For a non-Japanese speaking Westerner, dining out in Japan is an interesting experience. Many restaurants do not have English menus, and when they do, the English can be very unclear. It is common to have plastic models of food on display, but if you don’t know what something is in the first place, the helpfulness of the models can be underwhelming. I’ve taken to just guessing and / or pointing.
The other night, I chose a restaurant that looked like it might be user friendly — there were a ton of plastic models in the window. When I went inside, I realized I was wrong. The staff spoke no English and the English menu was limited. I chose something I was familiar with, which was accompanied by a few things that were unfamiliar (in Japan, meals out are often a set of dishes rather than a choice of dishes a la carte (though that happens too)). Eel donburi was something I knew I had to try while in Japan. It came with Japanese pickles (check), steamed egg soup (no idea, but it did have some prawn and maybe a mussel?), and “soup” (I guessed miso, but anything was up for grabs…in the end it had strange edible floating but pieces in it).
365bitesaroundtheworld 