Just in time for Cinco de Mayo

Mexican food is one of my favorites. When we lived in North Carolina we had so many options for good Mexican food.  You can probably guess how that changed when we moved to Japan. But I am happy to announce, that after 2.5 years of living here, I (well to be technical my neighbor's husband) finally found a good Mexican food joint with real size margaritas and authentic chips and tortillas.

El Torito is right off the Midosuji subway line at the Namba exit in Osaka. The restaurant itself was huge, so plenty big for large groups or even a party.  There was an English menu and for some reason all the drinks were half off. (Not that any of us complained)  The food was fantastic, the service was good and the margaritas rocked.

I never imagined I would get so excited over little things, like finding a box of graham crackers or a place to eat good Mexican food. But when you do find those types of things, it really makes your day. There is something about those little comforts of "home" that you find tucked in a corner somewhere that just makes everything okay.

Yogurtland Osaka

Today my neighbor and I ventured to Osaka to check out the monthly temple sale (picture a giant flea market, only with Japanese stuff). It was a bit slow so we finished early and decided to forgo our post-temple sale Mexican lunch tradition and try Yogurtland -- a new chain shop from California.

Yogurtland Osaka just opened up at the end of August, so Beth and I hurried to beat the rush for when the store opened at 11 am. Needless to say, we were the first standing in the queue and I think surprised the worker when he opened the door and found us at the front of the line.

Yogurtland's tagline is Welcome to the land of endless yogurt possibilities, where you rule the portions, the choices and the scene. The whole store's "self-serve" concept is very foreign to many Japanese. You take a bowl and then serve your own flavor(s) of frozen yogurt and toppings before having it weighed.

I am not sure what the store's price is in the United States, but here it was ¥200 per 100 grams. My creation weighed in costing ¥1027 ($12.03).  Yes, I went a wee bit overboard with five different flavors of yogurt and two toppings. Needless to say,  my whole family will not be going unless their creation size is regulated or my children get themselves jobs.

The whole experience was fun and totemo oishii desu (very tasty)!  One new adventure that turned out to be a keeper.

How long would you wait for a Krispy Kreme Donut?

One would be very surprised to find out one of the Japanese's favorite foods are donuts. No joke. There is quite often a line out the door at the Mister Donut near my house. And they don't just order one to eat right then, but three, four and five!  Their plates are full of donuts. (And yet they still have no need for anything sold on those best diet pills infomercials).


I found out last night in a local paper that Krispy Kreme (yes, my blog readers I said Krispy Kreme!) was opening today in Osaka, which is about 35 minutes away on the train. I was telling my neighbor that I would love to have pictures of the line waiting to get a Krispy Kreme donut. And guess what. He was in Osaka today and got me my pictures.  (Thanks Paul!)

From the end of this line is FOUR hours to get in the door for a donut. FOUR hours. Craziness I tell you.

Afternoon at the Instant Ramen Noodle Factory

The weather has been colder than usual here, so last Saturday we bundled up and decided to spend the afternoon at the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Ikeda, Osaka. While we were unable to read most of what was displayed, there were lots of things to look at, and more importantly, the kids got to make their own Instant Cup of Noodles!

This is the inventor of the instant ramen noodle –– Momofuku Ando. I guess he is like the Colonel Sanders of Japan.

When you enter the first part of the museum, you are able to see the history of the instant ramen noodle. Most of this we could not read, but it was fun to look at the memorabilia and make up our own dialogue.

Sometimes reading Japanese to English translation here is like reading what a 1st grader writes. The words are spelled exactly how they sound.

In Japan you can seriously but anything in a vending machine, including instant ramen noodles.
Koichi Wakata is a Japanese astronaut staying at the International Space Station, and guess what he likes to eat in space. Yep! Instant ramen.

Another interesting area was a "Wall of Ramen", showing every instant ramen noodle product made. Who knew there are so many instant ramen noodle products!

The best part of the whole museum was getting to make your own instant ramen noodle cup.

First, buy your container for a mere ¥300 (about $3.10 USD).
Next, decorate your cup.
Third, put ramen noodles in the cup.
Forth, pick your dried ingredients. You can choose 4 items from egg, pork, shrimp, green onions, garlic, cheese, garlic, corn, chicken and asparagus.
Fifth, seal on your lid.
Lastly, shrink wrap your cup.

After your cup is all shrink wrapped you get to stick it in this protected air pouch with a long neck strap. I guess they want to make sure your cup makes it home in one piece.
I really wanted to make my own cup, however Matt made fun of me so I abstained. I did manage to get my picture taken with the giant instant ramen cup.

Kitchen Street - Osaka

On what would be the US's Thanksgiving Day, Mary Gail and I decided to venture to Osaka for a trip to Kitchen Street. Neither of us wanted to sit around home, so we decided to head out for a little adventure.

Kitchen Street is a long tunnel full of stores many local restaurants will come to shop for items to use in their places.


The stores inside Kitchen Street sell just about anything you can imagine, such as aprons, kitchen gadgets, table wear, baking items, sign boards, chopsticks, paper lanterns, contemporary furniture, and even plastic food.


There were several pottery stores, many filled wall-to-wall with bowls, plates, platters, tea kettles and chopstick holders.

I was so overwhelmed with all the cool pottery that I couldn't figure out just what I wanted. After scouring the stores for a few hours all I managed to buy was 8 chopstick holders and a wine bucket –– all costing less than ¥1900 (around $20). I will have to go back soon to select some of the pottery dishes.

After we wandered Kitchen Street we went over to Namba Parks mall where Mary Gail told me she knew of a Hawaiian restaurant that was pretty good.


I was so excited when I saw the menu. In a country where only a few import stores carry turkey one time per year, this restaurant had a turkey and avocado sandwich served on wheat bread.

I got turkey on Thanksgiving!!!

We also split the biggest basket of fries I have ever seen in Japan.

Turkey and the day with a friend -- it turned out to be a nice Thanksgiving after all.