Cheer Up With Food

Continuing on from my last post, Japan Trip '16: Osaka , when we left Osaka, we travelled up north to Kanazawa then travelled to Tokyo where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. We made a stop at Kyoto to do some sightseeing and snacked from bento boxes before we went on our trek: The Japanese make cute stuff out of everything.  Yes, even food.  Kawaii desu ne: After a long walk seeing the Arashiyama Bamboo Groove , we saw Taiyaki for the first time!  This fluffy fish-shaped cake is made out pancake or waffle batter and is usually filled with green tea, custard, or red bean paste (from sweetened adzuki beans ) as seen here: Hacchoya was the first restaurant we ate at when we arrived in Kanazawa .  This was a very nice and chic izakaya (Japanese tavern).  When we arrived it was crowded with business people dining and had a smoky atmosphere.  I hate smoke, but it won't stop me from trying new foods!  Ot...

I recently went to Fukumimi Ramen on a very cold Vegas night, which was perfect timing to eat ramen!  This is the first authentic Japanese ramen on the east side of Las Vegas (finally! I sometimes don't like driving to the west side just to eat out).  Fukumimi is a small restaurant,  items on the menu are reasonably priced, and the portion of my ramen bowl was big enough to fulfill my appetite: This is  鳥ラーメン  ( Tori Ramen )- The chicken broth was very flavorful  and rich. Tasting this was like a small kick in the mouth, but in a good way! This was my  Tonkotsu Ramen(miso)- Fukumimi's original miso with corn .   Nice big slices of pork belly and a slice of a seasoned egg were also included. Yum look at these noodles!  I was craving these authentic noodles badly after watching episode 1 of Mind of a Chef .  In the back are six pieces of  Tori  Karaage   (Japanese fried chicken). I recomme...