Okonomi-Yaki

Okonomi-Yaki

These were the savory pancakes I was talking about in the previous post.  They aren't the typical pancakes, though, that's for sure! 

We (Matt, myself and two of our new friends..the hubby works with Matt) sat down at a table that had a little grill in the center of it.  As we open the menu, we realize we have no idea what we are looking at.  I think the translator had a heck of a time making the American version, because there were "?" marks after many of the descriptions, the word "strawberry" was written "starrury" (lol..I'm realizing the "mocking stereotypes" aren't that far off from the truth) and this time there weren't any pictures..just a couple drawings of what the food is supposed to look like.  Eventually, we just point to the one that sounds the best and hope that it's the dish we came there to try.  

After 15-20 minutes or so our waitress came to our table and set down all our "pancakes" on the grill. We weren't really sure if we were supposed to wait, flip them or start eating.  Matt figured out that the grill was on long enough to add a little heat and sizzle to the concoction since the cook already cooked them in the kitchen (our order was so large they couldn't mix it up and cook it in front of us) .  We grabbed our tiny spatulas and cut off little pieces of our dish and placed it in our bowls to then eat with chopsticks (which I'm getting pretty decent at using!). 

Let's talk about the food:  Interesting is the best word I can use to describe it.  I didn't love it or hate it.  The first half of the pancake was pretty good but after that you just get tired of it. I had my fill of the flavors. That's just my experience.  The pancake I had consisted of eggs, bacon, "pizza cheese", onions, thin-sliced beef, chicken pieces and a hint of curry powder. That is mixed with (or in between)  the two pancakes.  Once it's cooked it is smeared with this sweet/tangy BBQ/soy sauce type sauce and then drizzled with this white sauce (not sure what it was, maybe some kind of mayo mixture?). It all was definitely filling, but not sure I want to race back for more. Like I said, I got my fill of the flavors halfway through.  The one I got was called the Depo-Yaki.  Matt got one that was stuffed with cream cheese and "pizza cheese" (as they call it) which I hear was pretty awesome. Maybe I'll have to try that if we are ever in the mood for that place again :)

Whether I like the food or not, I'm really glad we are deciding to brave the unknown and try new cuisine and restaurants.  I realize I'm starting to get a lot better at understanding the basics of Japanese: sumimasen (excuse me), aritgato gazaimas (thank you very much), konban wa (good evening), okanjo onekai shimasu (the check, please) and so on. It's a great way to learn the language, the body language and their culture!  Note: it is not okay to stab your chopsticks in your rice and leave it there. You have to lay your chopsticks down. (Just something I learned at the newcomer's brief!)

Other interesting and useful facts:

- the already-noted chopstick in rice fact

- do not pass food from your chopsticks to another persons chopsticks. Keep the food on the plate and let them grab it or you can set the food on their plate. Passing the food as well as keeping your chopsticks propped up in your rice has something to do with their funeral traditions.  When a person dies, they actually keep the body in the house for a whole day before burial. There is a tradition they use with the passing of their ashes or when they are in the room for the day, you keep a set of chopsticks stuck in what would have been their rice.  I'll review the research and get back to you on the specifics.

- do not take pictures of tombs. Has something to do with capturing their soul.

- many locals do not like you taking pictures of them. They fear by taking a picture of them you are actually capturing their soul 

- when you want to call one over, don't use the hand gesture of your palm facing up and wiggling your fingers towards you...they feel that's how you call a dog. You are basically calling them lower class. Instead, they use the gesture of the palm facing down and waving the fingers towards their body. 

- it is insulting to them if you tip them (at least off base). So don't tip! $$$

- they don't have the same customer service in terms of serving at a restaurant. Once you order, they don't like to bother you. You may be sitting at your seat wondering, "why haven't they come by to ask if I want a refill??".  They are waiting for you to call them over (this is where saying "sumimasen" would come in handy) or , even better, a lot of the time they will have service buttons at the table! You simply press the button and a light or ding will go off in the back and they will come right over!  

- slurping is normal here. In the states it is very rude and poor table manners to slurp. Not here. They will pick up their bowls of soup and just slurp away! 

Those are just a few I can think of that I like to keep in mind!  The more I learn, the more I'll share  :)