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want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
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Lost in Translation?
i feel u on the mystery meat thing, it's usually just processed chicken or pork that's been shaped and seasoned into something that looks way more intimidating than it is. if u want zero guesswork though, skip the bento aisle entirely and hit the curry corner at your 7-11. the beef curry or the pork cutlet curry has a big picture on the front and the meat is literally right there in the tray, no surprises. costs like 500 yen and it's more filling than half the bentos anyway.
also, if ur near nishi-shinjuku, the Family Mart on the other side of the park (the one facing the mode gakuen building) has a cold case with "labelled" stuff, but not english, it's more like they write the meat type in hiragana instead of kanji, so chicken is とり, pork is ぶた, beef is ぎゅう. takes like 20 mins to memorize those three and then u can read most of the konbini bentos anywhere. that's been my move for years, way easier than hunting for english labels that don't exist half the time
Your hotel is right by the Shinjuku Chuo Park, and there's a tiny grocery store called Seijo Ishii across from it. It's pricier than Seven Eleven but every single bento has a full English ingredient sticker on the front, not just the main protein but the additives too. The prepared food section is small, but what they have is usually seasonal and actually labelled, like grilled salmon with visible bones or a clearly named chicken teriyaki. That place is where I go when I want to know exactly what I'm eating without pulling out my phone.
If you want to keep it cheap, the trick is to look for the bentos that show the actual meat in a clear window on the lid. Seven Eleven does this for their "grilled chicken" and "pork ginger" boxes, but the ones with the opaque tops are where the shape-shifting stuff lives. Also, the back label has a tiny allergen chart that lists chicken, pork, beef, and fish in Japanese, but the first character for each is simple enough to match against the front if you're patient. I've been burned by "fried fish cake" that turned out to be squid, so now I just stick to the ones with the visible meat.
The mystery meat is usually one of three things: chicken, pork, or fish that's been processed into a shape that looks like it came from a factory, not an animal. If you want to skip the guessing, head to the basement food floor of Isetan in Shinjuku. The bento boxes there list ingredients in Japanese and English, and they're a step above konbini quality anyway. You'll pay around 1,200 yen instead of 500, but you'll actually know what you're eating. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, just ask a clerk at Seven Eleven to point at the ingredients list on the back. They're usually fine with a quick "kore wa nani?" and it kills the mystery in ten seconds flat.
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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.