Apologies + What is Usuter Sauce?

The better question to ask, actually, is: "Is there such a thing as Usuter Sauce?"

Bento! #264: Canned sardines in miso sauce

I think this was around 105 yen at the supermarket? You can also find these at your local 100-yen store (e.g. Daiso).

 いわし / iwashi = sardine. 味 = miso. And that other kanji... :D

Pretty good. I've always hesitated trying this because I thought it might be too sweet. It is sweet, but it's not too sweet.

Just to show you that this is not an easy-open can with the tab, like on their canned tuna here. Atypical in Japan.

Bento! #262: Gyuu Suki？ Bentou

"New!!" From 3F.

牛 / gyuu = beef. And... you know sukiyaki, right? This is that except it's not yaki because it's not heated in a metal pan. I forgot how to read the 2nd kanji (4th character above)!

Yummy!

Bento! #261: Canned tuna + cole slaw = quick meal for a busy guy :D

This is larger than the usual canned tuna, good for 1 meal for me. It's actually シーチキン / shii chikin / sea chicken / chicken of the sea; i.e. skipjack tuna. This is probably around 300 yen from the supermarket. I love canned tuna. :D

Kooru suroo sarada / コールスローサラダ / cole slaw salad. 'nuff said.

Bento! #260: Buta Roosu Yaki Niku Bentou

"New!!" From 3F.

Buta / ぶた / 豚 = pig. ロース / roosu = "roast," but it actually means more like a certain slice of pork usually used for tonkatsu. 焼 / やき / yaki = grilled or (teppan-)fried. 肉 / にく / niku = meat. And of course, bentou / べんとう / 弁当 = "lunch box."

When you come to Japan, it's good to know the language.

Check out this photo:

Note: I already used 6 and so I'm left now with just 2.

You know what it is -- it says "colored spoon." Above it is the description of the contents in Japanese, and it says カラフルスプーン / karafuru supuun. Did you read that out loud? It actually reads more like "colorful spoon." This is just a trivial thing but this is essentially representative of things you might have trouble with when coming here.

6.5 hours of videos during the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011

Check out all videos at this website:

http://ronjie-raw.blogspot.com/2013/03/65-hours-of-videos-from-great-east.html

Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected, especially those who are, to this day, still suffering due to this tragic event.

Now, for some Nihongo:


In Japanese, the "Great East Japan Earthquake" is 東日本大震災 / higashi nihon dai shinsai.

Higashi / ひがし / 東 = east, but in some proper names, it is pronounced as とう / tou, as in Tokyo / 東京 / とうきょう / toukyou / east capital.

Nihon / にほん / 日本 = Japan, which literally means sun origin, i.e. where the sun rises (because Japan is to the east of China, whereas the sun rises in the east). 日 means sun, but it also stands for day as in nichi / にち. 本 stands for origin, but it also means "main" (as in Hon-Atsugi = downtown Atsugi) or "this" as in 本日 / ほんじつ / honjitsu (usually used in more formal situations, for example, when announcing the day's special menu item, or a special announcement for the day).

Dai / だい / 大 = big, as in 大学 / だいがく/ daigaku / university, or literally big school (gaku / がく / 学), although gaku also means "study of," as in 工学 / こうがく / kougaku / engineering, or literally study of industry (or study of engineering).

Shinsai / しんさい / 震災 = earthquake disaster. Earthquake translates directly to jishin / じしん / 地震, where ji means ground, and shin means tremor / shaking. Sai means disaster, but disaster (or calamity) translates to wazawai / 災い.

Bento! #252: Ebi Tendon

Or 海老天丼 / Shrimp Tempura Rice Bowl. From 3F. Pretty good. There's just two pieces of ebi tenpura though, and the rest are veggie tempura like nasu / eggplant, renkon / lotus root, and kabocha / pumpkin tempura. Oh and I think there's a squid tempura in there too.

Bento! #251: Salmon Roe / Caviar and Clam Onigiri

From 3F. Pretty good. Comes with matching orange-colored pickled radish. いくら / ikura = salmon roe (or caviar). しじみ / shijimi = clam?

Note that ikura also means "how much."

Bento! #250: Dinner from the nearby bentou-ya

I've seen this place many, many times before. And now, after almost 3 years, is the only time I ever tried to order here. Bentou-ya / 弁当屋 means "bento (lunch box / packed lunch) shop." This is almost the equivalent of the "carenderia" and "turo-turo" (small mom-and-pop or hole-in-the-wall restaurants) in the Philippines.

This exact bentou-ya, more specifically, is ほかほか弁当 / hokahoka bentou, which literally translates to "warm lunch."

6 more photos below!

Bento! #249: Okura to Nameko no Okakaae + Updated Photo: Demi Chiizu Chikin Katsu

I posted a photo at http://japan.ronjie.com/2012/11/bento-161-demi-chiizu-chikin-bentou.html of my squished bento box from 3F. Here's a better photo:

And I had this as for my dose of vegetables:

オクラ = okra / lady fingers. なめこ = a type of mushroom. おかか和え = that fish flake "sauce" thing. Pretty good.

Bento! #248: Corn and Potato Salad

It's the one on the lower right, which you can see I ate with sanma yaki which I've blogged about earlier. You can also probably see that there's volumetrically more cabbage in there than either corn or potato. :D  It's コーンとポテトサラダ / koon to poteto sarada in Japanese, by the way.

Bento! #247: Buta Roosu Tonkatsu Bentou

Or 豚ロースとんかつ弁当, literally Pork Roast Pork Cutlets Lunch Box. You know what it is. Only 498 yen and big and yummy, from the supermarket.

Bento! #246: Special Hamburg(er) Bento

スペシャルハンバーグ弁当 / supesharu hanbaagu bentou

I love burgers. And sausages. With egg and rice. And spaghetti with a tomato-based sauce! :D  398 yen from the supermarket.

Bento! #245: Chaa-Siu Yaki-Biifun

 

Or essentially Char Siu / Roast Pork Pan-Grilled Bihon/Bifun/Chinese noodles. 398 yen from 3F. If you're Filipino, you would be familiar with Bihon (noodles).

Surprisingly pretty good for 398 yen!

Bento! #244: Tuna Mayo Onigiri with lots of Mayo!

Or たっぷりマヨのツナマヨ / tappuri mayo no tsuna mayo. 125 yen from 3F. Yummy.

They weren't joking about this having lots of mayo! :D

Bento! #243: 八丁味噌ラーメン / hatchou miso raamen / Hatcho Miso Ramen

This was around 400 yen at the cafeteria.

It's... not something I'd order again. Actually, a (non-Japanese) friend of mine already tried this before I did and he didn't like it. When I tried it, it's fine. It's not so bad. But it's just not something I'd want. It does have egg, as you can see, some fried tofu strips, and even some chicken so, save for some veggies, it is quite a heavy noodle meal than usual.

Bento! #242: Tonjiru / 豚汁 / Pork soup

That's the one on the lower right. This is the first time I ever tried, and I only got the small one (小豚汁 / kotonjiru) for just a little over 70 yen from the cafeteria, to go along with my renkon (lotus roots) salad and chikin tatsuta don / fried chicken rice bowl. The soup was delicious. I'll probably try it as a standalone dish next time. :D

Bento! #241: Sausage Napolitan (Spaghetti)

460 yen from 3F.

And as opposed to just plain sausage (sooseeji / ソーセージ) slices in other versions of napolitan / ナポリタン spaghetti here, this has one full-length sausage! (Sausage here is normally just 1/3 this one.) Plus there's some ham! Plus, there's some egg! Plus, some green pepper slices! Yummy. I love carbonaramara and her carbonaras, but for spaghetti, I love red/tomato-based sauces! (Same is true with pizza. :D)

Bento! #240: Yaki Saba something something Gohan

Or 焼きさば。。。ごはん / rice with grilled mackerel. 350 yen from 3F. And yummy. There's a lot of other things in there, as you can see. But I don't eat the plum. :D

It is quite small though...