Made of Nabe

Tonight I went with Kelly and my friend Meg with Ai and her friend to Hirakatashi. We went to a Nabe all-you-can-eat restaurant…and when they said all-you-can-eat, I literally left that place barely able to move.[singlepic=201,320,240,,left]

Basically, Nabe is very similar to fondue. They bring out a giant pot of soup like liquid and you bring it to a boil on your own table-grill. You can get different flavors of soup and they come with different types of meat. We ordered a Chinese style that came with pork and beef and lot’s of different vegetables. Noodles and mochi (a rice type…thing) were also supplied. There were also quail eggs! They taste just like regular eggs…except they are much, much smaller.[singlepic=198,320,240,,right]

You dump these vegetables and meats into the soup (which has a lot of seasonings and also milk) and wait for it to cook. Then you spoon the soup and the cooked food into one of your bowls! It was fantastic. I am not a huge fan of Japanese meat, if only because it is so fatty, but the vegetables and the eggs were amazing.[singlepic=195,320,240,,left]

Aside from the nabe we also got unlimited dumplings. I had shark-fin dumplings, which were actually really good. I also recommend the sesame balls, which is rice and sesame dumpling with red bean paste on the inside. I am loving Japanese sweets, if only because there is not a “slap-in-the-face” amount of sugar in them. That is if you get things like red bean paste…I can’t say the same thing about their parfaits or dessert waffles.

[singlepic=193,320,240,,left]Feeling a little sick from the amount of food we just ate, and handing over the ghastly amount of money to pay for it (around $23), we walked around town for an hour or so. Until decided we had to have a waffle. Kelly and I shared one, but I already somewhat regret it. It was so delicious, but I can feel all of this food sitting in my stomach. Uuuughhh…I don’t want to eat for a few days. I can’t afford to eat anyway.

Of course, I say this when I know that the weekend is coming up. Tomorrow we are going back to Hirakatashi to get our Alien Registration (I will finally be LEGAL!), then we will be parfait hunting and going to karaoke. That’s potentially a $30 evening. And Saturday I’m going back to Osaka to visit Den Den Town, Osaka Castle (again), and Shinsaibashi with some friends from my seminar house. That’s another $15 in traveling and more money for food and a particular present for my brother…but thankfully, Sunday I am being treated to an onsen and dinner after church. Nabanawa-san and her husband have practically adopted me. I have no idea what gift to bring them. I guess that’s one more thing to put on my list of things to buy….*le sigh*

In any case, I do have a conclusion to this bit of rant. Nabe is delicious. Try it at least once if you get the chance. And as a really important side note…my host sister learned a very good lesson today. Sometimes, when we try to speak English, what we think we are saying is not really what we want to say at all. So the next time she wants one of us to feel how full her stomach is, it is not appropriate to say, “touch me.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have laughed so long. My new nickname is “baby.” I guess that’s what I get for dancing and singing at the table. ^_^;

((P.S. I will have photos of the Nabe soon!  I forgot my camera this evening…so I am getting photos from Meg.))