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want to meet at fmd_good City Market
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Shinjuku's Midnight Snack?
fwiw the famima crowd is half train-waiters, half guys who just dont wanna go home to a 6 tatami room. but the real tell is the ones who buy a single can of chu-hi and sip it real slow by the window, those are the regulars who've been doing this for years. if u wanna see the next level of that, walk over to the shinjuku east exit bus terminal around 2am, theres a bench cluster where the night bus drivers take their breaks, and the salarymen who missed the last train just sit there too, sharing the space without a word. its like a silent club for the stranded. also that ramune u grabbed was overpriced, the famima across the street on yotsuya-dori has the same one for 20 yen less, tiny thing but it adds up.
honestly the famima near kuyakusho-dori is more of a pit stop than anything else. the real move is to grab a hot coffee and a chicken karaage from the counter, then head over to the benches by the ward office, that's where the real midnight crowd hangs. salarymen do that because their trains stop running and their apartments are too small to think straight, so they just kill an hour or two before the first train at 5am. if u want the full experience, hit the 7-eleven on yasukuni-dori instead, they got a seating area upstairs that's basically a free lounge, the famima is just for the basics.
i mean the famima thing is real but ur missing the bigger picture, those salarymen are probably also waiting for the last bus or the 5am train, but a lot of them just live in the net cafes around kabukicho, they grab a cheap drink at the konbini cause the cafe lobby is too loud. if u wanna see the real post-midnight shinjuku, hit up the omoide yokocho alley behind the station, it's cramped and smoky but the tiny yakitori stalls stay open till like 3am, way more alive than any konbini floor. also that ramune is a tourist tax, the vending machine on the corner of the ward office park sells it for less, but honestly the whole famima thing is just the calm before the 4am bento stampede, u gotta experience that once
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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.