  Their strawberries are unique local varieties and are carefully grown and harvested.  They aren't cheap, but they taste great.

Japanese strawberries in the supermarket in Japan.  Some of those packages of berries are $14 for 8 deluxe berries.

Who doesn't like Pocky chocolate cream.  These midi sticks are shorter and thicker than the regular Pocky.

This Strawberry Pocky on chocolate biscuit sticks was really good.  They are like $5 a box here (a little more than double what they cost in Japan), but they are at your fingertips.

Veggie chips.

Different types of sweet cakes that go with tea.  You have red bean paste fillings and more.

All kinds of hard candies.  The one on the left has flavours from various Japanese sodas or juice.

More hard candies.  The Super Soda ones have a very tart coating on the outside.  The lemon type are super sour.

This a green tea hard candy that comes in five flavours.  Green tea soda, green tea and molasses, green tea and salt, green tea (matcha), and green tea and ponzu.  All very nice variants on just matcha flavour.

One of my favourite hard candies with ramune and fruit flavours.  Ramune is a Japanese lemon flavour that isn't lemon, it is ramune.  Unique and I haven't met anyone yet that doesn't like it.  I like how the bag is in the shape of a bottle of ramune soda which is where the flavouring first appeared.

More tasty chocolates filled with fruit cream.  I haven't seen these before here or in Japan.  Yummers.

You're probably off to the Asian supermarket after this.  You'll find tons of snacks at a supermarket like T & T.  Good luck!

BB-8, Lego, and Japanese Toys at Xmas Like Yokai Watch

Christmas is always one of those really busy times of year.  Since I have a big family we went out shopping for toys for the many children after taking a second mortgage out on the house.  Plenty of toys, but I was surprised that there weren't as many Star Wars toys out as I expected with the big movie release of Star Wars The Force Awakens.  There were lots of Star Wars toys, but I guess I expected twice as much or something as Disney is usually a marketing genius about tie-ins.

I'm always interesting in seeing what kinds of Japanese toys there are and saw plenty for Yokai Watch.  Yokai Watch is the new Pokemon in Japan and they were trying to launch it here with the new DS game which I own and have to play.  I'm going to play through Pokemon Conquest first (which is a cool cross-over with the Japanese strategy game Nobunaga's Ambition from KOEI).  Nobunaga's Ambition was one of the games for the original Gameboy that I played in the early days of portable gaming.

Anyhow, onto the list of some of the toys I saw.

 I I got one of those Iphone/Android remote controlled BB-8s as a present and it was a pretty neat little robot.  The controls work great and it rolls on the hardwood floor real good.  It has a number neat little mannerisms and such programmed in, but it is too bad that all sound and stuff comes from your phone and not the robot itself.  But the robot does light up a bit and the head bobs around on it pretty good (attached by magnets).

Yokai Watch figures wit the blind bags of plastic discs.  You collect these figure or discs to put on your special Yokai collecting watch to get their sound effects and such.  There are hundreds of the little discs so I'm not going any where near this collectible.

I caught a bit of an episode of Yokai Watch in my hotel room one morning in Tokyo.  Seemed like an interesting little show with the Yokai (spirits) talking, unlike Pokemon where the critters don't really talk.  In Yokai Watch, you catch spirits who then help you / become friends as you complete quests and such.

The legendary Yokai Watch itself.  This sucker was sold out in Japan last year and there were lineups to get them.  I don't think it is quite as popular here yet.

Jibanyan, the main yokai that helps out the protagonist.

I like how these yokai look here.  Very neat appearance.

We bought one of these.  Dr. Who Tardis Lego set with Daleks!

I can't believe there is a Big Bang Theory Lego set.

And yeah!!! Godzilla.  The biggest baddest import from Japan.  Not as cuddly as a yokai.

I like the Lego Dimensions computer game tie-ins.  Very cool.

More Dr. Who and K-9.  That is too cool.

These little World of Nintendo Dioramas are cool.  I have to play through Zelda Windwalker again one of these days.

And of course there were still Pokemon toys.  Mario too in the upper left corner.

Another Windwalker diorama section.  That boat was fun.

These Lego sets are expensive, but who doesn't like the Millenium Falcon.  I can't believe the original version of this set years ago was even more complex and goes for even more on eBay.

That's all for now.

Izakaya Tomo For Beer and Tasty Food

My accountant originally told me about this place and we had an okay visit the first time we went, but it was awhile before we went again.  We have been back several times after that and the food / service has been consistently better than the first visit.  I really like this place for the atmosphere, food, beer, and will be back again.  The Japanese owner recognizes a Zaku (from Gundam)  when he sees one!

There is a nice selection of Japanese beers and I don't have a particular favourite, but it all goes good with their dishes, of which there is a nice selection of things you don't find in most Japanese restaurants here.  The restaurant has been around for more than a few years and is a great addition to the Japanese food scene in Edmonton.

Beers!  A couple of the rarer Japanese imports here.

Simmered pork belly.  Savoury goodness at its best.

Tuna Yukke with fresh quail egg and tuna tartar.  Break the egg, mix it up for creamy goodness.

Kinpura, Burdock and Carrot Salad.  Quite tasty with plenty of crunch to the two type of roots involved.

Tuna Tataki.

Takoyaki or octopus balls (double order of 12).  This is a real Japanese treat!  The takoyaki are crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, then covered in sauce, bonito flakes and mayo.  Yum!  This is one of the dishes I order every time I visit.

Closeup of the Takoyaki

Udon Aglio Olio E Peperoncino udon with octopus and squid.  I like this simple, yet flavourful take on an Italian dish.

5 Gyoza cooked in a pan, flip it over to see your dumplings.  Cool presentation.

I'm always saying I want to drop in for some takoyaki and a beer and I've never done it, but one of these days...   This is a great place to go to sample some Japanese food both traditional and inspired.  They also have sushi, but we usually order mainly the cooked dishes with the odd roll to supplement our meal.  As Arnie says,  "I'll be back."

More takoyaki.

Yummy Ramen in Edmonton at Kazoku and Prairie Noodle Restaurants

In November and December of 2015, two new ramen restaurants opened up in Edmonton.  Kazoku was first, followed by Prairie Noodle.  I had to try both of these new places as I love ramen and eat lots of it every time I've been to Tokyo.  Ramen is basically soup, noodles, and toppings.  It is cheap, easy, fast food that could be quickly prepared and quickly eaten.  It has become more glamorous these days with chefs and such making it, but it is still one of these things that a hole in the wall can do really well as it isn't exotic (if you know the time consuming prep process to make it).

• A post on yummy ramen from my Tokyo Excess blog about Japanese Pop Culture

One of the most important things about ramen is the soup part.  To me, the soup needs to grab the attention of your taste buds on its own as it is what warms the soul.  I've had ramen with broth like this savoury nectar of the gods in Tokyo.  The odd time, I've had really good broth here too in Calgary or Edmonton, but most of the time it is just passable or pretty good.  The noodles have to be firm, maybe a little chewy, and definitely not soggy.  The toppings, with roasted pork of some sort must be tender and flavourful with lots of umami, and the ramen eggs need yolks that are still soft or a little runny.  If you have these things, you have an awesome bowl of noodles.  So, onto the restaurants.

Kazoku Ramen
Kazoku is a nice little restaurant way out on Stony Plain Road near West Edmonton Mall.  It is a little far for me to go for a ramen fix, unless I'm in the area.  The restaurant has free parking which is nice, and has a nicely done interior with the Ramen Rex focus wall.  I was there with a large group and we ordered the tonkotsu ramen, the shoyu ramen, and the Kazoku Special Ramen.  We also ordered the katsu curry, some tempura, and an order of gyoza.

 The service was okay, and the food was pretty good overall, but we did have a few hiccups on our visit.  I'm not sure I like the tempura as much since the batter reminded me more of Chinese deep frying for chicken balls or shrimp rather than a tempura batter.  The broccoli batter was still not completely cooked in the middle, but they quickly fried up a fresh one for us.  The tonkatsu curry was pretty good, with the curry being tasty with a nicely fried up pork cutlet, and a fluffy egg omelet underneath it; all on top of the rice - very filling.

Assorted tempura

gyoza

katsu curry with a fluffy omelet underneath the cutlet.

Tonkotsu Ramen.  You have lots of the traditional things for ramen happening here with naruto, soft boiled egg,  the pork belly, green onions, dried seaweed, and pickled bamboo shoots.

The ramen soups were pretty good and I was pretty satisfied with my meal.  The couple of us who ordered the Tonkotsu ramen enjoyed it the most, with the soup being thicker, more robustly flavoured, and saltier.  The Kazoku Ramen was a lighter, thinner tonkotsu broth, but the person who had it said they would have the regular tonkotsu next time as the flavour was more intense.  The gyoza weren't piping hot when we got them, but they were good with lots of garlic like I like it for Japanese gyoza.  The roast pork belly was pretty tender and tasty, but one edge (the outside edge was on the tougher side and probably should have been trimmed off).

Overall, I'd try them again for sure and I'll have the tonkotsu or the katsu curry!  It's always great to have another ramen eatery around.

Prairie Noodle
Boy, this place can be hard to get into as it is so busy.  They've even sold out of their various types of ramen on particular days.  I'm sure the crowds will eventually die down, but they sure were off to a great start after a great social media campaign with popup restaurants and all that.  This was the place I was really eager to try after some local food bloggers raved about it.  The first time I went it was like a 45 minute wait, and we had to pass on it, but the second time, I walked in the door to get a seat after they had just opened for the day.  There were already more than half a dozen customers in front of me.

Sitting down at the counter I could see them preparing all the food and you can tell they have an eye for detail here.  The restaurant is small, but has a nice modern decorated theme to it.  I like the fact that they have coat hooks under the bar, like in Japan to hang a bag or your jacket.  They are not doing traditional ramen, and I like the fact that they are doing something different with locally sourced ingredients.

Pork Ramen - nicely presented with a good portion size.

I ordered the Pork Ramen here as pork and ramen are like fish and chips for being two peas in a pod.  I also want to see what their take on a classic combination was.  When the ramen arrived it was very nicely presented with the shredded roast pork, the pork belly, and the crispy pork skin.  I tasted the broth first and it was light with a flavourful undertone, but it didn't knock my socks off or anything.  The soup was good, but it really shone when I had it with a mouthful of the shredded pork to provide that big kick of umami.  The noodles were nicely done by being firm and chewy and went well with the soup.  The pork belly was tender and tasty with the umeboshi egg surprising me with its tartness (but there is pickling involved)  The egg was done nicely though.  Overall, it was a pretty good bowl of noodles.  I'll try the chicken ramen next time, and the miso ramen (with cheese - so it should have lots of flavour) after that.  I didn't have room for appetizers, but the ones I saw pass by looked pretty good.

Crispy pork skin on top of the egg in the middle.  Lots of green onion and roasted corn.

I'll definitely be back to try more of their ramen with the local/regional touch, which is something that is a plus everyone.