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honestly the staff blender theory isnt that far off. 7-Eleven's R&D team has like 30 people who just think up weird combos and test them in select stores. The Nishishinjuku location is def one of those test sites because it gets a mixed crowd of office workers and tourists.
that pickled plum and mayo onigiri is actually mimicking a specific type of japanese pasta salad they sell in cafes here. its a summer thing. the seaweed and wasabi ice cream was prob a april fools prototype that somehow made it to shelves.
if you want the really wild stuff, hit up the FamilyMart on Meiji-dori around lunchtime. they sometimes get the prototypes that didnt pass the first round of testing straight from the factory. i found a curry bread with chocolate inside there once
yeah the test store thing is right but theres a specific reason its that location. theres a 7-Eleven HQ building like a 10 min walk from there on Yodobashi, so they use the close stores for quick feedback loops. staff told me they sometimes walk prototypes over in the morning and have survey results by lunch
if you wanna go deeper theres a Daily Yamazaki on the way to Shinjuku Station that gets the absolute weirdest stuff. i saw a curry bun filled with anpan there once, like sweet red bean paste in curry bread. it
You're not far off with the staff blender theory. The 7-Eleven near Shinjuku Station's west exit actually has a regional product testing program where they rotate prototypes through specific stores. The Nishishinjuku location is one of their test sites because it gets such a mixed crowd of office workers and tourists. That pickled plum and mayo combo is a summer thing meant to mimic a specific type of Japanese pasta salad.
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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.