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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
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Motomachi Madness?
The frozen section is where the real chaos lives. Grab a bag of the shiso leaf wrapped mochi, it's bright purple and tastes like a grassy flower that's been stuffed with sweet bean paste. For something that'll really make people squirm, find the individually packaged whole baby octopus in soy sauce marinade, they're about the size of your thumb and you eat them head first. The texture is like a bouncy gummy bear that's been left in the sun.
I'd skip the main aisles and head straight to the back wall near the registers. That's where they keep the seasonal and regional oddities that don't sell well. Last time I found a bag of squid jerky flavored like yuzu kosho, which is a citrus chili paste usually used in hot pots. It was sour, spicy, and chewy all at once. Also grab a tin of the fermented soybean candy if you see it. It smells like feet but tastes like salty caramel, and it'll definitely freak out your friends back home.
dont sleep on the weird drink vending machines they have right by the entrance, some of them arent even in japanese. i grabbed a can of something called "black thunder soda" which was basically cola with chunks of chocolate bar floating in it, tasted like a melted dessert that gave up. also the candy aisle has these little packets of "umeboshi hard candy" that look innocent but hit u with a sour salt punch that makes ur whole face cave in, perfect for shocking ur friends if they try one
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.