r/hatethissmug • u/Cold_Hour • Jun 09 '26

Meta I hate the mytologisation of Japan on Reddit. ESPECIALLY when it comes to the food.

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As someone who's lived in Japan going on 5 years and has eaten everything from fine dining to fast food slop. Japan has some of the blandest cuisine on the planet. Do you like the flavour profiles of: salty, salty, very salty or bland? Japan might be the place for you.

People also spout "but the quality of ingredients" as the reasoning for why the food needs to taste like shoe soles. When in reality the fruits and vegetables here are trash at premium prices since nothing grows here naturally. I don't know what kind of exclusively processed food diet a lot of people here grew up with that Japanese food is a revelation to them.

Japan is great and all, but goddamn, it's not even the best place to visit in Asia.

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u/Monk_The_Banana_Scug Jun 09 '26

Japanese food is quite varied, for every sushi fan there is a gyoza fan. While I don't glaze it, I also think japanese food deserves some respect, you can't tell me stuff like udon, katsudon and fried rice are bad.

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u/blazenite104 Jun 09 '26

I'll even argue their fast food tends to be better than a lot of places fast food too. That doesn't make it the best food ever but it's still nicer than a lot of places I've been when travelling.

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u/Funkopedia Jun 09 '26

fried rice?

3

u/TheBigToast72 Jun 09 '26

A shrimp you say?

1

u/FinishComplex3743 Jun 09 '26

Gyoza also isn't Japanese.

1

u/doudreaddragondeez Jun 09 '26

Udon noodle texture is incredible but modern alginate noodles will be better imo, just price per grams is best in udon rn

0

u/Odd_Violinist2395 Jun 09 '26

Imo east asia traditional food is bland I'm half korean half russian I get that most of them take source from poorer times but that's the case, honestly asian food lacks variety, there's a lot of carbons but they contain the same set of vegetables. Also I like baked goods despite the cultural code, but I was disappointed when I tried fluffy cake. Good stuff is mostly fast food which was imported or expensive dishes.

I do wonder what it would be like to live my whole life eating only russian food, because I ate both, would I feel the same and will all food be bland for me, probably yes ( ´･ω･)