Mmmm...waffles!

In all my traveling I've found that I cope pretty well unless I have to eat something really foreign for breakfast. Here in Japan it's very common to have fish for breakfast, which is not something that I'm a fan of. I tried it once in England a couple years ago and having that fishy taste in my mouth all morning was not pleasant.

Luckily for me, McDonald's is all over the world, and aside from offering a Filet 'o Fish sandwich on the breakfast menu, the breakfast stuff is pretty much the same. The hotel also has a breakfast buffet with American style breakfast items, which is where I had the waffles.

I was definitely in the mood for some comfort food after the dinner we had last night. Parts were really good, and other parts were just funky. The first course was two tiny, raw squid with some miso. I only got one down as they tasted strongly of fish and when I crunched the beak I almost lost it. Served with that was a skewer with a block of fish eggs with some seaweed in the middle along with a rice flour ball flavored with something that turned it green. There was also an orange ball on the skewer that was not explained to me (always a dubious indication).

For the second course there was sashimi. The bluefin (I think) was very good, and the shrimp were okay. There was some squid that looked good, but after the previous squid episode I avoided it. Following this was a salad with a sesame vinaigrette that was very good.

Next a small bowl with a lid was brought out, and by this time I was a little worried. With the courses we had had so far, I was wondering if there was going to be anything hot served. I was thinking a McDonald's burger run might have to be in order after dinner since nothing that I had so far was very satisfying. The bowl ended up being a very nice surprise. Inside was a steamed, sweet corn dumpling along with steamed bamboo, pea pod, and a root shaped vegetable with some pink coloring. All the items were very tasty.

The main course was the highlight. Platters of vegetables, tuna, shrimp, and scallops were brought out raw, and small grills were lit on the table. It was similar to a Korean style barbecue. A daikon and pepper mixture and scallions were mixed into a small bowl with a dipping sauce for the grilled items. All of this was very good.

After filling up on the main course (and a beer or three), I was discouraged to see a small plate of sushi coming out. There was bluefin, albacore, shrimp, squid, and three pieces of a spicy tuna role. I managed to get the bluefin, shrimp and a couple pieces of the role down, but I was too full to tackle the other pieces.

Luckily dessert was a very small scoop of cherry ice cream. It was really delicious and just the right amount of dessert for a very full stomach.

All in all a good dinner, and a much better finish than how it started. It was a cool experience and the beer was really good (Asahi Super Dry, my favorite Japanese beer).

Frog