green 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 I, and I expect everyone here, has a passion for (good) food. One thing that I have noticed since I came to Japan though is that many Japanese people seem to have this superiority thing going concerned with food - as if in other developed countries people eat gross food all the time. It kind of gets on my nerves. I was just wondering if anyone else gets that? Link to post Share on other sites
danz 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 not true! well, probably is in some occasions... however, I find talking about food is one of the best way to break the ice when meeting nihonjin...they love talking about food and always seem very interested/curious about cuisine from other corners of the world... if you want to just chat at some local dive, this is a good fun way to do it... danz Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 There are connoisseurs and there are gluttons. Many gluttons, due to their ability to swallow huge helpings, tend to think of themselves as lovers of good food, but really haven't a clue. Many foreigners, rightly or wrongly, give the impression of being gluttons, gladly sacrificing class nosh to stuff their faces for 1000 yen at the local tabehodaii. On seeing this, the locals jump to conclusions about the pallette of the unsubtle gaijin. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 I come up against a very strong stereotype of "British food is mazui まずい" all the time. They even state that in some travel brochures!!! Link to post Share on other sites
danz 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 scouser... I don't think that is just a japanese impression what exactly is british cuisine?? fish and chips? danz Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 Well, I'm not going to get into that one, suffice to say that there is an amazingly good variety of fantastic food on offer in the UK not only "UK cuisine" but from all over the globe and the Japanese people who I know who have been there have all been surprised - basically because of that steotype preparing them for greasy chips and nothing else. Very sad, and annoying. It's kind of like saying "what exactly is US cuisine -..... McDs burger?" Oh yeah, I should have mentioned this - they think that American food is all junk too...all fatty and greasy... hence everyone being obese. Japanese peoples image, not mine you see... Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 Danz, English food is a bit like American food, but with less fat... Luckily, Jamie San is quickly turning around the perception of English food here in Japan. Modern English food is starting to get a reputation amongst the "connoisseurs" as being quite respectable. Unfortunately, there is still a huge amount of crap around (but where isn't there, ramen has never 'done it' for me...) Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 Whos Jamie-san then? And on the subject of crap - I have had more than my fair share of it here in Japan, in some eating places that would never be allowed to operate in the UK (and probably elsewhere) Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 Jamie is a young British TV chef that made a name for himself doing live cooking shows in Britain. His shows have subsequently come to Japan. Lively down to earth Londoner... great show to watch for cooking tips... Why the anger, are you denying that England has it's fair share of crap food, esp. if you try to eat out? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 No anger at all ...wasnt meant to come out that way! Lots of crap in the uk of course - like you said, there is everywhere.... Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 PS Never heard of that Jamie bloke - where can the shows be found? Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 It was the angry li''le face at the top of the post... The thing that annoys me is how the Japanese quite happily taut their top dishes (the ones that only get a lookin every three months) against what, say, the Brits eat every day. Roast beef 'n yorkshire pudds Vs rice, two little fish, a leave of spinach, and a scoop of natto... that's a no-brainer... Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 He's on La-la on the weekends, and other times. Don't know about other channels/places yet. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 Ah, that! That was just a little bit of frustration having to face the stereotype so much and so often. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Jamie's cooking seems very fattening... I thought food in UK was better than expected. I was lucky I had very delicious Liz's dinner everyday in the beautiful garden. After dinner, dessert and scottish short bread with tea was so nice! I liked all food from M&S. Most Indian restaurants were very good but Chinese weren't. I used to go to Blue Bird in Chelsea to get nice bread. British people eat thin bread and it was very difficult to find nice bread in London! Ahhhh, I miss the life there... Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Au contraire, the Japanese eat ridiculously fat slices... (it's not cake, you know) Seriously, you can knock the restaurant food, but not the bread! Jamie's cooking fattening? depends how much you eat! Uses a lot of olive oil... healthy... lots of bouncy southern Europeans will attest to that. Looks can be deceiving too. After all, what has more calories, rice or potato. In what way do you think the food looks fattening? Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 When you see his face getting more round recently, you know his cooking fattening! Why he invites guys for dinner everytime?? No girls?? Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 What are you talking about? He had three models on there a few weeks ago. We have a saying, "never trust a thin cook" I guess he's trying to install confidence in his ability to cook. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I've always heard british food is bad. Never had any real british food, so I can't say if I agree or not. American food has the reputation of being fatty and if it's possible to nail down exactly what american food is, that's probably true. The thing is... there are just as fatty foods in japan, but I think it's just that american portions are massive. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Really!! When I watch the show, he always invites guys. I thought it was a cooking program for guys to show how to cook! Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Not at all... Do you know why Jamie is really getting fat? He drinks like a fish... (as is typical of most English lads) Anyway, I love his style of cooking, and think he's doing wonders for the Brit food scene. As an aside, a large number of English men cook, and cook damn well. Food culture in England is taking hold as well, with many nw houses styled around a counter kitchen. While Japan has a lot of restaurants, English houses are much more geared towards fancy dishes at home. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I think Jamie Oliver puts a lot of the "knar wot ah mean" type patter on. "Mockney" is the name for it, I believe. He was born in Cambridge. But he's a lot better than Nigella Lawson who turned up on NHK BS last week. She made a curry using a small fortune in half-ready or fancy ingredients that you'll only find in the better-stocked supermarkets. There was no informed foodie spiel about the ingredients like you get with Keith Floyd, for example. Just shots of the woman herself taken from various angles. Rather than actual cooking, the show seemed to be more about having an imaginary lifestyle where people have enough energy for cooking and dressing up for dinner parties with numerous beautiful and witty friends on weekdays after coming back from work. A British version of "time porn" perhaps. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 How long have you been away, NoFakie? Mockney pretty much the norm now with anyone not born with a 'cool' accent, know wat I mean? Anyway, he knows his stuff, knows his food, and knocks up some reet grand scram... (and can still string a sentence together by the end of the show). Not seen or heard of the Nigella lass... Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Jamie Oliver is better known as the "Naked Chef" Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 jamie oliver os otherwise known as the naked chef! Link to post Share on other sites
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