Japan: Yurakucho Food Alley in Tokyo

Throughout most of Tokyo, as is the case for probably most of urban Japan as well, you're rarely ever more than a stone's throw away from something delicious to eat. There's a lot of people living in Tokyo, like, around 38 million or so people these days. That's a lot of people needing something to nosh after a long day, yeah? My hometown of Las Vegas only comes in as averaging around 2 million residents, while my second-home in Seattle has roughly 7 and a half million residents and my beloved third home of Seoul clocks in with roughly 25.6 million residents. Suffice to say, Tokyo has a lot of residents, and those people are going to need food. Ideally, they're going to want good food, because anyone can just pop into a 711 and grab an onigiri or bento if they want low-cost sustenance.  Where, pray tell, does the average salaryman find himself stopping for a bite after an arduous day of, uh, salary-manning? One popular location is going to be Yurakucho food alley, a narrow street tucked under the tracks of the Yamanote line is teeming with restaurants on either side offering delicious bites and something to sip on, too. The typical solution to this need-to-feed (and drink) is an izakaya, where small plates are served alongside lots of booze, to help take the edge off while facilitating your buzz. If you need something a little more nourishing, there are plenty more restaurants to fill that niche, too!

On this particular outing, my friend A-chan and I opted for a grilled beef restaurant, though other dishes were, of course, available, like that big plate of gooey cod fish-sperm goodness shown above on the right known as shirako (which, yes, I absolutely ate). There were also places to pop in for yakitori, or grilled chicken, along with a restaurant serving horse, a coffee shop, and several other options tucked away into the narrow space so your options aren't limited to be sure. Most of the restaurants had a shared restroom, found not far from our seating spot at the beef place, and most of the restaurants are enclosed by sliding plastic barriers, a common trend throughout the region (as I've seen it in Hong Kong and Seoul, too). Suffice to say, if you need a tasty meal, you can't go wrong by following the hard-working salarymen who's tireless efforts keep the economy of Tokyo churning along into the narrow space of Yurakucho alleyway. Where better to literally rub elbows with the local people? 

Korea: 설렁탕 Seolleongtang, again, because it's delicious AF

South Korea is something of a wonderland when it comes to delicious food, regardless of your preferences! Are you a total carbohydrate fiend who can't get enough of the starchy stuff? You'll be pleased to learn that there's not only the spicy noodles you've probably heard about or seen on places like Youtube (or even here on my own little blog *blush*), delicious things like steamy jjampong loaded with seafood and vegetables in a warming red broth or chilled mixed noodles like bibimguksu, but there's plenty of non-spicy options to get your fill, too! One of my favorite hot noodle dishes combines a rich and milky beef broth with ultra-tender pieces of beef, chunks of aromatic vegetables and silky mushrooms with thin wheat noodles to slurp it all up with. This delicious, warming, soothing cauldron of goodness is known as 설렁탕 Seolleongtang, which can be found throughout much of Seoul as well as in any community stateside with a large enough Korean population. If you're out somewhere where you're unable to find this delight served in a restaurant, you can always opt to make it yourself! It's a labor of love more than anything else, as the ingredients used aren't especially scarce or rare for the most part, they just require a long cooking time to extract all their goodness into that unctuous, ridiculously-good broth. A point of note is that in many recipes for seolleongtang salt is added at the very end, as in by you at the table, so don't be surprised if you eagerly dip your spoon in and ladle up a big unseasoned slurp of soup! It's okay, my dears, don't fear. Happens to the best of us sometimes when we get over-eager about our tasty treats, right? Once you regain your composure and whereabouts, you should find a small bowl with a salt and pepper mixture to add seasoning to your preference. This is pretty ingenious, really, as it prevents the dish from being overly salty when reduced further and allows salt sensitive patrons to limit their sodium intake, or for those without any sensitivity what-so-ever there's the freedom to go as hog-wild with your salt as your heart desires. You do you, booboo. 

Korea: 곰탕 Gomtang in a bag

 That, uh, delectable bowl of goodness pictured above, with its nearly opaque white beef-bone broth and bone-riddled tail meat (which also happens to be exceptionally delicious when cooked for an extensive period of time, as most meats close to the bone tend to be) is called 곰탕 or gomtang. Typically it's the kind of dish you'd find in a home kitchen, laboriously boiled away with a proprietary blend of vegetables unique to the chef making it until the broth takes on its signature milky color.  In this particular iteration, it came from the grocery store prepackaged and ready to heat, just dump the bag (unopened) into a pot of boiling water and away you go. I opted to dump the contents into a pan and add some greens for a little extra texture and attempt at making a cheap, quick meal a little more healthful. A lot of the foods I found myself eating while living in Korea were quite affordable, and packaged foods could provide a very cheap way to fill my stomach for the time being. Add some rice, some kimchi, you've got yourself a well(enough)-rounded meal!

And let's be real here, I'm a girl who likes to eat, and can eat quite a ridiculous quantity of food when I set my mind to it. This isn't exactly a budget-friendly quality to have in a person, however, so I appreciate things like this warm, soupy broth that can provide soothing nourishment and a full belly at a low price... but sometimes you just need a little something extra, am I right? The market where I purchased the soup ready to eat also had packages of little dumplings, ready to cook, that was quite reasonably priced and easy to justify on a whim... so those found their way into more meals than I'd probably care to admit. The kimchi dumplings were my favorite! To be honest, the soup wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten, but that's kind of to be expected when it comes to food that comes in a pouch, right?

Korea: 설렁탕 Seolleongtang

I've mentioned on the blog before that soup is, perhaps weirdly, one of my all-time favorite foods to eat. It's an endlessly versatile food delivery mechanism that is often warming, filling and soothing while also providing a nourishing boost of vegetables and protein in an easy to digest format. The endless customization and variety available means that every region, every culture, and every cuisine, have their own variations and takes on the staple food. One of Korea's most simple and straightforward seeming of soups is 설렁탕 or seolleongtang, a clean and milky white beef bone broth base that arrives at your table unseasoned. This trend towards under seasoning early on, familiar for those who have seen my post on or sampled Samgyetang, seems peculiar to Korean cooking (or anyone who's sampled my mother-in-law's cuisine). Given that the broth comes to the table in it's purest, nude form, you're given several different options for adding flavoring at your discretion; pungent, funky kimchi (in this case to be cut with scissors at the table), kkaktugi (pickled radish kimchi), and an assortment of other banchan and sauces. In this restaurant, this particular time, I was given pickled onions and a deeply umami seasoned squid side. Seolleongtang, despite its deceptively simple base, is one of those foods that I find myself craving time and time again after thoroughly underestimating it prior to trying it. After all, I grew up on tinned chicken noodle soup, with the soup absolutely saturated in salt, and the soggy noodles barely able to maintain their shapes after being pasteurized for safety, so I expected to be severely underwhelmed in the flavor department... to the contrary! The milky beef broth is unctuous and coats your mouth in rich beefy goodness, a light sheen of grease adding weight to the liquid. Brought to the table boiling hot and steaming, it's especially good at warming your body (and soul) after navigating the bone-chilling cold of Seoul's fierce winters. I wasn't even there for the worst of their winters, but I found myself going for seolleongtang multiple times a week. The bits of beef floating in the soup are absolutely tender, and the warm, slurpable noodles add a hearty boost of carbohydrate for energy and density. 

Warms you right up, regardless of the chill outside!

Japan: Shinjuku & Ebisuko Sakababa 2012-11-24

After all the fun at Icho Namiki we headed over to Shinjuku for dinner and encountered this enthusiastic green fella. 

Welcome to Japan, friends.

Japan: Icho Namiki Ginkgo Avenue 2012-11-24

The Japanese have a profound appreciation for all things seasonal, including the changing of the leaves as summer slides into the chilly grip of winter. To celebrate, Yuka & A-chan and I went to Icho Namiki, a street lined with resplendent ginkgo trees who's leaves turn a stunning shade of yellow.

Braving the sleepy crowds, we met up and began our adventure!

Japan: Yakitori Alley in Yurakucho 2012-11-23

On this evening my friend & coworker Azusa, aka A-chan, was my guide to Yakitori Alley in the Yurakucho area of Tokyo. A short walk from Ginza and tucked away between buildings underneath tracks for the Yamanote line is this bustling alley full of amazing restaurants and astounding people watching opportunities. 

I have never seen anyone drink Tequila quite like a group of Japanese salary men who were pounding it inside this beef restaurant that A-chan and I stopped in.

Vegas: Jerry's Nugget Prime Rib Lunch

Vegas is a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

For some of us it's home, whatever that means.

For others it's a mecca of all things hedonistic, a glittering oasis of gluttonous treasures awaiting enjoyment. It can be a beacon of hope or a merciless desert. 

My take on the city varies depending on my mood, but it's pretty safe to say that despite everything this town remains my home, whatever exactly that means. 

One of the lingering vestiges of Vegas's past remains in the restaurants, many still offering bevies of beef for bargain prices. Jerry's Nugget upholds this tradition, with their prime rib special proudly touted.