Ajisen Ramen - Japanese noodles in Thailand

Ajisen Ramen proves that chain stores can still make decent noodles at a good price.

Tenderloin beef ramen: 135 baht (4.08 USD)
Bottle of water: 15 baht (0.45 USD)
Ice: 5 baht a glass (0.15 USD)

Ajisen Ramen is a Japanese fast food chain selling Japanese noodles with chains across the globe, which actually makes decent noodles.

I’ve often found that noodle chains tend to taste more artificial than your traditional local family run stores, as they take shortcuts to make the same bowl of noodle over and over again, but Ajisen Ramen was a rather pleasant surprise.

I ordered the beef tenderloin ramen, which came in miso soup-based broth accompanies by cabbage, bean sprouts and other vegetables, along with half a boiled egg.

The broth was delicious and the taste didn’t burn your tongue or throat when eating it. The beef tenderloin had been broiled for so long it was soft and crumbled in the mouth. It had obviously been marinated well, for the taste of the beef itself was excellent, slightly sweet and savory.

At first, I was afraid that the noodles themselves would taste industrial. Here, they were slightly chewy and absorbed some of the broth flavour into it. The texture was good while it didn’t taste pre-processed.

It was a very good meal, and I intend to go back. The prices are reasonable, and a decent bowl of ramen starts at 79 baht (2.39 USD). For that quality, it’s a good deal, although more quantity would have been helpful as well.

There are several branches of Ajisen in Thailand, and the one we went to was on the 6th floor of the MBK shopping complex.

Gyudon (Beef Bowl), Japan's answer to McDonald's

Beef bowl: Delicious! Fast! Cheap! Japan’s answer to fast food and hamburgers.

Gyudon (beef bowl): 380-630 yen (4.13-6.86 USD), depending on size ordered

Gyudon is cheap. The Japanese answer to McDonald’s and its burgers, gyudon is basically thinly  sliced beef and onion stewed in a special sweet sauce, made up of soy sauce, dashi (fish stock) and sweetened sake. The concoction is topped over fluffy Japanese rice and can be served with ginger, a freshly cracked raw egg and a bowl of steaming hot miso soup.

Weighing in at only 380 yen (4.13 USD) for the normal bowl, 480 yen (5.22 USD) for the large bowl or 630 yen (6.86 USD) for the super large bowl, it’s a cheap eat available everywhere you turn in Japan. In fact, you may even weigh the current economic condition by looking at sales of gyudon – the worse the economy is, the more bowls it will sell.

Yoshinoya, Matsuya and Sukiya are the leading gyudon chains in Japan, and like McDonald’s, are located in just about any corner of any Japanese city. They are open 24 hours a day, providing food to hungry salarymen in the mornings and afternoons, and food to drunk people in the wee early morning hours.

Unlike the Yoshinoyas in other countries such as America, the gyudon store setup is normally like a bar where a series of counters greets the casual customer. Orders are taken by the employee who will then literally shout it into the kitchen, where like a chorus it is repeated in enigmatic fashion. The employee will then slide you a cup of hot tea while you wait.

It’s not exactly food for the super health conscious due to the amount of sodium in a bowl – they will often simply fill the existing pot with more ingredients instead of emptying it and washing it out, allowing salt to gradually accumulate over the course of the day. It will fill your stomach, so if you’re ever in Japan on a budget, give it a go and remember to just shout “gyudon omori kudasai!”

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The video below shows you what a typical ordering experience at Yoshinoya is like, about 1.5 minutes into the video. The store here is the first Yoshinoya store in Japan, which is in Tokyo near the Tsukiji fish market.

Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomoda/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Osechi: giant bentos for the New Year

In years past, New Year in Japan would mean closed stores, family get togethers and new year feasting on intricately prepared bentos, designed to last the days before and after the roll over.

By Karn G. Bulsuk

Osechi New Year Bento: Starting at 10,000 yen (100 USD) up to and beyond 100,000 yen (1000 USD)

Osechi, or Japanese New Year cuisine was designed to deal with the fact there used to be nothing on sale during the new year period. Japanese housewives would spend a week preparing foods which could be stored for a few days, and would pack them into bentos for the whole family to eat the days before and after the New Year. I made the small one in the picture above in a cooking class, and it took the entire day even with things already prepared prior to the session.

In modern Japanese, this tradition still exists but many families opt to buy osechi bentos instead of spending time and effort to make them. They normally start at around 10,000 yen (100 USD) and can reach for the sky, especially if the bento is made by renowned chefs or restaurants.

It’s still a nice time to spend with family, and like the turkey of Thanksgiving or the minced pies of Christmas lore, osechi is a heartwarming start to the New Year.

Katsu Curry in Bangkok - authentic and tasty

Authentic Katsu Curry can be found in the heart of Bangkok at a very reasonable price.

By Karn G. Bulsuk

Katsu curry: 130 baht ($3.92 USD)
Bottle of water: 10 baht ($0.30 USD)

Because of the number of Japanese expatriates living in Thailand, there are a wide range of Japanese restaurants and bars. Some catered to the Thais with the taste modified accordingly, while many still cook precisely to discriminating Japanese standards.

There is a Japanese curry store which I eat at regularly located in Central World, a large major department store. The taste of their curry is certainly Japanese while the toppings are also equally tasty and authentic.

Their signature dish is the katsu curry, or curry with rice with deep fried pork cutlet. In general, the flavor is alright, although I find the katsu too crispy for my taste. The best katsu I have had was in Kagoshima, where black pork was used. It was thickly sliced and fried so that the juices were sealed in, but the meat inside was still soft and firm. A bite into the cutlet starts out with a deliciously moist but crunchy exterior, bread crumbed and fried to perfection.

Nevertheless, it only costs 130 baht (3.92 dollars) while a bottle of water goes for 10 baht (0.30 USD). There are a range of other possible combinations, such as adding hamburger patties, cheese, toriage (bite-sized deep fried chicken pieces) and even natto, fermented Japanese soy-beans.

The price is reasonable and it provides an authentic Japanese experience in the middle of Bangkok.