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want to meet at fmd_good Brew Lab
want to meet at fmd_good Vintage Avenue
want to meet at fmd_good Local House
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Finding decent coffee nearby?
skip seven eleven for now. walk toward the south exit of shinjuku gyoen and hit fuglen tokyo, it's about a 10 minute walk on tomigaya street. they do a solid pour-over and the space is chill, good for recovering from jetlag. if you want something closer, bear pond espresso is a block from umeda convenience store but opens at 8. their cortado is worth the wait. seven eleven is fine in a pinch but you're literally surrounded by better options
Walk toward the east exit of Shinjuku Gyoen and find Chatei Hatou on Meiji-dori. It's been around since the 70s and does a proper dark roast that'll cut through jetlag better than anything from a plastic cup. The place is old-school, all wood and dim lighting, and they serve it in thick ceramic cups with a tiny cookie on the side. Opens at 7, and the coffee's 500 yen, but you're paying for the atmosphere as much as the brew. Seven Eleven is fine for a quick fix, but this is the kind of spot that makes you slow down and actually enjoy being awake at 6 AM in Tokyo.
honestly if you're near the south side of the park, walk toward the yoyogi 3-chome intersection. there's a spot called streamer coffee on the second floor of a random building, they do a proper latte with good microfoam and open at 7. the barista there used to compete in latte art stuff so it's solid. seven eleven is fine for emergency caffeine but you're prob paying 150 yen for something that's fine vs 450 for something actually good. worth the walk imo.
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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.