TOKYO, Feb 26 (News On Japan) - When asking foreigners about the Japanese dishes they find delicious, the answers were unexpectedly diverse. One woman was particularly impressed by the items found in convenience stores, noting their variety and quality, such as chocolate or curry-flavored Chinese buns, which are not common in the United States.
Another person expressed a strong love for tempura, especially since it is perceived as expensive and luxurious by foreigners. The availability of tempura at reasonable prices in Japan surprised them. They also mentioned that in America, even if children do not eat, they still have to pay half the price, so they were amazed to find a place where kids eat for free.
Just a 5-minute walk from Shibuya Station, visitors can find a building where they can enjoy all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu, a well-known Japanese meat dish. The restaurant offers a 120-minute all-you-can-eat experience, with children under elementary school age eating for free. The meat is cut with care, one slice at a time, without using frozen meat. This thinly sliced meat has become rare in the world.
Shabu-shabu is typically served with either ponzu sauce or sesame sauce abroad, but here, there are over 25 types of broths and more than 8 types of sauces and condiments, allowing guests to create their own flavors, which foreign visitors found fresh and enjoyable.
"I'm planning to try all the sauces, including truffle oil and garlic oil. I have to eat them all because I'm going back to America tomorrow," said a man from the UK who runs a Facebook content page with over 4.5 million monthly visits.
"I'll show you something cool. Follow me," he said, leading the way to a gyoza shop full of foreign customers. "These dumplings are really delicious," he said. Foreigners especially love the crispy pan-fried variety.
"I'm very excited to try dumplings for the first time. Gyoza is a famous Japanese food even in France. These dumplings are developed by mixing various parts of the meat to make it crispy. The overflowing meat juice from inside is its biggest feature, so be careful as it might splash," he explained. "In America, we have dumplings too, but they're not as juicy as these."
Foreigners' Real Favorite Japanese Foods Discovered Through Street Survey
Continuing the survey, a man expressed his delight at tasting Korean food, saying it reminded him of his homeland. He mentioned New Okubo, known for its Korean food, where you can find popular dishes like hot pot and skewers for as little as 10 yen each, which has been a hot topic among tourists. The wide variety of gourmet food available makes it difficult to decide what to eat.
He further explained, "There's a small shop that has authentic Korean food. It's a tiny shop, but it's really good. One surprising dish they had was the breadfish noodles, which tasted exactly like those in Korea."
