I’ll admit, prior to planning our trip to London I was under the impression that it’s all fish and chips. Probably because Ireland wasn’t exactly foodie heaven and I kinda assumed they might have similar cuisines. On the contrary, London has much variety to offer. We’re eager to return and eat more to our heart’s content, but in the meantime, this is our dining summary.
As we prepare to return to Hong Kong in a few weeks, we’d like to share a list of our favorite foods from our last trip there. From street food to restaurants, the city has a ton of sumptuous options. Here’s a quick list of the places we dined at during our last two visits!
When we first arrived in Shinjuku, it was really late at night. Originally we were planning on having a late dinner at Omoide Yokocho (aka “Piss Alley”), which is known for their yakitori (grilled chicken skewers). But all the stores were closing down so we opted for Coco Curry instead. Japanese curry isn’t like the yellow curry you might be thinking of. I feel it tastes more like mildly spicy beef sauce. And it tastes great with a meat patty, eggs, and rice. Coco Curry is a chain restaurant in Japan, so I’m not too sure how the quality is compared to regular restaurants. We’ll be back for more curry this time so I’ll let you know then! Japanese curry is actually something that’s less common here in New York, but you can definitely find it in the East Village.
The delicious dry fish broth ramen we had at Ramen Nagi.
Usually when we’re finding a place to eat in New York, we would use Yelp for recommendations. But since it’s not very popular in Japan, we had to kind of wing it and do some research online beforehand. We’re lucky that there’s good Japanese food in our city, but there’s still definitely a distinction between ramen here and ramen there. In NYC, we usually just order a specific ramen from the menu. In Tokyo, at least from what we’ve experienced, many places specialize in one type of ramen. And you get to select the firmness of the noodles, the amount of oil, and how strong you want the broth flavor to be. Best part is, oftentimes you can order from a vending machine first. There’s no tipping in Japan, so basically you’re paying for your meal in the beginning. Once you’re done eating, you can just get up and leave. Saves so much time!
One of our most memorable dinners was at Kani Douraku. There are a bunch of locations in Japan, with the honten (main store) being in Dotombori, Osaka, but we went to the one in Shinjuku. Actually, it felt like there was one Kani Douraku for every few storefronts at Dotombori. The restaurant always has a giant 3D crab in the signage. Here, you remove your shoes before entering the dining area. I recommend getting a reservation before coming, as I hear there’s usually a wait. Lots of Chinese people seem to love eating here.