Japanese Restaurant

Friends, I have a burning question: What’s sushi like in Japan? Do rolls contain cream cheese or truffle oil? Are they topped with spicy mayonnaise? Will I find playfully named rolls like these ones at Japanese restaurants in America—Caterpillar Roll, Bad Boy Roll (did we meet in college?), or Sexy Scallop (I wish I’d met you in college!)? These questions run through my mind while I’m eating sushi in my city…

Complimentary Edamame! I like these boiled soybeans sprinkled with salt so much that I would’ve ordered them anyway. (To eat Edamame, you move the soybeans along one end of the pod to the other, scraping the soybeans into your mouth. You then get a mouthful of the tender and plain-tasting soybeans, and salt from the pods. Feel healthy and guilty at the same time!)

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Malaysian Restaurant

Just like restaurants come in all types of cuisines, friends can come in all ages. Do you remember The Sunshines who introduced me to one of my now-favorite Asian cuisines, Taiwanese? Although they each have children around my age, it doesn’t stop us from giggling over the same jokes, talking about our significant others, and enjoying meals together.

We meet for a meal every few months. The last time was at a Malaysian Restaurant, where we ordered Roti Canai with a curry dipping sauce. This type of bread is similar to Naan but flaky.

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Japanese-Style Ramen

Usually I don’t like to eat my own cooking. Usually it’s a form of self-punishment. So I eat out, when I can. That’s not to say I can’t make anything decent. I’ve been told my sandwiches and ramen are delicious. Nevermind that the praise came from someone who’s an even worse cook than I am. And don’t knock sandwich- or ramen-making. You know it take skillz. You’ll see just what I mean in a few pics…

So I went to a Japanese-style ramen place recently, to see how the ‘pros’ do it. It was my first visit to such a restaurant. Here’s a jar of sesame seeds, one of the available add-ons.

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Teppanyaki

Sometimes, as we sip our tea…

and admire the plate designs…

we wonder. It might be something like, “How will the food taste dipped in this ginger mustard sauce?”

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