Diet Coke - $1.25 (no pic)
Chili, spinach salad, fried pita with hummus, bread, yogurt with berries and oats (not pictured) - $6 from the bistro
I did not eat the bread and brought it back home. That fried pita was addictive!
For dinner, I joined Lindsay for some Japanese street food at Big in Japan.
Asahi beer
The mugs were chilled! I liked this place from the get-go.
Gyoza
I did not expect these to be fully fried, so I was taken aback. But they were good and crunchy. The iceberg lettuce garnish was kind of just sitting there. What's the point?
Potato stew with pork
Kind of hard to eat without a knife. I cut up the potatoes using the serving spoon. The noodles and pork garnish was sweet and tasty.
More beer - draft this time.
Daikon salad with nori and bonito flakes
Refreshing after the fried items, it was dressed in a lovely sesame oil vinaigrette.
Fried silken tofu
A japanese classic, this dish was impeccable. I want more.
Quail eggs and cheese skewers
Who knew you could have quail eggs in fried panko? A nice discovery.
I really enjoyed Big in Japan. It brought me back to my time in Tokyo and Osaka. Customers at the restaurant that night where all happy, drinking, sharing food and enjoying the 80's music. The evening menu is all about nibbles and bar food that you can share with friends, so it's a great place to go have beers and bites with your peeps after work. The room in the back seems like the perfect place to hang out and have a few cold ones with skewers before going out.
They have more substantial items on the lunch menu (tempura, soup, fried pork, etc), so if you are looking for a more regular, full meal, try to go then. The only annoying thing is that this is a "one check per table" establishment, but after asking the owner about it, he told me that it gets too complicated to split the bill when people are sharing stuff all over the place. I see his point, it must be confusing - especially after a few Asahi beers. But they also don't have Interact or credit card payment available (but there is an ATM on site), so it makes things even more difficult when the bill comes. I ended up paying for both of us. Binzer, you own me dinner.
Dinner for 2 at Big in Japan was $48 including tip and 3 beers.
Adjacent to Big in Japan is Rolopan, a Japanese style crêpe shop. Just like in Harajuku! Well, instead of schoolgirls in uniforms, there's a hobo with a pipe in front of the shop, so not exactly the same I guess. It's a canadian franchise company, but they have all the usual silicone models of the food. They serve savoury and sweet crêpes, made to order. I went for something similar to my favorite from Angel Hearts, a cheesecake, whipped cream and fruit crêpe. It was good, but not Harajuku good. The cheesecake was still frozen in the middle and the crêpe was a little dry. The guys behind the counter where nice, but they looked somewhat out of their elements - the guy who cooked my crêpe had to start over twice when it was time to roll it in its paper wrapper. Also, a small spoon would be appreciated to make eating the filling easier. You know, like they do in Japan. Land of the French crêpe.
Crêpe at Rolopan - $7 including a tip for the confused waiter-cook.
Money spent on food today: $62.25
