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JAPAN
Food
& Drink
One of the great pleasures of a trip to Japan is exploring the full
and exotic range of Japanese food. Whilst dishes such as sushi and
tempura are well-known the world over these days, there are hundreds
of other types of local cuisine that will be new discoveries to
all but the most sophisticated of Western palates.
Many Japanese recipes embody a subtlety of flavour and mixture of
texture rarely found in Western cuisine, and the presentation is
often so exquisite that it feels an insult to the chef to eat what
has been so beautifully crafted. Throughout the text of this Guide,
language boxes give the English, romaji (for pronunciation) and
Japanese characters for the names of restaurants and bars, unless
they are clearly signed in English or romaji.
Picking at delicate morsels with chopsticks is only one small part
of the dining experience, though. Robust and cheap dishes such as
hearty bowls of ramen noodles or the comforting concoction kare
raisu (curry rice) are staples of the Japanese diet, along with
burgers and fried chicken from ubiquitous Western-style fast-food
outlets. All the major cities have an extensive range of restaurants
serving Western and other Asian dishes, with Tokyo and Osaka in
particular being major-league destinations for foodies.
With a little planning, eating out need not be too expensive. Lunch
is always the best-value meal of the day, seldom costing more than
¥2000. If you fuel up earlier in the day, a cheap bowl of noodles
for dinner could carry you through the night, especially if you're
planning on drinking, which is never a cheap affair. |
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