You may recall me saying that the strangest food you might ever encounter in Japan is spaghetti, but even when they try to depict a menu offering that’s unapologetically “foreign,” sometimes the picture is a little…off.
This luscious fruit tart, for example. Its job is to make you crave the juiciest peaches, the reddest strawberries, the fluffiest whipped cream, and…
the greenest parsley?
Yes, here in Japan the universal garnish is boldly going where herb has gone before, adorning everything from specialty coffees…
to Mont Blanc Honey Toast. (Although, to be fair, the parsley isn’t the weirdest thing about half a loaf of white bread topped with ice cream and chestnut paste calling itself dessert.)
And parsley isn’t the only herb thrust into a role far beyond its core competence. Only someone who has zero Western herbs in their pantry might think this cheesecake tart would be infinitely more tasty-looking if garnished with rosemary. (And raisins. What’s with the origin-story raisins?)
And that’s not the only way Japanese food styling sometimes misses the mark.
Maybe it’s because the whole concept of “dessert” is still fairly new in Japan, nobody seems to get why a photo that sparks a craving for spaghetti doesn’t make me want a sundae…
and plopping a cherry blossom rice cake into a bun so it looks like a hot dog is not quite what I’m fantasizing about when I ask to take a peek at the dessert menu.
Some fails are so twisted, I can’t help but wonder if (secretly) they’re no accident. I’m not vegan, but even I might think twice about forking up a rice omelet that looks like it met its end at the Battle of Sekigahara.
And the hot dogs. Why are hot dogs in Japan so much more unseemly than sausages elsewhere? Whether they’re slathered in truffle sauce, guacamole or relish, don’t these look rather inappropriately glad to see you?
I know you think this must be some isolated incident, but hot dogs really are serial offenders. I’ve never seen a hot dog in Japan that wasn’t excitedly poking out beyond its bun, winking a jaunty little “Hi there!”
Sometimes, they’re peeking out by A LOT. Like these two champions I spied in a cafe window’s food model display.
And even when they tame the enthusiasm, somehow it doesn’t help.
And then there’s…I don’t know quite what to make of this coffee I was served at an ordinary souffle pancake cafe that’s not known for its, er, decorative lattes.
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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“has got another think coming.”? (thing?)
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Ha, I knew someone would ask this question, and I’m so happy our paths have crossed over one of the great malapropism debates of the age! It always brings me up short when someone uses “thing” in this idiom, even though that’s by far the more common usage now. I’m pretty sure the original must have been “think” if the meaning was “if you’re convinced this is true, you’d better think again.” “Thing” is such a natural mis-hearing of “think,” I’ve always suspected that’s how it got twisted into “another thing coming.” Thoughts?
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I thing, therefore I yam what I yam?
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