Don't we have bigger problems?
 

Like NK, China, economy.....?

Link.

Hope that goes both ways.

My colleagues had the misfortune to pick these menu items on a recent ANA flight in C:

Seafood paella Valencia (sic - should have been ValenciANA, but it's understandable that they wanted to remove their name from the dish ;) and

Warm chorizo Yorkshire pudding with creamy blue cheese sauce

Both were pretty disgusting ("the paella tasted like it was made by Vesta" was the verdict).

As a Spaniard, I was appalled.

To be fair, my own choice of 'Smoked salmon and scallop tartare with creamy black pepper cheese' and 'Bell pepper tart tricolor with creamy pesto' were rather nice.

FWIW, while eating Sunday lunch at an Italian restaurant, at the Urawa Isetan, I thought to myself "I'd rather eat Italian food made by Japanese, than Japanese food made my Italians." Note: I wouldn't normally choose Italian restaurants, during my short visits to Japan, it was my friend's idea (and her treat). By dinner time, we made it back to Tokyo and I treated her to my favorite Ueno under-the-tracks kaiten sushi place.

Bigger problems..........yes! But kudos to the GOV for finding a way to keep thousands of bureaucrats employed policing the world wide Japanese food industry ;) . That said, Japanese tastes like dirt in most other parts of the world.
I am sure Pickles will take me to task on this .......

They have to do something to replace the income lost in dismantling the construction kick-back schemes...

;)

Take you to task? No, I actually agree that Japanese food outside of Japan in the vast majority of cases is not to be eaten. Chicken stock-based "miso" soup, anyone? Some cuisines travel better than others, Japanese isn't one of them.

Pickles, I meant that in jest.....you are definately the one I want to go out eating Japanese with ^ !

I wonder if any high-ranking Japanese official was taken to one of the Chinese-run "Japanese" places in London or encountered a member of the Bangladeshi itamae community I've seen on the European continent?

Ten thousand of which are Yoshinoya. ;)

Or the "kaitensushi" in London that had samosas and cheesecake (mercifully in different plates) as some of its kaiten items?

Or the place on Duane St. serving King Manko.

I would have expected Queen Manko, but as previously pointed out, anything is possible in NY.

The downscale American notion of Japanese food is taking a slab of chicken or beef, drenching it in teriyaki sauce, and serving over rice. That, and sushi made with rice that is somehow not like what one gets in Japan.

In Portland, Oregon, you get "bento," which most people do not realize is the generic term for a packed lunch. No, they think it's oversized bits of chicken on a skewer, served with either teriyaki sauce or Vietnamese chili sauce, on either white or brown rice.

A lot of the "Japanese" restaurants in the States are run by either Koreans or Chinese, and although the Koreans usually do a halfway decent job, it is disconcerting to go into a "Japanese" restaurant in search of a venue for a dinner meeting of local Japanese-English translators, ask the man at the counter if they have "o-zashiki" (tatami rooms), and having him reply, "I think we don't cook that."

Well, he's not wrong! :p

Or try ordering in Japanese at your local Japanese restaurant. ;)

JR

Gimme Beef Bowl!!! Yeah!!

For fast food, that's pretty good. I spend three weeks in Manila and discovered a Yoshinoya near the hotel half way through. Then found one in Honk Kong. I might have gotten tired of it after a little while, but when alone on a business trip, sitting hungry in a hotel room late at night, that was a pretty good option.

I don't think we're properly appreciating the potential for growth in the FF community as thousands of Japanese restaurant inspectors fan out across the world. We should be applauding this initiative!


(I guess this will be post #500 - do I get a cookie or something? :p )

Yes, I hoping they'll hire "undercover" Japanese restaurant inspectors, namely: fat, blond 40 year old gaijins that could never be suspected as plants.

Regarding the post #500, yes, you will get a cookie within 45 minutes of the post. I got mine, this morning! If it doesn't arrive in a timely manner, just go to your favorite local, Japanese restaurant, you'll receive a fortune cookie with your check. :rolleyes:

I've with you there! (Actually, portly, grey and 46)

Particularly one of those ones cleverly disguised as a fortune cookie dispensing Chinese restaurant!

Hey, you're at post 501! I can't have that. Shall have to post again and pull ahead. :eek:

Just came across this website:
http://www.lasprovincias.es/valencia..._20061102.html
disseminating the same news to Spaniards.

Of interest is the paragraph:
En diversos momentos se ha intentado hacer lo mismo con la cocina valenciana del arroz en el extranjero. Los resultados de fijar una Denominación de Origen de la paella han sido nulos hasta el momento. En Berlín, Otawa o Miami se puede encontrar el visitante restaurantes españoles, en los que sirven (supuestas) paellas con tocino, guisantes, pimientos y chorizos.

Eso no es una paella, claro. En todo caso será la Paella del Terror , sacada del recetario de cualquier presentadora de la televisión local que hace años pasó unas vacaciones en Almansa, que no pilla muy lejos de Valencia.

which translates as:
"From time to time there have been attempts to do the same with Valencian Rice Cuisine abroad. Any attempts to fix a 'guarantee of authenticity' to the paella have so far proved futile. In Berlin, Otawa or Miami a visitor can find Spanish Restaurants which serve (supposed) paellas with pork lard, peas, capsicum and chorizos.

Of course this isn't a Paella. We're talking about a 'Paella of Terror' here, pulled out of the recipe book of some local TV cook who, years ago, spent a holiday in Amansa, which isn't that far from Valencia.

Sunnyhere, my wife says she qualifies and would love to volunteer. :)