Innie or Outie

Most of the time when hubby and I are in the mood for fast foods, we look to the local cuisine to fill our cravings. But every once in a while we just have to have a decent pizza. Luckily we were able to find a takeout pizzeria (Entre) in our area that makes one of the best, and economical, pizzas available locally. As most people who have lived in Japan know, the pizzas over here tend to come in unique flavors (food fusion to the max). Fortunately for us, the proprietor of this pizzeria decided to stick to the basics in their combination offering (lots of cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, bell peppers,olives, onions, etc).

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Here is another version of the ever popular bento. This came from a local convenience store and had rice, fish, spaghetti, hamburger, chicken, potato salad, and pickled ginger.

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Here is another “fast food” meal, yakisoba. Basically it is cabbage, carrots, shrimp, squid, pork, and soba noodles quick-fried in a wok with a sauce and then topped with nori flakes. The meal also included rice sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, as well as pickled radish (daikon) and ginger. I ordered a side salad to complete the dinner.

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This fast food meal combines a little bit of everything: grilled chicken in tomato sauce, ground beef in demi-glaze, sausage, broccoli, corn, potatoes, a few strands of spaghetti, and rice.

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Here is another popular local “fast food” known as tendon or tenpura donburi. The tenpura is placed on the rice and covered with a sauce. Also included in this version is pickled cabbage and pickled ginger.

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One of the favorite food items on island is tonkatsu, or deep-fried pork cutlet. This version is one of the entree meals of a local fast food chain. The cutlet comes with a sauce and spicy mustard to provide additional flavor. Also in the meal is rice, a small shredded cabbage salad, some pickled veggies, a scoop of potato salad, and a few strands of spaghetti. In addition, I ordered another one of the small salads available.

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Local fast food chains aren’t limited to bentos. Like other establishments, they also serve a variety of entrees and side dishes. Here is a selection of ginger pork, accompanied with pickled cabbage, pickled ginger, regular cabbage, rice, and side order of salad:

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Here’s another of the choices in the local bento box cuisine. This one had rice, chicken, Chinese-style pork, shredded cabbage, various veggies, and pickled plum.

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Oden is one dish available at some of the convenience stores on island at this time of year. It is similar to nabe, but has a much cleaner tasting broth. Each person chooses which items are desired from the “cafeteria style” menu of goodies that simmer in a main broth 24 hours daily.

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Hubby chose sausage, daikon, ashitebichi (pig’s feet), kamaboko, stuffed cabbage rolls, potato, koniyaku, and konbu.

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Although hubby and I have been married for over 30 years, and he knows it’s not necessary to shower me with “special little somethings” on V-Day, he just loves to surprise me with different chocolate goodies anyway. This year he found a chocolate liqueur to help wash down the chocolate covered cherries.

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