Pasta can pan cakes

More memories of beloved Tokyo and great friends. Okonomiyaki is the student saver when it comes to food. Buy a bag of flour and a head of cabbage and you can feed yourself for a week. Of course it helps to have some mayonaise and brown sauce available and idealy an egg and any other toppings you want or can afford. I think this was a kimchi okonomiyaki with cheese and various other sauces dribbled generously on top. My family came to visit so my friends came to meet them at Sunshine City (whee there it is again!) in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. We decided to have dinner in the basement area where there are a bunch of restaurants. The place was called Pasutakan Okonomiyaki , I'm not entirely sure what the name means o_o I don't think they are referring to the elusive pasta can. Oh well. Good service, good food, friendly environment and alll the toppings you can pile on (if you wanted a sauce, nori and mayonaise tabehoudai). Its always fun to cook your own food. Generous portions for a decent price, my kinda place. Also, if you're not comfortable flipping piping hot food with steel spatulas on a sizzling oil covered hot plate, the waiters/waitresses offer to do it for you. Little sand hour glass timers are on every table to help you time your cooking if you go solo. It's fun and a lot wasier than you think ;) Okonomiyaki power!

Drinkable cheesecakes

Namja Town in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro (Tokyo, Japan) is one place that will pop up many times in my memories of dessert in Japan. I'll refrain from repeating myself so I shall avoid leaking any spoilers about some of the "special surprises" that can be found through the magical gates of Namja. There are seasonal specials in the main store of the Choux Cream Forrest. My colleague and I went during one of the cheesecake seasons. Very wide selection of cheese-related desserts. Example: "drinkable cheesecake" (nomuchiizukeeki) pictured in the lower right corner (if you still can't find it here;s another hint: the one in the bottle with the straws stuck to it :D) This caused many eyebrows to raise, but we were pleasantly surprised. Very smooth light fluffy texture with a creamy weight to it that was not too rich, a characteristic that was greatly appreaciated by yours truly who confesses to not liking cheesecake (alas, both cheesecakes were purchased by my tabemono tomodachi). The slice of cheesecake was apparently made by a famous bakery somewhere in Japan (somewhere in Hokkaido ...kana?) and it cost 600yen! But it was very rich and velvety and I can see why (if I really really stretch it) it cost as much as it did. I had the strawberry chiffon and the creme brulee, both of which are highly recommended. The chiffon was incredibly delicate, in the best way possible. The fresh flavour of real strawberries and lightness of the cake fused together perfectly. The creme brulee is only finished when you order it so the caramelised sugar crust is still warm and crunchy when you break though to the milky, creamy goodness within. Perfection in a ramekin? I dare say so. I think I had that creme brulee everytime I went to Namja Town. Yes, that good.