Let’s be honest, Westfield foodcourts really do suck arse. I won’t elaborate any further.
I’ll also be honest with the fact that I am biased towards Asian foodcourts. Why? Because they are insanely awesome and we’re always spoilt for choice. And did I mention great value for money? Yes. I won’t elaborate any further on this either, let the photos speak for themselves!
Whenever I’m in Asia, I try to make a trip to a Takashimaya or SOGO shopping mall just for the unbeatable foodcourt experience. This particular set of photos were taken while on a trip to Taipei, Taiwan.
Drool away!
SET MEAL: Minced beef and salted black beans on rice, stir fried lettuce in soy, pork ball soup and deep fried fish fritters from TAKASHIMAYA.
SET MEAL: Steamed salmon fillet in soy and wasabi, stir fried lettuce in soy, seafood soup and rice from TAKASHIMAYA.
SET MEAL: Braised pork belly in soy, stir fried greens in soy and garlic, pork wonton soup and rice from TAKASHIMAYA.
SET MEAL: Dubbed the McKraken Meal. Whole stuffed squid and tempura prawns on a bed of udon noodles, steamed veges, whole egg and sweet sauce from TAKASHIMAYA.
Garlic pesto spaghetti with chicken and peppers from TAKASHIMAYA.
SET MEAL: Tempura seafood curry with omelette rice from SOGO.
Spicy chilli ramen with minced pork and whole egg from SOGO.
SET MEAL: Steamed Shanghai pork dumplings and sweet black sesame congee dessert from Taipei Airport Foodcourt.
SET MEAL: Cold cut chicken rice with an assortment of sides and hot chicken soup from Taipei Airport Foodcourt.
I chanced upon these crumbed potato cakes in the frozen foods section at my local Japanese grocery store. I’m a big fan of potato croquettes, and I took a fancy to these particular ones because of the ingredients – seaweed and cod roe. I’ve never tried potato cakes with this combination of fillings before, so I bought them for yet another taste test at home.
The Japanese sure know how to entice you with their quirky packaging and photoshopping skills - $5.95 for a pack of 6.
The potato cakes were bite-size, and easy to prepare. I just heated them in the microwave on high for 1 minute and they were done! Surprisingly they stayed crispy and didn't go soggy.
The cod roe oozed out when I cut it in half - and it wasn't as fishy as I thought it would be. The potato was very smooth and creamy just like powdered mash. Everything tasted pretty artificial but it was still flavoursome and salty. There wasn't much seaweed though, only little green specks that I could hardly see let alone taste. It tasted much better dipped in mayo!
A close-up of whole cod roe on the packaging.
These would make a good snack for those peckish moments, or served as a side dish with some hot rice. Not very good value for money considering their size and amount though.
We were always on the constant lookout for vending machines that sold ‘unconventional’ foods and other strange miscellanous items. By unconventional I mean items that you wouldn’t really expect to purchase from a vending machine on a day-to-day basis.
So when we came across this vending machine at the Mount Fuji lookout that sold dumpling soup, American hot dogs, Takoyaki balls, stir-fried Soba noodles, deep fried rice balls and french fries, out came the spare change!
Out of all 6 items, I’m not really sure why we picked the most ordinary food item on the menu – French fries (Or potato fries – whatever you call them) – but hey, it was novelty enough buying anything from that machine! It was interesting to see how this apparently simple technology worked.
So in went Naomi’s 380yen (around $4.50) – Or rather, a large bill (yes, it returns your change). It took just one press of a button on the item of your choice, and a 3 minute wait for the fries to be heated up before we heard a tumbling sound followed by the appearance of a fancy box of french fries in the opening of the machine:
It was hot alright, and when we opened the box my sunglasses fogged up from the steam! The fries were well, fries. They looked and tasted like the real thing and even had the ‘burnt edges’ taste. The only thing I didn’t like was that the fries were soggy. Looks like the Japanese still need to work on their crisping technology! Some ketchup would have gone down well though.
Being a foodie means trying everything – even if that ‘everything’ means a quick fix at McDonald’s. While in Hiroshima recently, I had to give the Japanese McDonald’s an international taste-test. Mind you, their menu actually looked reasonably appetizing! At least they use Kewpie mayo in their burgers – now that is something. Whether they actually use off-cuts of Wagyu beef for their patties, I’m not so sure about.
I was loitering outside the restaurant for a few moments before this giant poster advertising their Tamago Double Mac caught my eye:
I examined this for a few seconds and decided to give it a shot since I like egg in my burgers. I proceeded to the counter for my order. Of course, me no habla Japanese so naturally ordering from their picture menu involved lots of pointing. The poor girl at the counter just nodded her head vigorously while she took my order.
Hmmm… when I got it on my table I just stared blankly at this dubious, paper-wrapped parcel, half-expecting it to pounce at my face, its hot oozing cheese blinding me permanently in one eye and the beef patties causing greased-force trauma to my forehead. It was a decently sized burger, somewhere between a double-quarter pounder and a big mac. After I managed to get rid of the horrific visions of a burger-induced injury out of my mind I unwrapped it:
First of all, the burger was upside down. And secondly, why does the advertising always look better than the real thing? I poked and prodded the burger to make sure it was dead and wouldn’t pounce on me. After a few seconds I realised that the burger was indeed lifeless (probably from overcooking), I took a bite. Contrary to the unappetizing photo, the Tamago actually tasted good. The patties had a strong seasoning, and the mayo was a tangy seafood-flavoured Kewpie mayo which tasted like lobster and the egg just made my day. Usually, a meal at McDonalds is always followed by grease-induced nausea but for some reason unknown the feeling never eventuated. Yes, the Tamago Double Mac has my heart-foundation tick of approval!