Ivana's second post

Hello everyone! First off, thank you for staying tuned while we have been on this journey through Japan and learning about its street food. Ultimately, during the last two weeks, the easiest way for us to dine or snack has been through products either sold on the street or in convenience stores nearby. Nonetheless, we got the chance to try amazing food yesterday after a Kabuki show at the national Japanese theatre. You’re probably wondering “where did they go to have this amazing meal”? Well, luckily for us, we got to try the amazing selection of food in the buffet at the prince hotel. I know it doesn't sound too fancy, but it looked absolutely impeccable and tasted even better. The selection at this buffet ranged from build your own salads, to torched wagyu beef on Himalayan sea salt, to freshly plated sashimi. Ultimately, you can see how crabs legs and fresh macaroons beat fried street food. (Not to say that the street food isn't also delicious!) I ended up trying several different items but my absolute favourite things were the freshly seared lobster tails and the strawberry macaroons. One thing that shocked me is that I didn't even want to eat my sushi, because there were so many other amazing options. Typically, sushi is one of my favourite things to eat – so I shocked myself! Out of everything that happened at the buffet, my favourite thing was how we were all together in our own separate room, and were able to have conversation with each person regardless of the table we were sitting at. A highlight of my time at the buffet was counting how many plates my classmates had consumed after two weeks of eating essentially convenience store food. Edmund, for example, went and got five plates of entrée style food, and then had room for three rounds of dessert! It amazes me that he is so small and yet can eat so much in one sitting! Furthermore, this style of dining is not commonly seen in Canada mainly because people have a concern of contamination and value fancy plating styles more than what I've observed in Japan. It may come as a surprise, but I have yet to be concerned about the cleanliness of my food in Japan, whereas I often worry about this same concept in Canada. Overall, I'm thankful to have had the chance to try finer food in Japan.

Till next time,

Ivana Dokic