A curry doughnut from a convenience store was the first food I ever bought in Japan. Like the strawberry sandwich, it feels very wrong but also very right. I doubt it will ever make it to M&S though.
The promise of a strawberry jam donut, only to discover it was red bean paste, caught me out again and again. Or there was the time I was delighted to discover rhubarb at a roadside stall, then after preparing a crumble I discovered it was some bitter vegetable. Finally in Turkey this time, the rustic looking jam bought as a gift that turned out to be for leg waxing.
Yes! I've had that red bean paste disappointment too. I then had the added 'fun' of making my (Japanese) wife angry because she thought my disappointment was anti-Japanese...!
Now I'm wondering about Japanese people living in the UK biting into a jam donut wishing it was bean paste, or sadly gazing at our supermarket meal deal sushi feeling homesick.
Good point! There ought to be a word in Japanese for the particular kind of homesickness someone experiences when encountering supermarket sushi abroad…
My favorite food while in grad school in Hawaii was the spam musubi. Can't beat it. In Japan, I avoided like the plague such abominations as the potato cutlet sandwich and the cold spagetti sandwich. Sandwiches in Japan have improved since the 1970s and 80s.
Thanks for that cross-cultural history lesson. My one question is, however, what do you suppose they do with the crust? Same question applies to the U.K.
“How do you like your eggs fried or boiled” Patricia Hayes would ask comedian Tony Hancock over breakfast on a series (yes series) of TV commercials put out in the 1950s and 60s in the UK, entitled ‘go to work on an egg’.
Wind forward 20 years to 1983, first time in Japan and I’m being ‘egged on’ to try a RAW egg with my beautifully prepared sukiyaki dish. After much persuasion I take the plunge … hmm rather good, I must be turning Japanese I really think so!
Imagine the delight I felt as I spotted my favorite custard pudding, a bit strange it’s served so early, but my hosts know I have a sweet tooth so hey ho..
First spoonful, my brain struggles to process .. my mental lexicon has yet to receive the ‘comprehensible input’ which is (茶碗蒸し) .. steamed (what!) egg in a cup.
I somehow manage to swallow the first spoonful but surreptitiously move the remainder to the side, where it remained the ‘chawanmushi in the room’ all night, before I fessed up to my host mother who deftly removed it from the scene of the crime.
Avoided it ever since and it’s filed away in my mental lexicon together with the likes of Mozuku, Tororo and all their runny mates.
I think I’ve not turned Japanese, I really think so.
Love it, I can see a theme developing here, with people hoping for sugar and encountering something disappointingly savoury(ish). Red bean paste doughnuts instead of jam ones. Chawanmushi instead of custard pudding. I sympathise!
Thank you also for the music reference! Can't resist linking to this:
A curry doughnut from a convenience store was the first food I ever bought in Japan. Like the strawberry sandwich, it feels very wrong but also very right. I doubt it will ever make it to M&S though.
I've not tried one of those! Will put it on my 'must eat' list for next time in Japan.
The promise of a strawberry jam donut, only to discover it was red bean paste, caught me out again and again. Or there was the time I was delighted to discover rhubarb at a roadside stall, then after preparing a crumble I discovered it was some bitter vegetable. Finally in Turkey this time, the rustic looking jam bought as a gift that turned out to be for leg waxing.
Yes! I've had that red bean paste disappointment too. I then had the added 'fun' of making my (Japanese) wife angry because she thought my disappointment was anti-Japanese...!
Now I'm wondering about Japanese people living in the UK biting into a jam donut wishing it was bean paste, or sadly gazing at our supermarket meal deal sushi feeling homesick.
Good point! There ought to be a word in Japanese for the particular kind of homesickness someone experiences when encountering supermarket sushi abroad…
My favorite food while in grad school in Hawaii was the spam musubi. Can't beat it. In Japan, I avoided like the plague such abominations as the potato cutlet sandwich and the cold spagetti sandwich. Sandwiches in Japan have improved since the 1970s and 80s.
Interesting! I've not encountered a spaghetti sandwich yet in Japan. I wonder if they still do them. It sounds absolutely awful!
My first experience with that song! Okay....
Thanks for that cross-cultural history lesson. My one question is, however, what do you suppose they do with the crust? Same question applies to the U.K.
Ha! Maybe there are some very well-fed birds hanging out near the sandwich factories.
Well now...That explains everything.
😂
“How do you like your eggs fried or boiled” Patricia Hayes would ask comedian Tony Hancock over breakfast on a series (yes series) of TV commercials put out in the 1950s and 60s in the UK, entitled ‘go to work on an egg’.
https://youtu.be/bGr5y2tNoqM?si=nRXEKf1vGUSej9WI
Wind forward 20 years to 1983, first time in Japan and I’m being ‘egged on’ to try a RAW egg with my beautifully prepared sukiyaki dish. After much persuasion I take the plunge … hmm rather good, I must be turning Japanese I really think so!
Imagine the delight I felt as I spotted my favorite custard pudding, a bit strange it’s served so early, but my hosts know I have a sweet tooth so hey ho..
First spoonful, my brain struggles to process .. my mental lexicon has yet to receive the ‘comprehensible input’ which is (茶碗蒸し) .. steamed (what!) egg in a cup.
I somehow manage to swallow the first spoonful but surreptitiously move the remainder to the side, where it remained the ‘chawanmushi in the room’ all night, before I fessed up to my host mother who deftly removed it from the scene of the crime.
Avoided it ever since and it’s filed away in my mental lexicon together with the likes of Mozuku, Tororo and all their runny mates.
I think I’ve not turned Japanese, I really think so.
Love it, I can see a theme developing here, with people hoping for sugar and encountering something disappointingly savoury(ish). Red bean paste doughnuts instead of jam ones. Chawanmushi instead of custard pudding. I sympathise!
Thank you also for the music reference! Can't resist linking to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGy9uomagO4