Admittedly, Jordi and I have been hitting McDonald’s more frequently than in the past. For us, it is comforting to find food that we know, understand, and can identify…and no, it is not so healthy, but we do get a happy feeling that only McDonald’s fries can supply. (By the way, frequently is about once every two weeks, so no worries, Mom.)
Fast food is fairly abundant here in Tokyo – some places are familiar, like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Subway. Though even these familiar friends have their Japanese twist. McDonald’s features a cheeseburger with a half-cooked egg on top, along with a shiny plasticky orange sauce. Wendy’s has an eggplant-tomato topped burger. 
And no Frosty!!!!!! Criminal. What am I supposed to dip my fries in? Plain ketchup? Of course, the standards are pretty much there as well. And happily, they taste exactly the same.
Other fast-food joints are more Japanese, with their wares showcased in the restaurant windows as not terribly appetizing plastic displays. And most have some sort of fried pork cutlet component or barely cooked egg (seriously, don’t they have salmonella here?) as a major ingredient…hence, our visits to Mickey D’s when we are out and about. No raw eggs when you’re prego! And for me at least – no fried pork cutlets ever. Blech.
Upon arrival, we had several odd adventures eating Japanese fast food, but being unable to identify all the ingredien
ts, and neither being fans of undercooked eggs, either here, there, or anywhere (eeeew, slimy), we now rarely venture beyond tempura, sushi, and bowls of noodle soup. We did have a couple of good laughs at some of the meals we ordered…sometimes, when food is selected from a plastic showcase it can be misinterpreted – and let’s just leave it at that.
They even have Denny’s restaurants here. I was so anticipating a Moons Over My Hammy sandwich yesterday, that I practically ran up the stairs…only to discover that Denny’s Japan is not quite the same.
They do not serve breakfast all day.
No Pancakes!
No diner food whatsoever…
On the menu? Pork cutlets. Undercooked eggs. Rice.
I did not get my Moons Over My Hammy. But I did have a salad with big delicious chunks of avocado. A bonus: thankfully, the egg in the salad was cooked.
The bacon which sat atop said salad? Not cooked. Raw bacon? Haven’t they heard of E. Coli? Trichinosis? Fire?
At least it wasn’t a pork cutlet.
That would have really sent me over the edge.
You are missing out! You need to go to Mos Burger.