Category Archives: Fun Facts

Lawsons and Yahoo! Deliver Food

Could the Kwik-E-Mart work a deal out with Mapple for the Springfield community on this? (Yes, those are both fictional Simpsons analogs to the following article)

The major chain Japanese convenience store (which actually got its start in Ohio, USA) Lawson has teamed up with Yahoo! Japan to make dinners easier for families. Instead of running to the convenience store for pre-packaged sandwiches (which you can still do) or a box of Hamburger Helper (which I can’t find proof of existing in Japan), the two companies have combined their forces to deliver fresh food to your house.

What’s so special about that? Pizzas, asian food, and more have been deliver staples for years.

The “Smart Kitchen” program delivers the ingredients, not the finished product. Covering Japanese, Western, and Chinese varieties, the freely-delivered dishes range from simple bread and pastries to creative and advanced dishes such as sweet-and-sour pork in black vinegar sauce and lobster with broccoli. Basically, all the ingredients and sauces you need are included, so you just need the pan, dishes, and 10 minutes (for the “Authentic Home Cooking In 10 Minutes” line) to have a freshly-made meal.

Until March 11th, families (or single people; there’s no discrimination) can order a “test kit” of sweet-and-sour pork chop suey and hamburger is available for 980 yen, instead of 2000 yen, RocketNews24 reports.

While Lawson got its start in America, it’s been Japan focused since. In 2012, it started opening up branches in Hawaii. Maybe American will be able to get a taste of the Smart Kitchen soon enough.… Read the rest

Australia’s Take On: McDonald’s

We’ve taken a look at how Japan handles McDonald’s in two different articles. For Japan, it’s an interesting look; the language is different (but with enough embracement of English that you can navigate safely and sanely), but the cuisine is largely removed from ours. In many cases, a burger might include buns and lettuce, but a shrimp croquette instead of a beef patty isn’t out of the question.

Australia, on the other hand, should be easier to understand, right? Same language, similar cultures.

Breakfast

A Boston Deli Bagel includes guacamole on top of “bacon” (ham) and egg. We all know how well Boston’s known for it’s guacamole, right? The NYC Breakfast Bagel throws in hollandaise sauce. Their Bakehouse Brekkie Roll has normal ingredients, outside of the hash brown patty and onion relish tossed on (the same is put in a tortilla wrap with BBQ sauce). Everything else on the breakfast menu is is normal, outside of actually selling just a simple English muffin. Yes, you can get Vegemite on it if you want.

Lunch/Dinner

The McChicken might be a slightly different recipe, as it’s advertised in a “seasoned  tempura coating” and with McChicken Sauce (just mayo in the States). The “Grand” line includes Angus patties and seared chicken, and the variety of wraps include tandoori and chilli seasonings.

Drinks And Sweets

They’re all largely the same, with the main differences being black or white tea, or different brands, when it comes to drinks. Sweets go a little overboard with the McFlurry, having Caramel Cookie, Double Choc Fudge, and Bubblegum Squash (with no actual squash, thankfully).

Serving Differences

Here’s what brought this article into consideration. While the menu may be mostly the same, or at least recognizable, the culture is a little skewed. McDonald’s generally-accepted nickname in the country has bee … Read the rest

Twitter Thursday: The Daily Bugle’s Own J. Jonah Jameson

Publisher J. Jonah Jameson has made a name for himself as the most outspoken opponent of New York City’s Spider-Man, undecided on if he’s a “threat or menace”.

Still, the newspaper maestro lives in one city that has a unique food culture. We’ve gathered some of his tweets regarding food in the Big Apple, to get a look inside the lunch-life and more of Marvel’s (parody of) J. Jonah Jameson.

Japan’s Take On: KFC

Japan has a very special relationship with KFC.

We’ve already covered their obsession with the chain when it comes to Christmas. We could go into the legend of the “Curse of the Colonel” placed on the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. One thing to know that KFCs (still called “Kentucky Fried Chicken” in the country) feature a statue of the Colonel outside of the restaurant, which is occasionally dressed up like any sort of animated characters (such as Luffy of One Piece, or the Evangelion units of Neon Genesis Evangelion).

Forget the Double Down. The sandwich that was widely considered over-the-top for including two fried chicken breasts as the bun of the sandwich has followed to Japan with it’s Kentucky Chicken Rice relative. Instead of bacon in the center, you now have a rice patty. Sauces are both ketchup and mayo.

There’s also what appears to be a fried rice ball with soy sauce available as a side.

Everything else?

Well, it appears to be largely the same. There’s nothing truly odd here; biscuits, standard assortment of sides, fried chicken, grilled chicken, it’s all the norm.

So, we’ve come back to the statue of Colonel Sanders. It’s the lone thing that stands out for this franchise in this country. RocketNews24 has a gallery of various Colonel costumes, and even news that he’s dressed like Goku from Dragonball Z.

No idea on what Harlan Sanders would think of being dressed up like a maid, giant monster, or alien superhero.… Read the rest

France’s Take On: Domino’s

Domino’s in France has gained a bit of attention for their unique Sweet Chevre Pizza (more on that later), but how far off from the real thing can they really be? Pizza comes from Italy, after all, and that’s only a neighbor of France. Still, the authentic Domino’s experience comes from America (and a, certainly odd, Domino’s experience comes from Japan); could you, minus the language barrier, get a pizza you’d be happy with in France if you only liked American iterations?

The Main Dishes

Obviously, if you’re going to Domino’s, you want pizza (despite how much they push their sandwiches in recent years). From the looks of it, their pizzas are the same as any other country’s mass-produced pies. Crust, sauce, and toppings. The specialty pizzas they’re currently selling might catch your eye, though.

  • Sweet Goat (the aforementioned “Sweet Chevre”) combines light cream, mozzarella, goat cheese, smoked bacon, onions, and honey.
  • Fisherman goes for a tomato sauce, mozzarella, onions, black olives, and light fresh cream, but tosses tuna as a topping.
  • Margherita Emmental is really a basic margherita pizza, with emmental cheese. France does love its varieties of cheeses.
  • The Savoyarde (which keeps wanting to sound like a meaty variation on “Gatorade”) tries light cream, mozzarella, smoked bacon, reblochon, and potatoes. Authentic reblochon is actually banned in the United States due to cheese regulations, but at a quick glance, this pizza sounds reminiscent of the baked potato pizza you can find at Stevi B’s.
  • Saumonetä throws light cream, mozzarella, onions, potatoes, and dill together, bringing smoked salmon into the mix as the protein.
  • A four cheese pizza in America might consist of mozzarella, provolone, romano, and cheddar. In France, it’s mozzarella, goat cheese, emmental, and fourme d’ambert.

Sides, Salads, Sandwiches

Here’s where the “McNugget”-ization comes in. “Chickenitos” appear … Read the rest

Twitter Thursday: Giada De Laurentiis

The Food Network hostess is an Emmy-award winner, product designer, and fervent Tweeter. She covers behind the scenes elements, recipes, and things she finds interesting on Pinterest. We’ve gone through some of her recent entertaining looks into the food world.

… Read the rest

The Big Game’s Big Ads

The big game which shall not be named aired this weekend, and one set of millionaires beat another team of millionaires, all while people watched commercials that cost up to $4 million to air.

Naturally, we’ve compiled all the food-related ones for you in this post.


SodaStream had two commercials ready.This one went unaired…


… while this one aired.


In certain markets, Will Ferrel continued his odd obsession with Old Milwaukee beer.


The Rock promised to get milk for three little girls. Note: Only one of those kids could be his.


Becks Sapphire features a singing fish? Okay.


We start with one Doritos commercial made by fans, featuring a dad in a dress.


Followed by another Doritos commercial starring a goat


Tracey Morgan, fresh off of 30 Rock, promotes MiO Fit.


Budweiser launches Black Crown…


… while traditional Budweiser shows the lief of a clydesdale…


… and Bud Light goes on a journey.


Psy cracks some pistachios.


An argument about Oreos quietly escalates…


… much like a chase for Coca-Cola.


The red M&M would do anything for love (but he won’t do that)…


… while Redd’s Apple Ale promotes a different kind of drink.


At the end of the day, Taco Bell laughs the night away.… Read the rest