Top Stories - Food & Drink

Japanese whisky makers scooped two of the top three awards for Scottish-style whisky at the 2010 World Whisky Awards.

In Japan, chibi means “small” or “cute,” tai means “sea bream,” and yaki means “grilled” ― typically waffle pastries filled with sweet azuki bean paste. Regular flavors for Sweet Breams’ fish-shaped cuties include azuki, vanilla custard, chocolate, Nutella, peanut butter (see secret menu link after the jump), and the special Catch of the Week.

With hundreds of insane flavor combinations available, Japanese Kit Kats have transcended their original candy bar existence to become a living metaphor for the absurdity of Japan's consumer marketplace. The economy may be sour, the tech lead may have disappeared and the population may be shrinking, but as long as there is a wasabi flavored Kit Kat, Japan can still claim a super advanced culture.

A list of ten tasty traditional-style Japanese cuisine that are a must try when travelling in Japan.

A beef bowl is called “gyudon” in Japanese. “Gyu” means beef and don is short for “donburi” which is food served on top of rice in a bowl. There are many gyudon restaurants in Japan and it is very popular, especially for men. It’s kind of like fast food, but much healthier. Many gyudon restaurants are open for 24 hours, and men typically go there after a night of drinking.

Waitresses wield swords and flare flames at diners, who have to get past a moat before sitting at their table in the dimly lit dining hall.

The same customers are also encouraged to take photos with the warrior-like waitresses, who dress in black or red to look like ninjas in keeping with the theme of a dark but lively restaurant that opened last month in Taiwan’s capital.

Japanese cake, so delicious, so exquisite looking, so finely crafted... and so light it will blow away in a gentle breeze.
Excuse me all cake shops and cake makers in Japan, where does one go if one is craving a large, heavy slab of North American style cake with frosting so sweet that one piece will rot your guts out? Nowhere you say? Pity....

Nestle has given one of the most popular and long-established chocolate bars in the world a uniquely Japanese make-over.

Kit Kat bars are now available in 19 new flavours that reflect specialities from regions across Japan, ranging from sweet potatoes from Okinawa to melons from Hokkaido, strawberries from Tochigi, green tea from Kyoto and soy sauce from Tokyo.

If you’re in Harajuku and looking for a place to eat lunch, Shakey’s might be an interesting place to visit.

Many an amateur chef has tasted a dish only to declare that something is missing.

What follows is the inevitable excursion through the larder looking for that magic ingredient.

But the days of this culinary lottery appear to be numbered as a substance first known only to science – bottled ‘deliciousness’ – is coming to the High Street.

A collection of 10 weird and wacky (and sometimes WTF) Japanese foods.

So the other day I did a conbini run to the 7-11 around the corner from my house and came across a few interesting seasonal items. If you’ve spent any time in Japan at all, you’re probably well acquainted with the fact that Japanese marketing departments LOVE seasonal items.

I love Fruit Loops... and I wonder why Japan does not.

This season you can find sushi, beer, curry, green tea, shochu, and baseball in their chocolate incarnations.

A variety of Japan’s tastes and trends are made into “cho-co” versions for the Valentines Day boom.

Suntory, the nation's top whisky distiller, hopes to make 2010 the year of whisky and chocolate. It's not a new idea, but it's a great idea for a company looking for more ladies to sip single malts.