New Foods

In an attempt at some normalcy, I'm going to go back to posting about my favorite topic- food.  The events since March 11th have left the supermarkets and convenience stores a little emptier than usual.  There is plenty of food available but without many of the main staples (bread, rice, instant noodles, etc.).  This leaves the shelves wide open to push other products, and it is a good opportunity to try new things.  Recently, we've been reaching for snack products more than usual.  Maybe because there is something comforting about junk food, or maybe we are just feeling a bit less guilty.  It started as, "hey- we just survived an earthquake, we deserve to treat ourselves!"  That might have been when this interesting snack found its way into my shopping basket:

Yes, you read that correctly: "Cheese Almond"

I had seen these strangely intriguing snacks at the market before, but who in their right mind buys something like that?  While partially disgusted by the concept, I had a sneaking suspicion they would be delicious.  First of all, any snack with "cheese" in Japan has been a let down so far.  The snacks that look like Cheetos, smell like Cheetos, and even say "Cheetos" taste more sweet than orange-powdered-cheese savory.  But somehow I knew these snacks would be different.  They were!  They tasted exactly like I imagine Handi-snacks to taste, if you were smart enough to put an almond on top.  Cracker (good!), fake pasty cheese applied with small red stick (good!), almond (good!).  You don't remember Handi-snacks?  They were amazing.  I'm not sure how I ever convinced my health-conscious mother to buy them for me.  Anyway these new snacks were fun.  I think they'd be a great little snack with a cold can of Japanese beer.

In the spirit of saving money, we found ourselves at McDonald's over the weekend.  I know, I know!  I'm in Tokyo, why am I wasting time at McDonald's?  Well, this time I decided to try something new.  Japanese people love shrimp, so McDonald's here has a shrimp sandwich.  I had seen it before, but why bother when I can get my standard Filet-O-Fish?

"Ebi" means shrimp in Japanese

The patty is made of little shrimp that get fried together

The new sandwich was very tasty.  I think it would do well back home.  The shrimp patty is crispy, there is a lot (by McDonald's standards) of lettuce, and a nice sauce (tastes like the Big Mac sauce).  Will I order it again?  Probably not.  I just wanted the novelty of trying something new, but let's face it.  If you're going to get McDonald's, you want to get your classics.  McDonald's isn't really the place to branch out.

Today I branched out a bit in my own small kitchen.  I was making a very humble breakfast of peanut butter on toast, when I looked over at the bunch of bananas I had just gotten from the market.  Now maybe this isn't that new for some of you, but I had never tried what is supposedly Elvis' favorite sandwich.  Although maybe he also added bacon or something crazy?  Anyway, I had never tried it before.  So, I sliced up a banana and put it on the toast.  Man, that thing was crazy yummy!  I didn't even think to take a picture of it- I just ate it right up.  Who knew?

Here's to new foods!