I'm back from Japan, and promise to post all of my great food experiences in the coming days. It'll be "Rainy Days & Sundays in Japan" for the next several posts, be warned! :)
One of my favorite places to visit while in Japan is the depachika. A depachika is a basement gourmet food hall that features all kinds of incredible eats from perfect little cakes and fresh-baked bread to marinated pickles and handmade sushi rolls. It really is an experience that any visitor to Japan must have. You can find depachikas in any major city.
I went to a few while in Japan; one in Osaka and a few in Tokyo. Imagine if Neiman Marcus or Sax has a basement level filled with gourmet food vendors. You can buy gift-y type foods like packaged butter cookies and boxes of beautiful chocolates, and you can also get tons of ready-to-eat food like sandwiches, bento boxes of sushi and lots and lots of Japanese fried goodies.
As stated in previous posts, I looooooove Japanese korrokke. A korrokke, in its most basic form, is a deep-fried potato patty, much like a croquette. They come in all kinds of flavors and types; there's potato curry, cream crab, corn and potato with ground beef, among others. The guy above is operating a fry station, and flash fries korrokkes and butterflied shrimp and Japanese friend chicken and all kinds of other wonderful eats.
The outer crust on all these fried foods is typically made with panko (Japanese bread crumbs). It makes the end product light, super crispy and delicious. I guess the reason why the Japanese can still maintain their slim figures is because a) they treat themselves to this kind of stuff only once in a while, and b) when they do, they eat small portions.
If you go to a depachika, try to get there on a weekday as Saturdays and Sundays can be crazy hectic in one of these basement food halls. And go with an empty stomach; most stands have samples.
When will the U.S. embrace depachikas??? I would love to have one of these at the basement of my favorite Macy's or Sax Fifth Avenue.
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