How To Make Sushi with the Team!

Here at Bowl of Ramen, we like to be informative. We hope you find this "How to Make Sushi" Video, made by the team, extremely informative. We take no responsibility if your sushi tastes terrible or if you get food poisoning. The extra ingredients you choose to use may contribute to this.

Love,
The Bowl of Ramen Team.

 Ps. Hemi looks great in pink hey.

SNACK FOOD: POCKY CHOCOLATE STICKS

It is crazy some of the things you can find to eat from Japan, but "Pocky Chocolate Sticks" are surprisingly normal and awesome! They are made by "Glico" and are very simple and very yummy. Probably one of my favourite snacks so far. 

They come in a big red packet like this and they cost $7.50 from Madam Hoo's Asian Grocery. Pretty decent I think:

Big red packet :) 

What I loved is that they are super duper snack friendly as they come in little 'take-to-lunch' packs like so:

Cute little packets full of yumminess!

Now as I said earlier these are so simple yet so yummy. All they are are thin sort of bread/biscuit sticks and 3/4 of it are covered in a light coat of chocolate. There are 7 in the little snack-packs and they are just so easy to eat and are not too sweet, which is good as a lunch or morning tea food. 

I really liked the packaging of this one too. As I said already, the snack-packs are so handy. I actually took them to work with me yesterday. and the colour red makes it stand out, plus it looks more professional than the other food I have tried recently. I feel like I could take these with me and not get the "why are you eating kids food" look on the bus. 

I don't really know what else to add about these. They are just so yummy and so simple. That's really all there is too it! And I discovered that they come in both vanilla and strawberry flavours too. Professional, simple, scrumptious, light and easy. This is a 5/5 snack for me! 


[All photos used in the snack food posts are original photographs]

Fish? Dessert?

Have you ever gone fishing?

I have, plenty of times.....some of the times, I caught multiple, and the other times....nothing.

You're probably wondering "where is he getting at with fishing?!" but I'll just leave you to that thought for now ;D

Anyway, while we're on the topic of fish (hehehehe) I thought we can talk about a different type of fish

Taiyaki - kind of like the Dorayaki, in that it is made by pancake batter (or waffle batter, depending on who makes it), is a Japanese-shaped cake with a filling inside. The most common filling is red bean paste but there are varieties which include; custard, chocolate, and cheese.


These cakes are pretty well-known, even if you're not that much in the loop for Asian food or anything, you'd have probably seen it because it's just....everywhere, and in lots of different varieties.


Taiyaki, which literally means "baked sea bream", is often....eaten as snacks, as opposed to a dessert served in restaurants. BUT! I've seen some restaurants have it in their dessert menus, in which they combine it with usually black sesame seed or green tea ice cream (or both!).

These cakes are usually sold and served in food stands near the supermarkets in Japan, they're pretty convenient due to how quick they're made and how cheap they are on the go.

Not only do these taste good, but if you've ever seen how the people make it, they're actually quite interesting to watch - just standing there looking at how these taiyakis are made, along with the smell of the freshly made taiyakis.......<-----just imagining it again makes me crave for some now.....(that or I'm just hungry...but we'll just stick to the first thought)

Here are some photos of people making it:

Putting the filling....

And....the finished product!

This is also something to consider when going to Japan ;D, you also might just think that you've already tried it in your hometown (when I say this, I meant non-Asian countries, or countries other than Japan or Korea...or countries close to them, since they seem to have people selling these cakes fresh) but TRY THESE FRESH FROM THE GRILL! It will blow your mind ;D.

That'll be all for now ;)

Just FOOD for THOUGHT
(^see what I did thar eheehehehe)

Best Ramen: Ryo's Noodles

Tucked away in Crows Nest not too far away from the city, Ryo's delicious pork-based broth's and fine textured noodles seem to attract people from over the bridge and beyond. The establishment is tiny, but that doesn't stop diners lining up to get amongst the ramen action.

It is debatable whether Ryo's really does beat the masses of Ramen joints in Haymarket and the one reason people keep coming back is that you actually get a very decent bang for your buck. If you are new to the Ramen scene, take the excursion out here with about $20 in hand, and you won't be let down. Just make sure to get their around midday as the kitchens close around 3PM - and ask for less salt if you feel inclined.

Technology & food!

Japan has drastically changed the food industry with its innovative ideas and forward thinking technology. On a trip to Kyoto, I personally encountered this creative aspect of japanese culture. Albeit, it was initially confusing and confronting, however after the initial shock, it was a genuinely good experience.

Upon walking into the a restaurant, we were confronted by this large machine which read "Order Here" at the top.

Original photo

The system was efficient and user friendly, the prices clearly stated under each dish and were displayed with helpful photographs of the dishes available. This had made ordering incredibly easy and efficient, as orders were immediately transmitted to a screen in the kitchen with no fuss of mistaken orders, or language barriers. There was a surprising variety of main dishes all listed down this machine. And incredible innovation with was a great novelty experience which could work in general practice in restaurants everywhere.

Overall it was an exciting experience in Japan, and this technology could potentially change the way main dishes are served if it catches on.

Japanese Main Dishes - Rice Dishes

Sushi
Sushi is an iconic Japanese dish that has been popular around the world for a long time. It's small portions allow you to get a taste of a multitude of different flavours without overwhelming you with volume. Sushi is a delicious, fresh and light meal that comes in various forms.

The  most popular is the Nigirizushi, where the topping is generally raw/cooked fish  over a vine guard  When served fresh, it is soft, tender, and absolutely delicious. Usually served with soy sauce and wasabi for that zesty kick.

Image sourced from: http://www.eat-japan.com/images/stories/sushi_perfect/types/image_nigirizushi.jpg

Next is the also equally popular Makizushi, which refers to sushi that is made by rolling the filling (often salmon, cucumber, avocado), vineguard rice in toasted seaweed. The result is a convenient, easy and delicious meal.

Image sourced from: http://www.fareshare.net/images/maki-zushi.jpg

The Gunkanmaki variety of sushi that is iconically made with topping surrounded by a thin strip of nori (seaweed) which prevents the topping from slipping off. These toppings often include the likes of fish roe as a popular selection in Japan and around the world, and is likened to a "battleship" due to it's unique shape.

Image sourced from: http://madeinjapan.uol.com.br/imgmat/2006/02/01_sushi_gunkan_maki.jpg

Image sourced from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmvdjobGVtwlRgpkox49StD2AUaWir-NrEuxb3k8mFUMmb1On_D4Fiex63eM7spwnuVDMQRmsVbJPpXYoJHCHePJE6TLFZ1EJVvZjEDxeUaMGMo9hp-TMlyvRwNt-djWuo3BOa9QQf3g/s1600/sushi.jpg

Donburi
Donburi is basically a delicious combination of a soft bed of rice, and tender and crispy toppings. It is characterised by the unique use of egg over the rice, giving a soft texture to the rice. Toppings often include Karaage chicken, which is a specially fried chicken in japanese batter producing the most sensational crisp skin and tender chicken pieces.

Image sourced from: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2057157150_175ed375e5.jpg

Kare Raisu


This dish is a personal favourite of mine, fusing a unique thick japanese curry with perfectly cooked rice. The curry is obviously the main attraction, coming in varying degrees of spice (though, the spicier the better for me!) with subtle undertones of the sweet meats and a crunch of potato. An all-round delicious dish that is different to any curry you have experienced!

Image sourced from: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zwgzpTx6BdE/Sljhf2-t_PI/AAAAAAAAAqg/2WHNrEO_OU0/s400/kare3.jpg

SNACK FOOD: ANIMAL MATE BISCUITS

So the last thing I tasted was the chocolate lollipop. Today I am taking a different approach and going with some sorta creepy looking biscuits. They are called "Animal Mate Biscuits" and  are made by "Takara". 

Animal Mate Biscuits - all the biscuits have a picture of an animal on them!

They are described on the packet to be:

1. a vegetarian biscuit (I thought most biscuits were vegetarian?)

2. "providing the nutrition you need and the fun you want"

These biscuits are all different shapes, come with animal pictures on the front of them and have a cute packet. They come in a fairly big packet though and I definitely would not get through it in one go. I guess they may be designed to share or to keep in the cupboard as prolonged snack food. 

Upon tasting these meat free biscuits i wasn't that wowed. They are very bland, dry and not that exciting in anyway. Though they do have a decent after taste. And now that I am sitting here and thinking about it, I do want to eat some more of them. 

I guess I would compare them to miniature arrowroot biscuits. They taste very similar and have almost the same texture. I also got these ones from Madam Hoo's in Castle Towers, but these were a bit more expensive at $3.90 for the bag, which still isn't too bad.

To summarise, I am not against these at all, but I was a bit let down. The animals on the biscuits are kind of cute and the packaging keeps the cuteness going. They aren't amazing in taste, but they don't taste terrible. I've eaten about 6 now and I am actually enjoying them. Though they are quite bland and leave you wanting a drink. Milk might go really well with these. They could also be an awesome lunch box snack for kids, and the animals are fun for children as well. Im not so sure about the nutritional side of this snack, as it is all in japanese, but I will give them a 2.5/5 overall.