Now THIS is what I call fast food....

The Bento Box: (or, the OBento as it is often called on the label of the box) Japan has answered the prayers of train travellers throughout the western world. Be gone stingy sandwich with the filling only down the centre on view. Good riddance over priced glutinous pasties and the guilt ridden remainder of the journey. Hello, fresh, healthy, delicious meals all ready to be tucked in to on your next train journey.

We boarded the Shinkansen bullet train and lifted the lid. Smiles all round... G's box contained: various styles of rice; octopus tentacles better than any we'd sampled over the last two weeks; teriyaki beef; baked salmon; stir fried vegetables; katsu (breaded) potato cake; beef dumplings AND pretty pink radish things... all for Y750. Even better, it sent a brewing hangover in to oblivion and kept the hunger at bay for a good 6 hours.

The only down side to experiencing the delights of a Bento Box? I know the next time I'm standing on the station concourse having to choose from The Pasty Co, Subway and Burger King a little pang of withering gloom will set in and I'll start wondering why a flight to Japan has to cost so much... and certainly too much to pick up lunch.

Okonomiyaki

A major reason of my desire to travel to Japan was because I'd heard it was a food lover's paradise... and I have certainly had that claim vouched for. It seems that every area we visited over the three weeks had its own speciality and for the city and environs of Hiroshima, one special dish is okonomiyaki (translated, it literally means "what you like...").

This dish is cooked on a hot plate in front of you, or perhaps to one side depending on how busy the place is, and you allow it to continue cooking as you serve up slices with your own griddle slicer thingy (!). It's a carbo loaded hit of noodles and pancake with egg, vegetables and seafood served in a stack, all melting together.

Cook your own...

Step 1: cook a thin pancake on one side, and fry off grated cabbage, spring onion on another section of your hot plate. Meanwhile, also fry off the cooked noodles on another section of your hotplate. Make sure all the piles measure the same circumference because they're going to be stacked on top of eachother.

Step 2: create a stack: pancake on the bottom, vegetables as the next layer, then put the (now well cooked) noodles on top.

Step 3: whisk up your egg mix (making sure you include additional flavourings e.g. tiny chopped onion / spring onion / pepper) and create the omelette layer. Meanwhile, get your meat / seafood on the griddle and stir it in to the egg.

Step 4: all cooked. Stack the egg and seafood mixture on top of the noodleyveggiepancake and serve... remaining on the griddle.

Enjoy with plenty of soy sauce. Filling, tasty and easily adaptable to suit your tastes.