Dine Wherever

$5.50 Sometimes getting stuck in traffic during the crazy commute from work means I don't get to grab my favorite dinner from the supermarket. Last night, I couldn't find any more of my favorite Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl in the cooked food section at my favorite Japanese grocery store . I was so distressed because I really love that rice bowl.  This item was sold out at all spice levels!  Mild, Medium, & Hot were all gone!  So I had to step out of my comfort zone to try a rice bowl that I never had before, which was the Mapo Eggplant Rice Bowl. It was made of a bowl of steam white Japanese rice, topped with pieces of eggplant, cooked in a spicy minced pork sauce.  I got one at the "Mild" spice level and it was just as good as my usual favorite, the Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl.  I like both type of rice bowls the same.  I'm happy that my taste bud was rewarded for trying something new.

$5.55 + Tax The restaurants where I want to go are all having ridiculously long lines during the weekends.  I'm not sure if it's the case in the entire country, but the economy seems to be real good (meaning more people seem to have the money to eat out these days), since many restaurants where I drove by tonight were all packed and had long lines outside the doors.  To avoid the crowd,  I went to the Japanese supermarket's deli section to pick up my beloved Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl to dine-in at home.  I'd love to go to a restaurant tonight, but I just have no patience to stand in line for a table.  This Mapo Tofu Rice bowl from the deli fridge is quite good. I love the "Mild" flavor the best because I find the "Medium" spice level quite hot, and the "HOT" flavor just too unbearably hot for me. Mapo Tofu is one of those Chinese dishes that the Japanese people love so much that it became one of the popular dishes in Japanese cooking.  Th...