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want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
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Finding good onigiri?
ngl you're overthinking the konbini thing. that 7-Eleven's onigiri are designed to sit on a shelf for 48 hours, they're never gonna blow your mind. if you're dead set on a convenience store, the mini-stop up past the shinjuku post office does a weirdly good salmon skin onigiri that they microwave for you. but honestly just cross the street to the basement of the shinjuku alta building, there's a counter that only does onigiri and they use akitakomachi rice, the kombu one has actual strands of seaweed in it not that paste stuff. costs like 280 yen and they wrap it while you wait
The 7-Eleven near the station's west exit is one of the biggest in Tokyo, but the onigiri there are usually the standard factory stuff. Walk toward Yotsuya instead and you'll find a FamilyMart with a hot food counter that does their own onigiri with grilled salmon and shio kombu. If you have time, the Shinjuku Gyoen area has a few lunch places that press them to order, the one on the corner near the park's back gate does a really good spicy cod roe version.
honestly the trick with konbini onigiri is checking the little stickers that say "this store's original" or "local favorite" cause those are actually made in a local factory not the mass ones. the shinjuku tokyu hands basement has a better selection though, they make them fresh throughout the day and the mentaiko one is legit. also if u walk toward kabukicho there's a tiny shop called onigiri asakusa that only does onigiri, they'll even grill it for u if u ask
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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.