Swish Swish

I'll let you in on a little secret. I eat more Japanese food than Thai. I know, I know *slaps hand*. Don't get me wrong, Thai food is sooooo delicious. I do eat it a couple of times a week. But Japanese food is very popular in Bangkok right now so it is hard to avoid. Plus it is also delicious and oh so healthy. My favourites things are sashmi, japanese curry, okonomiyaki, karaage, zaru soba, shabu shabu and ramen. Oh god I love ramen. It's delicious in Kyoto.

So I've been feeling a bit sick and didn't feel much like going out so I decided to rustle me up some Japanese grub. Plus I don't cook for myself enough anymore. I mosey-ed on down to my local Villa to get some inspiration. I decided on Shubu Shabu and Zaru Soba. Shabu Shabu is extremely popular in BKK. There is an all you can eat Shabu restaurant here called ShabuShi that usually has a 2 hour wait to get in! It's insane!! But it is very good. They even have sushi included on the menu. Not bad for around 300 baht ($10AUD).

I don't have a Shabu pot, which is kind of like a fondue heater thingy. I figured that if I boiled the water that would be enough. The pork is wafer thin and cooks in no time. So I made a chicken and garlic broth (I didn't have any miso) and had pork, mushrooms and bok choy to go with it. I even managed to find the same sesame dressing that I had at my host family's house in Gunma. It's so good, I could drink it. MMMM! I couldn't find any spring onions and forgot to buy nori for the zaru soba but it was still great. I think I maybe over cooked the soba a bit but meh. They are so refreshing in this hot weather, especially with the cucumber pickles. Japanese pickles and very mild and subtle compared to western pickles which I don't really enjoy.


Photo by Kamoda

I found some Daifuku at Villa as well. It was only 15 baht so I thought I'd grab it. Specifically it was ichigo daifuku (strawberry). I have a love hate relationship with this stuff. I love the taste but the texture gets to me sometimes and makes me gag. I should have remembered this. I didn't put it in the fridge and when I bit into it I almost threw up. The Bangkok heat had just made it too soft and icky. It tasted great bit I couldn't manage to swallow more than one bite. Sadness! I had some tasty rose apple instead

It's a really lovely night tonight. I might go for a walk to the park at Phrom Pong and possibly go to Kinokuniya (this place is like my catnip, more on it later and how it sucks we don't have one in Perth).

In the mean time, why don't you go out and get some Shabu Shabu (or make some yourself!), with some some sencha or iced tea for sippin'. I promise you wont regret it.