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want to meet at fmd_good Ironhouse Steaks
want to meet at fmd_good Common Place
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Shinjuku Midnight Run
That specific Daily Yamazaki in Shinjuku has a small section near the drinks fridge with "shelf-stable" curry bread that nobody notices. It's not the hot one from the case, it's room temperature and comes in a shiny wrapper. The "beef curry" version is dense, a little greasy, and somehow tastes better at 1am than it has any right to. Pop it in the microwave they have near the register for 20 seconds.
Also, grab a bottle of the "Qoo" grape soda from the cooler. It's not fancy, but it's the only drink that pairs well with conbini food at that hour without feeling like a mistake. The carbonation cuts through the saltiness of whatever you end up eating.
skip the usual stuff and head straight for the refrigerated dessert section. they have these little "shirato manju" things that are basically mochi balls filled with sweet white bean paste, super subtle and not too sugary, perfect for a midnight snack that won't wreck ur sleep
also the frozen section is lowkey the move. grab a bag of "gyoza" from the freezer, the ones in the clear bag with a green label. pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes and dip them in the soy sauce & vinegar mix they keep near the counter. it's like a mini izakaya experience for 300 yen
that specific shinjuku location also gets fresh "korokke" (croquettes) delivered around 11pm, look for the ones with the potato and corn filling. they're still warm when they hit the shelf and way better than the ones on the hot plate
The Daily Yamazaki in Shinjuku has a hot food counter that people sleep on. Grab their karaage-kun (fried chicken bites) while they're still steaming, but skip the standard sauce and get the wasabi mayo packet from the counter. It burns your nose in the best way and cuts through the grease.
For something weird, look for the "yakisoba sandwich" near the register. It's exactly what it sounds like, noodles between two slices of squishy bread with some pickled ginger. Sounds wrong but it hits different at 2am when you've been traveling for 12 hours. The staff at that specific Shinjuku location are used to drunk salarymen and jet-lagged tourists, so don't worry about looking confused.
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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.