Food and Drink

Nov 01 2007 14 Comments

Japanese boarding schools and beverages

The amazing success of maid cafes in Japan has resulted in a sizeable selection of spin-offs, including those based on religion, relief and even race. A trend that has also been turned on its head somewhat with the likes of butler cafes — establishments that apparently attract connoisseurs of both beverages and boy love.

Also, along very similar lines, we now have Edelstein, a newly opened cafe based on a boys’ boarding school.

Hardly revolutionary it has to be said, although as well as the usual selection of food and drinks, Edelstein also aims to reward its more regular customers by offering free photo opportunities with the ‘pupils’.

However, how many visits are necessary for the real authenticity of a spot of boarding school buggery round the back of the bike sheds has yet to be decided.

(via the FG Forums)

Oct 23 2007 2 Comments

Japanese food-based fun

Many Japanese supermarkets may arguably not maintain the same amount of mind-boggling choice as those found in other parts of the world, but it doesn’t mean that competition isn’t equally as cutthroat, with numerous companies competing for the same customers.

A situation that has prompted one manufacturer to become more than a little imaginative with one of its product lines, cleverly latching on to the nation’s love of all things cute with some sensationally shaped, erm, sausages.

What other wiener-based wildlife will be unveiled is supposedly a closely guarded secret, although the upcoming advertising campaign aimed at adults may be a little easier to predict.

Oct 11 2007 9 Comments

Tokyo tinned treats II

Perhaps I’m easily impressed, but bread, in a can, in a vending machine seems pretty damn special. Fantastically so in fact.

Yet even such far from normal foodstuffs can apparently get a little too familiar, stale even, as cylindrical snack supremo Pan Akimoto has produced a limited edition version based on the popular game, manga and now anime, Clannad.

Available in strawberry, green tea, butter, raisin, blueberry and milk, these tinned treats are apparently available until the end of October.

And should it rain, there’s also the added bonus of the dispenser being next to an umbrella vending machine. Could things be any more convenient?

Oct 08 2007 6 Comments

Tokyo traffic cone transgressions

Except for the odd furtive fiddle on a train, drink-related transgressions in Tokyo are generally not too much of a problem, although it does appear that traffic cone tomfoolery after one or two too many is just as popular in the Japanese capital as it is in my native Britain.

An issue that the Japanese authorities have rather surprisingly tried to stamp out with the introduction of truly colossal cones.

Objects of such humongous proportions in fact that they are more akin to the size of a house than a hat, resulting in these two in downtown Shibuya — near the station and on a busy thoroughfare — commanding suitably sizeable rents.

Oct 01 2007 3 Comments

Japanese can compulsion

The prodigious number of vending machines in Japan amply proves the country’s craving for convenience, but it could be argued that the current fad of forcing anything and everything into a can is a considerable cause for concern, especially when the newly tinned treat is then transferred to the aforementioned roadside dispenser. Which, if nothing else, leaves less space for essentials such as cigarettes and alcohol.

Social habits aside however, Oden in a can was sort of fun for a while, and the far from freshly baked bread is strangely fascinating. Tinned ramen on the other hand seems like a step too far, and the newly introduced Udon definitely is. No two ways about it.

Ok, the can looks nice and colourful, and there’s a choice of of either kitsune or curry. But pop the little beauty open, and suddenly McDonalds merits a mention in the Michelin Guide.