bobby12 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 They probably just think you are being fussy, and give you the regular stuff cos it tastes better. I guess you better make a card and print it out, rather than try to give a 10min lecture every time you order something. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 well 木魚 is actually wood, so you're safe in eating it Oyuki. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Originally Posted By: bobby12 They probably just think you are being fussy, and give you the regular stuff cos it tastes better. I guess you better make a card and print it out, rather than try to give a 10min lecture every time you order something. i have a feeling you might be right, but in a way, that is the height of rudeness to assume that you know better than the customer. Most cards i've seen carry the same info i tell the waiters "I don't eat any animals", and i make a point about the dashi. It would take the same time for me to explain it as for them to read it in puzzlement. It does not take long at all, and lets people who have never met a vegetarian know that we do, in fact, exist. Link to post Share on other sites
yamayamayama 2 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 They will think you are being an over the top fussy gaijin and probably having a 'can you believe it!!!' laugh round the back. In fact, I know someone who owns a restaurant and he can't believe how fussy gaijin generally are and tells me. He'd rather you not go than cause all that fuss. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I feel sorry for vego's in Japan! If you don't eat dashi that's a big problem in Jp cooking as It's a base for pretty much everything! What do you eat Hot udon with?? Just ask for hot water maybe.. We asked for salad with no meat in it but it came out with ham! (for a visiting pro surfer) Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I don't even bother with hot soups, unless i make my own. The best i can do is order zaru-soba and ask for cold water and soy sauce instead of the regular dipping sauce. And actually, if you balance it well with the wasabi and green onion, its tastes just fine. Dashi can be made from a variety of things, not just fish. Other traditional ones are daikon, konbu, and shiitake. All are fine, but current tastes dictate otherwise. Until there is enough of a vegetarian presence in Japan, things won't change. So i try to be a presence. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I think its true that gaijin are more fussy, and I blame the Americans! When I was in the US, I was stunned by how annoying the waiters are - they ask you 50 questions after you order a dish 'do you want vinegar?' 'what kind of vinegar?' 'should i put the vinegar on the potatoes or on the side' 'how much vinegar' 'and do you want a salad' 'what salad' 'what dressing' 'do you need croutons on that?' --- just shut up and give me the damn food!!! Let the cook prepare it the best way, I'm not a damn cook!!! I was close to putting caps in asses on occasion. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 yes it can get a bit much. I am not a vegetarian, but I am quite fussy I suppose especially about meat and I'm not into lots of 'seafood'. I get accused of being fussy a lot my Japanese friends laugh at me. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 The "can't find anything vegetarian" issue was prevalent in the States and a lot of the West around 15-20 years ago. Give them time - Japan will come around. Keep up the prodding. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Originally Posted By: Ezorisu The "can't find anything vegetarian" issue was prevalent in the States and a lot of the West around 15-20 years ago. Give them time - Japan will come around. Keep up the prodding. exactly. Thanks for giving me a reason to live. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I still think it is so contradictory that a predominantly Buddhist country has no grasp of vegetarian cuisine! I guess the monks don't eat out much. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I love seafood. I do my best to pick up the slack for people who don't eat seafood. Gimme a garoupa, steamed, light soya sauce, spring onion on top. Heat a little light oil and pour over the onions. Yum... Link to post Share on other sites
nagoid 4 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Quote: and pour over the onions You do realise that onions are not seafood, right? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 they are earth seaweed Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 There's a guy at work who is a kind of inverse-vegan. He doesnt eat any vegetables at all. At first I thought it was some bizarre way to get attention, but after sitting with him for lunch for two years I can say he genuinely doesnt eat vegetables. His breath stinks but he is otherwise pretty healthy and slim. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Originally Posted By: Ezorisu I still think it is so contradictory that a predominantly Buddhist country has no grasp of vegetarian cuisine! I guess the monks don't eat out much. Vegetarian traditions and any kind of Buddhist traditions have been kinda declining since Meiji. The post-war situation let American dietary value take hold, along with the food pyramid and stuff. I remeber reading about an Italian fellow who lived in Japan for years, and was imprisoned during the war, and then went back to Japan to shoot a documentary (in the fifties/sixties). In his book, he talks to the grandmother of a household he was staying at. He wanted to eat chicken, and she was horrified, and told him that he had to buy one and kill it himself, 'cause she wouldn't do it. Not exactly the attitude you would find amoung most Japanese today. As for even the monks, the only time they eat Shojin Ryori (Buddhist vegan cuisine) is during training. Most revert back to a 'normal' diet after they finish. Even the 'Buddhist' Yudofu restaurant i went to by Nanzen-ji in Kyoto used fish stock. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Originally Posted By: thursday. I love seafood. I do my best to pick up the slack for people who don't eat seafood. Gimme a garoupa, steamed, light soya sauce, spring onion on top. Heat a little light oil and pour over the onions. Yum... I'll take that with ginger and black-bean! Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Did we work out what this was yet? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 it's cockzilla Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 been away for a couple of days, nice to see the thread actual has grown!! hehe Mantas, its all seafood, I can't eat fish, shrimp, oysters (well I've never tried, but since everything else brings it on I steer clear), octopus....in fact anything that lives in the sea I stay away from just to make sure. Thats why I didn't eat the whale when it was on the menu, no moral reason just so that I didn't throw up in class with my eyes popping out!! I know I don't have to eat the lunches, I often don't. But the school REALLY wants me to eat when I can so they kindly tell me whats onthe menu. The pain in the neck is when I an unaware of a name for something and I'll ask if it is seafood and they say....... "uhh...(teeth sucking).......maybe!!" It either is or its not, which is it, surely they should know. If in doubt I bring my own lunch. A friend of mines is Jewish and we were in a restaurant once and he asked if the salad had pork or pig products in it and the waitress went to ask the chef then came out and said that It didn't, but lo and behold when it came out it was doused in bacon!!! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 doused in bacon must be a damn good salad. I wish my rice was doused in bacon sometimes. It's a real shame people have allergies for stuff, cos honestly, the best treats we humans can have comes from the sea. That's what got us the Omega 3 so that we could screw the earth. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 So, Japan is constantly facing global condemnation for it's over fishing practices and at the end of the day some consumers dont even know or care if the food actually comes from the sea or not. Why not just feed them all seafood flavored tofu? Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 or ... McPlastic burgers! Link to post Share on other sites
yoroshiku onegai shimasu 2 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I could eat 2 Mega Macs right now. (Yes, I would regret it, but...!) Link to post Share on other sites
yoroshiku onegai shimasu 2 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 At the same time as not knowing, they call pork butaniku (pig meat) and beef (gyuniku). Can't get much clearer than that. Link to post Share on other sites
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