lee's kitchen

lee's kitchen
神奈川県横浜市中区福富町西通48 (48 Fukutomicho Nishidori Naka-ku Yokohamashi Kanagawa Prefecture)
tel: 045-253-3044

what was consumed: lunch menu! yukgyejang and dolsoht bibimbap

as much as i try, i can't hide my korean-ness (at least that's what i've been told, and contrary to what the korean koreans may say). korean food is also my comfort food. so, in my new town of yokohama, i asked my japanese teacher to take me to the "koreatown" of yokohama and asked to eat korean food while on our "orientation tour" (i later had to talk about this adventure, in japanese, to my colleagues, so language learning wasn't lost through this excursion).

yokohama's koreatown is super small, just a couple of street blocks, if that. we ended up at lee's kitchen where the comforting sounds of korean and the delicious smells of hanshik made me feel right at home. as usual, i ordered yukgyejang and lee's kitchen did not disappoint. they had a small banchan selection as well, though i didn't ask to see if refills were included. in japan, smoking is still allowed in certain restaurants; such is the case with lee's kitchen. admittedly, it took me back to my gradschool years in seoul where smoking inside was still the norm. ahh, the memories.

thank you, lee's kitchen, for making me feel at home!

online: http://leekitchen.jp/

hasamu grand

hasamu grand
神奈川県 横浜市中区 本牧原 12-1 ベイタウン本牧5番街 2F (12-1 Honmokuhara Naka-ku Yokohama-shi Kanagawa-ken)
tel: 045-228-9846

what was consumed: burgers!

sometimes, it's when you're away from home that you are most wanting comforts of home. and so, when overseas, i often want to eat typical american things. hamburgers it is!

bjl and i had an hour for lunch (our first lunch out, together, sans bebe!) as we were waiting to pick up my bike. so, we walked across the street from the aeon bike shop to the baytown mall? shopping center? strip mall? to grab a bite to eat. while bjl had had sushi there before, there was something about the burger place that called our name.

we were excited to enjoy our burgers and were not disappointed (for the most part). the burgers were cooked well and the toppings were quite a treat (avocados are super popular here! and who doesn't want an egg on one's burger?). and thick fries! made from fresh potatoes or not, there's something about fried potatoes that i will always welcome. we only regret not being able to relax, sit, and enjoy our burger; we had to race out of there soon after our food arrived.

online: https://hasamu.com/

kaoris

kaoris
〒231-0861 Kanagawa, Yokohama, Naka Ward, Motomachi, 3 Chome−141-8 エイシャント元町
tel: 045-306-9576

what was consumed: casual lunch set (main dish from the menu (we chose the pasta and the hamburger steak as our main dishes. yeah, hamburger steak is a thing) + bread + tea)

when you live right off the posh motomachi shopping street, you have quite a few cafe options at your fingertips (this was told to me). so, when i head out to meet a new friend, kaoris was a good option.

kaoris is part bakery, part cafe. so if you're looking for a cute place to grab a bit to eat or just wanting something to take on the road (aka to eat once you get to your destination. apparently, it's rude to eat en route here), put kaoris on your list!

kaoris doesn't have a large menu, but the dishes they were serving all looked delicious. fresh ingredients for yummy dishes, comfortable environment ... a great experience!

while i went solo this time. that said, there was a table with a couple of moms and their kids who looked like they were having a good time! it's on my list of places to bring the kiddo <3 span="">

online: http://www.kaoris.com/

costco

costco

2 Chome-6 Sachiura, Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0003

tel: 0570-032-600

what was consumed: hot dog (100% pork here in japan) with lots of sauerkraut (no limit! just a vat of it next to the mustard!) and mustard; matcha and vanilla swirl soft serve.

i love costco. don't judge me. i understand that japanese don't really have the storage/space to buy in bulk; that said, costco is always packed (granted we usually go on the weekends). it's so popular that people will line up before opening time. every time we've been, we've made sure to get to costco at least 30 minutes before opening and yet it's already bustling with people by the time we get there. i don't get it. there will also always be those who are at costco just to ogle at how people will buy "in bulk"; photos are also taken (i sometimes want to as well. i mean, who needs 20 gallons of mac 'n cheese? well, i do, but that's besides the point!). costco is also great for their pre-prepared foods, which, in the case of japan, includes platters of sushi.

i will also note that the costco i've been to in korea, and now in japan, have at least one item on the menu that is a reflection of the local culture. in japan, it's the matcha soft serve. they took it off the menu for a little bit, but then brought it back. yay! the line for food is often 30+ people deep, even at 10:30am. you can bet that we've stood in that line. i can't not!

online: https://www.costco.co.jp/

時遊陣

時遊陣
address: 〒231-0861 神奈川県横浜市中区元町３丁目141
(3-chōme-141 Motomachi, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0861)tel: 045-641-2224

what was consumed: washoku (aka japanese food). as we couldn't read the menu (and still can't read many japanese menus for that matter :/ ...) we asked for recommendations and then took them all. we had sashimi, roasted dry fish, shu mai, chicken wings ... and it was all pretty yummy.

first meal (out) in japan!

i've been looking forward to eating in japan. with some new additions/changes in my life, however, eating out had taken a back seat over the last 6-ish months (and from here out on, child-friendly dining options are going to become the norm). that doesn't mean we can't have good food, though, right? right.

soon after arriving, while MIL was still in town, we got our first chance to go out and eat in yokohama. BJL and i met up with our colleague friend who arrived in yokohama a few months earlier than we did. we told her, "dealer's choice," and suggested we go anywhere she hadn't been. so, by chance, we ended up at 時遊陣.

時遊陣 isn't on the main motomachi road; rather, it's on a side street of a side street. like many washoku places, they have a bar and just a few tables. the server spoke some english, but they didn't have an english menu. in japanese, we asked for recommendations, but the server responded with a few words in broken english until all of us told him that japanese was ok (this is usually how it goes). 

a good first go at eating out in japan, imo. and when we saw some salarymen/women enter, we were reassured that our selection was legit (haha).

online: http://www.m-jiyujin.com/