I love Japan but....

MikeH said:
Which by the way is an allergy totally unknown in Japan. They compensate by having allergy to rice! :eek:

Though I have no idea why gluten became the fashion thing to be allergic to. The real gluten intolerance can kill you, especially when it was still totally unknown and people would give you porridge if you had stomach problems...
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I do have a friend who is really allergic to gluten. I've seen what happens when she accidentally eats just a little gluten, it's not a pretty sight.

Then I have a lot of friends who think they are allergic to gluten who I want to smack over the head.
 
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impish said:
Then I have a lot of friends who think they are allergic to gluten who I want to smack over the head.
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Amen, brother. I have one friend who has the worst form, he is basically close to a bread and gets horrible rash. One of my close relatives has it too and almost died before they figured out what it was. Had a piece of my stomach nipped out to check as it is hereditary but luckily it was OK. Which is good as they now say no beer if you got it.
 
impish said:
I'm not eating that powder based shit. I didn't eat it in the US, I sure as hell am not eating it here.
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May I recommend that you try the Gorgonzola penne at Alfredo's in Hibiya? He uses a very nice picante from, if I recall correctly, the Tuscan region. He doesn't over do it with the fresh cream either as so many of these places do. Tisk tisk. I would pair with a medium bodied Pinot Grigio but that I leave completely up to your no doubt impeccable discretion.
 
impish said:
LOL. I've got a lot of friends who have food allergies. Some of them to fairly common ingredients like onions. Not just the imaginary allergies to gluten. ;-p
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Gluten allergy is getting more common these days (maybe due to better testing).
This is pretty much my problem :/ and it’s a hassle to eat out.
 
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Anna Summer said:
Gluten allergy is getting more common these days (maybe due to better testing).
This is pretty much my problem :/ and it’s a hassle to eat out.
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For Japan, I've found it relatively easy to avoid gluten. I think Sushi restaurant would be gluten free, if you don't dip stuff in the soy sauce.
I always get itchy welts all over body every time I ingest some wheat-based foods ( especially ramen noodles and tempura).
Got a RAST blood test before but it was negative for gluten allergy!? :cautious:
so I dont know what my problem is actually... but a strong antihistamine always works (what doctor recommended too).
 
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I personally dont have a problem with eating in. Eating at a place like that doesn't take one hour, and i dont see the greater benefit of carrying heavy bags and getting foods all messy and smeared around just so you can sit at your dinner table to eat fast food.

Only exception i can think of is wanting to eat while watching tv, which is why delivery is tempting, but still wouldn't be worth carrying around take out foods to me.

Also what is this bikkuri donki? I thought i've seen most chain restaurants but i have never heard of this one.
 
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e-smile said:
that's not a big deal compared to the good point life in Japan has compared to US (or any other country, not trying to bash yours here).
I was expecting worse cases when I read the title. I'm sure there are better examples to be given.
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Exactly. This is Rising Wasabi material: Last week a Gaijin trapped in the deep hinterland ....
 
jhingy567 said:
For Japan, I've found it relatively easy to avoid gluten. I think Sushi restaurant would be gluten free, if you don't dip stuff in the soy sauce.
I always get itchy welts all over body every time I ingest some wheat-based foods ( especially ramen noodles and tempura).
Got a RAST blood test before but it was negative for gluten allergy!? :cautious:
so I dont know what my problem is actually... but a strong antihistamine always works (what doctor recommended too).
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I get it too sometimes. I don't think it is gluten otherwise all of the craft beer I drink would trigger it. I think, for me anyway, it's preservatives or other additives. A half of an Allegra kills the rash in 15 minutes. Allegra is a godsend.
 
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jhingy567 said:
For Japan, I've found it relatively easy to avoid gluten. I think Sushi restaurant would be gluten free, if you don't dip stuff in the soy sauce.
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Exactly why it is not easy to avoid gluten in Japan. As for just a few years ago nobody here even knew about it and they have wheat in everyplace where it's not even needed, including soy sauce.

And the blood test is not conclusive, that's why you need to go and get a piece of your stomach lining taken out for testing. And yes, it feels as great as it sounds.
 
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impish said:
Mac and Cheese from Bikkuri Donki I get there and the hostess asks how many people. I say take out please.
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Famiresu in general don't do a lot of takeout orders - that's not their business model.

If you want to make real mac and cheese at home, most neighbourhoods have a 24 hour grocery store in reach these days, and they all have cheddar and various pastas now, it's not like the old days when there was literally nothing but spaghetti and hokkaido white on the shelves. Getting actual cream may be hit or miss though... that "ホイップ" garbage is just horrible. If you want a treat, try topping it with grated mimolette... just adds a lovely bit of tanginess.
 
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MikeH said:
And here we are happily spending our Sunday taking the piss out of poor @impish and you need to barge in and spoil it all!
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You were too impatient to wait for my next post.　:D
 
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warubuta said:
I get it too sometimes. I don't think it is gluten otherwise all of the craft beer I drink would trigger it. I think, for me anyway, it's preservatives or other additives. A half of an Allegra kills the rash in 15 minutes. Allegra is a godsend.
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Actually beer really flares it up for me, while bread seems ok to eat. weird.
Yes, zyrtec really kills the rash quickly for me too.
 
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jhingy567 said:
why is there a donkey in the name???
do they serve donkey?
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It's a famiresu. They serve donkeys all the time. But apparently don't offer them takeaways. :)
 
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warubuta said:
I get it too sometimes. I don't think it is gluten otherwise all of the craft beer I drink would trigger it.
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There is actually pretty little gluten in beer so you would need to have a quite severe case if it gives you symptoms. Or drink several litres per day every day. Wait, what? Who doesn't?
 
Ken1988 said:
I think it's same at an independent restaurant in Japan. Floor staff can make decisions, and usually they are flexible to meet your requests. Just like delis.

At a franchised restaurant, the scope of services is usually stipulated in the franchise agreement to details. The franchise owner and other staff in the restaurant (mostly arubaito) are bound by the agreement. There is no room for flexibility. That's their business model.

The problem is that Japan just doesn't have anything equivalent to delis, independent, open 24/7, with dictionary-like menu, offer dine-in, take-out. delivery.
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Good point not about the 24 hour deli. But you only have those in big cities anyway. In Japan, after midnight, Ramen or Konbini. The well stocked conbinis now have some pretty good stuff. You probably can't get Mac and cheese but you can probably get a bag of carbonara that tastes reasonably good. And a small bottle of wine to go with it.
jhingy567 said:
Actually beer really flares it up for me, while bread seems ok to eat. weird.
Yes, zyrtec really kills the rash quickly for me too.
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if beer and bread trigger it, then it probably has something to do with gluten.
 
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jhingy567 said:
For Japan, I've found it relatively easy to avoid gluten. I think Sushi restaurant would be gluten free, if you don't dip stuff in the soy sauce.
I always get itchy welts all over body every time I ingest some wheat-based foods ( especially ramen noodles and tempura).
Got a RAST blood test before but it was negative for gluten allergy!? :cautious:
so I dont know what my problem is actually... but a strong antihistamine always works (what doctor recommended too).
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Not entirely true ;) the sushi vinegar can contain wheat sometimes. So you gotta be careful. Wheat is in much more food than you actually think. I once got served mugi gohan even tho me and my Japanese friend communicated with the staff that mugi is no-no.
 
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Sudsy said:
that "ホイップ" garbage is just horrible
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What is that thing anyway? I have looked at it many times in my local store but then always grabbed the double priced real thing next to it. Reading the package they make it sound like real cream but anyone who has lived in Japan more than a week will know that any milk based thing that is decent will cost you an arm, a leg and a kidney so cheap stuff cannot be good.
 
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