Quick Japan-fixes in London

I spent the day in London yesterday because I had some meetings at recruitment agencies (still no job… sigh). While I was there, I took the opportunity to get some quick Japan-fixes…

First, I accidentally ordered a Matcha Chiller in Eat.

I know, I know. How can you “accidentally” order something?! Well, I was thinking “mocha”, but said “matcha”, and it wasn’t until I saw the green powder going into the blender that I realised they actually sold matcha (green tea) drinks! I was thrilled! I later went to another Eat store and tried the matcha latte. 🙂 Both drinks are just as good as the Starbucks versions in Japan, and they even offer skimmed milk or soy milk, if you like that sort of thing.

At lunch time, I stopped by Itsu and tried one of their rice bowls.

It was really delicious, but I think it had more flavour than most Japanese food. I guess it might be what you would call Asian-fusion, rather than Japanese. To be fair, they don’t claim to be a Japanese restaurant. Itsu serves a whole range of rice, noodles, sushi etc, so I think I’ll be back to check out some more dishes another time.

During the afternoon I found myself in Piccadilly Circus, so I had to stop by the Japan Centre…

It was wonderful to be in such a familiar environment, and to hear a lot of Japanese being spoken. I even tried asking for something in Japanese, and the shop clerk didn’t bat an eyelid at this strange British girl speaking Japanese! I bought a few things just to satisfy my cravings:

Next to the Japan Centre, there is a Mitsukoshi department store:

It seems so strange to see this in the middle of Regent Street!

I know there are a lot of really good Japanese restaurants in London, and I plan on visiting them at some point and writing about them here. But yesterday I didn’t have the time or energy, so I ended my day back in Victoria Station at Wasabi.

Wasabi is, in my opinion, really good for what it is. This particular one is just a small stand where you can buy take-away sushi and some hot dishes. I bought sushi, onigiri, miso soup and green tea, and I thought everything tasted great. The sushi was the freshest I have eaten since I’ve been back in the UK, and it made my train journey home a lot more bearable!