I love Japanese food. And I love Monty Python. But the two can never blend.

So when one blogger sent a URL describing Spam onigiri, I naturally launched into Monty Python's immortal "Spam Sketch" (Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam!....) while simultaneously dreaming about the taste of those glorious triangles of rice Japanese eat for lunch...until I stopped short.

It's a well-known fact that everything tastes better on a stick -- corn, hotdogs, even apples. So it's hardly surprising that an American following has developed for yakitori, a Japanese dish consisting of chicken on a stick.

Since my family supports a sexist coming-of-age tradition in which the grandsons accompany my grandfather to Japan for their 13th birthdays, I've been hearing about the glory of yakitori for years from my two younger brothers. Now, yakitori houses have cropped up across the east coast, offering sweet variations on this traditionally grilled chicken delight. Try hit restaurant Yakitori Totto's in NYC for chicken gizzard or newly-opened Yakitori Boy in Philadelphia for chicken meatballs.

Or, stick some meat on a stick with a scallion and fire up the grill. Check out the recipe after the jump from Japanese Lifestyle to get started.

For some reason these bouncing baby bags of rice make Western style birth announcements seem a tad impersonal. Talk about bundles of joy. These dakigokochi, or baby-shaped bags of rice personalized with a picture of their respective newborns, weigh just as much as the infants whose arrival the text announces.

Dakigokochi are far from being an age-old Japanese tradition. They were, ahem, conceived by Naruo Ono and his wife, Yukiko, who own the Yoshimiya rice shop in Kita-Kyushu. The popularity of the pair's wedding favor – a packet of rice, adorned with a picture of the happy couple – inspired them to create the unusual birth announcement. Even though their own son, Sota, is now four months old, the Onos haven't had a chance to send out their own dakigokochi. Guess they've been too busy fulfilling orders for other proud parents.

[via Boing Boing]

Disposable chopsticks have never been thought of glamorous. And there's almost always a problem getting the wooden utensils to break cleanly at the seam. Despite their decidedly downscale image, one Japanese company has given the sticks a luxe makeover. No, they haven't been iced out by Jacob the Jeweler. Kinbashi Gold Chopsticks have a small amount of edible gold leaf between their tips. Crack them apart and even the lamest takeout sushi becomes a grand affair. Well, not really, but at least you'll have gold leaf falling on top of your lame sushi. At ¥4,515, or $40 for two five-packs, they're not terribly expensive. Nevertheless, I fail to see the point. Then again I've never quite understood Goldschläger either.

[via Trends in Japan]

Now that summer, with all its attendant heat and humidity, is in full swing in New York City, I often find myself indulging in foods that I like to refer to as edible A.C. This includes everything from such main dishes as cold soba noodles and Korean naeng myun to desserts, like Taiwanese shaved ice, various types of psychedelic colored Indonesian ices and the ubiquitous Italian ice.

I admit some sheepishly that I've never cooled down with kakigori, or Japan's contribution to the world of sweet shaved ice desserts. And I've certainly never tried Champagne Kakigori mainly because it was only invented just this summer in Tokyo.

Maxim's de Paris, a posh spot in Chuo makes its version of this decidely adult snocone by starting with shaved ice mixed with fruit and herb extracts. Then the bartender tops it off with what I'm hoping for $18 a pop turns out to be a goodly pour of Dom Perignon.

[via Inventor Spot]

Given my love of Japanese food, and my belief in the restorative powers of slurping down a steaming bowl of authentic ramen, I'm surprised that it took so long for me to happen upon Rameniac. I like to think of this site not as a resource but as the Rosetta Stone of ramen. Given that it lists 22 ramen styles ranging from the country's south all the way to Hokkaido all laid out on a map with links color-coded by soup base (miso, shoyu, shio, etc.), I don't think I'm exaggerating terribly much. There's also a section aptly titled "drooling" that reviews 15 ramenyas, some in Japan and some in the States. Add to that nine reviews of instant ramen, and all of sudden I'm craving a hot bowl of the stuff, even if it is practically August.

By the way the photo above is a bowl of shiromaru, or white sea ramen, from Hakata Ippudo, a chain with several locations in Japan as well as abroad. It's a pork bone soup with thin noodles, chopped green onion, luscious slices of pork and wood-ear mushrooms. This ramen is a specialty of Fukuoka. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be heading out to New York City's East Village for some soup in the very near future, as in the next 30 minutes.

Just because I've gotten out of the big city to spend a week chilling out in Maine with my good buddy Jonathan doesn't mean that I don't still hanker for strange Midnight Snacks. Today's is pretty strange: Gorira no hanakuso.

It doesn't take terribly much knowledge of Japanese to realize that the name of this stuff translates to "gorilla boogers." After much laughter from Yuki, a line cook at Suzuki's Sushi in Rockland, my theory was confirmed. She also told me that the green legend on the right side of the package reads something to the effect of "It's so healthy, be careful not to eat too much."

The idea of slurping ramen in zero gravity makes me chuckle. I imagine strands of noodles floating around a space capsule while Strauss plays. Clearly that's not the image that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had in mind when it approved 29 foods for use in space earlier this week.

JAXA's spaceworthy menu includes instant ramen noodles, curry, onigiri rice balls, powdered green tea and mackerel in miso sauce. All of the products had to meet the stringent standards of the International Space Station, which include packaging capable of withstanding drastic changes in air pressure and temperature. JAXA hopes that astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will be stationed at the ISS starting in fall of 2008 will get to enjoy the new Japanese space cuisine. Too bad sake and natto did not make the menu.

Today's Hamburger of the Day is the second to come to us from Japan. The first was the MOS Burger. In the interest of fairness, I thought I'd give Japan's No. 1 burger chain a little time, too. Well, not really, I'm only writing about McDonald's Tamago Double Mac because I happened upon it on Will Work For Food.

I don't know if there's a Big Mac type jingle for this protein-packed burger, but if there is, I'd like think it goes something like this: "Two all beef patties, cheese, bacon, tamago, special sauce on a sesame seed bun." Hmm...that doesn't seem to scan as well as the original lyric, probably because there are no veggies. In this case, the tamago takes the form of a fried egg. Seems Marshall Astor isn't the only one out there who likes to top ground beef with fried eggs. For the record, the Tamago Double Mac is only slightly less excessive than Chef Astor's Mega Hamburger One. [via Tastespotting]

I must admit that I've never really understood or enjoyed mochi, the Japanese glutinous rice cakes that are traditionally given as gifts on New Year's Day. Though I am a big fan of the hilarious mochi scene in Tampopo. But I'm ready to cast aside my aversion to the sticky rice cakes after seeing this image of rows of perfectly formed mochi arrayed like some kind of eerie alien gem stones. I'd even fly to Tokyo to visit the Takashimaya department store where this glamour shot was taken. [via Tastespotting]

Michelin's recent announcement that it would publish its first guide in Japan met with mixed reactions from the country's chefs. Some greeted the news with shoulders colder than a sushi case, while others were a little more open-minded about the arrival of the Michelin Guide Tokyo.

Among the naysayers was Yoshikazu Ono, head chef at Tokyo's Sukiyabashi Jiro who made his point clear: "The French do not understand anything about sushi and are so far behind in handling fresh fish." Other chefs feel that since sushi is so popular all over the world Michelin's review team should know the difference between top-notch sushi and bait.

Incidentally, the news of Michelin's new guide comes on the heels of the Japanese government's move to certify Japanese restaurants abroad as authentic.

The first time I tasted stuffed chicken wings was years ago at Lotus of Siam, the Thai spot in Las Vegas that many say is the best in the States. Needless to say their version was packed with an incendiary stuffing.

I forgot about this culinary wonder that ranks up there with the turducken as one of mankind's greatest achievements until the other week when I was dining with some friends at Chanto, a sleek Japanese restaurant and nightspot in lower Manhattan.

Glancing at the menu, I saw it, "Tebagyo: gyoza stuffed chicken wings with teriyaki sauce." I love a good gyoza and I'm quite fond of teba, or Japanese-style wings. Who needs mad food scientists and their shrimp as pasta, I mused as I pondered the wonder of chicken wing as pork dumpling that awaited.

When the pork-laden wings touched down on our table, they did not disappoint. The skin was lacquered with a delicious sauce. Cutting into them revealed a ring of chicken meat surrounding a savory filling of ground pork combined with scallions and other green bits. I guess pigs can fly after all.

Chanto, 133 Seventh Avenue South, (212) 463-8686

P.F. Chang's, the company that brought Chinese food to the masses, has decided to dip its toe into new waters with a Japanese concept.

Taneko Japanese Tavern opened two weeks ago this month at The Borgata, an upscale mall in the company's hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz. Taneko is P.F. Chang's take on one of my favorite types of Japanese eateries, the izakaya. To my knowledge no chain restaurant company has yet attempted to remake one of these Japanese bars that serve sake, shochu and small plates.

I'm usually more than a little concerned that when a chain tackles an ethnic concept that's unfamiliar to them that they'll rob it entirely of its soul. But I must admit that from what I've read P.F. Chang's sounds like its heart is in the right place. Taneko will have an exhibition kitchen and a robata grill. The menu will include wood-roasted yellowfin tuna, American kobe beef and Kurobuta pork chops.

Taneko takes its name from a combination of Tanuki, the raccoon-faced dog that is Japan's God of gluttony and sake, and maneki neko, the welcoming cat seen in front of Japanese businesses ranging from pachinko parlors to ramen shops.

As much as we see and hear about its properties as "natural refrigerant, anticancer agent, and cholesterol combatant," many Westerners are at a bit of loss when it comes to including more of it in our diets. Sure, we may add soy milk to our chai lattes or pop some edamame at a Japanese restaurant. We may experiment with grilled tofu, but in the end, there is often the complaint that tofu is just so bland. Ah, but that is the beauty of tofu - because it's so bland, it's the perfect canvas for other flavors, much like a slice of bread or filet of very mild fish. At the same time, many people simply enjoy the faint tofu flavor. Tofu is versatile, and according to an article over at the Japan Times, there's a lot more that can be done with soy, particularly because it comes in so many forms, only one of which if tofu:

• Tofu somen are delicate, thin strands of tofu that could easily be mistaken for regular wheat noodles
• Abura-age and atsu-age are deep-fried tofu, which can be added to miso soup
• Momen dofu is firm, which is good for stir-fries or prepared as tofu steak
• Zarudofu and yosedofu are very soft versions. Both are somewhat sweet so simply serve with top-quality olive oil and sea salt, or a garnish of grated ginger, mustard, or soy sauce.
• Yukiko Hayashi, author of the cookbook Tofu Zanmai, also recommends cooking/baking with soy milk.

In the small town of Wada, about 60 miles southeast of Tokyo, Japan, a restaurant has come up with a new dish to woo younger customers - whaleburgers.

The restaurant serves fried whale meat on a bun with salad greens and a sauce made of of mayonnaise and ketchup (isnt't that some other fast food burger joint's "secret sauce?"). The restaurant also serves a whale cutlet sandwich. Both the burger and the sandwich are made from Baird's Beaked whales and sell for 300 yen. Another "youth"-friendly dish is the whale hot dog, made from minke whales.

Japan stopped commercial whaling in 1986 in keeping with an international moratorium on whaling. However, certain species such as the minke, are numerous enough for hunting. In fact, the number of whales may have increased to the point that they are damaging the ecosystem by eating too much fish.