(I’ve already ranted about this everywhere else but for the sake of filler here goes:)

miracletrain2_monja

Just for the record, the stuff that ckook Tsukishima was stuffing down everyone’s throats in Miracle Train ep.2 is MONJAYAKI (henceforth known as just monja, or “disgustingly sad an yucky non-replacement of its superior and thus more widely-known cousin Okonomiyaki“) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE IT FOR OKONOMIYAKI WHICH IS SO SO SO MUCH MORE BETTER TASTING (and at least fills your somach and hence makes it feel worth your money)

So what’s the difference?

Okonomiyaki = In essence, Japanese (savoury) pancake, the base ingredients being flour, eggs, grated yam and (a whole lot of) cabbage, usually includes anything from meat to seafood to cheese (and any combination of them you can think of) mixed into the batter and grilled on a hot plate. The result is usually quite a thick sizzling ‘pancake’ chock full of so many ingredients you’ll probably never be able to guess what they were anyways, yet they all meld into something surprisingly yummy (depending on how much sauce + mayonaise + bonito fish flakes you slather the end result with before eating to either heighten the flavours or just confuse you even more). This is the popular version you get all over Japan and even overseas now, except Hiroshima which has their own version (thin pancake with the cabbage and all the other ingredients piled up like a mountain)

Monjayaki = This:

072

Yummmm….

You know the episode of Zetsubou Sensei when Chiri couldn’t figure out how to divide a cake equally between everyone and decided to put it into a blender and pour the result out for everyone to share? Substitute “cake” in the previous sentence with “okonomiyaki” and you get he horror that is monjayaki. Urgh. Okay fine, I made that up, but that might as well be the case *shudders*

Basically you take the same ingredients for the okonomiyaki of your choice minus the flour yam and eggs, half-fry-half-chop those dry ingredients on the hot plate using them spatulas till everything’s a hot chopped mess, and the (here’s the ‘good’ part) just like what Tsukishima does in the episode, pour that secret mysterious white liquid (in reality, it’s more like the water you get from washing rice only more translucent?) into your pile… and wait for the entire thing to crust up on the hot plate. To eat, you simply scrape the bits you want off the plate and try not think of yourself as a poor doorman who just had to scrape a piece of chewed gum off the sidewalk in front of the building you work in.

(And no, I still haven’t figured out what the mystery liquid is. >.<)

So in short: Okonomiyaki rules, Monjayaki sucks!!! =P

Okay, back to reality where I don’t exaggerate so much. So I may not be the world’s biggest fan of okonomiyaki (only when I shut the part of my brain that wonders abouthow the hell I’m supposed to enjoy any of the ingredients stuffed into the slice I’m putting in my mouth when there’s so many of them and it’s dripping in sauce and mayonaise do I actually enjoy it), but in comparison I’m certainly NOT a fan of monja at all – perhaps not the worst dish I’ve tasted in Japan but certainly the most disappointing. Seriously, the concept of ‘enjoying’ a congealed piece of mystery crust you just scrapped off a blackened hot plate??? The end result is mostly bland (mystery liquid) and confusing (the stray ingredients in the mix) and totally not filling at all despite costing about the same as an okonomiyaki with the same fillings! Which is why in Tokyo (where they invented this okonomiyaki ripoff and where I’m guessing is the only place where it even enjoys ‘popularity’) I hear people usually have monja as a side to okonomiyaki cos you can’t get full on it *shakes head*

Of course, you may be more open minded about monja and find that it’s not as bad as I’m trying to make it sound – or god forbid actually find it better than okonomiyaki (!!!) – but if you ever find yourself on Miracle Train inspired detour to Tsukishima, Tokyo and feel curiosity biting you about monja, don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;P

Oh, and for those who think that the title of this post was just to lure you into reading a Miracle Train rant when it turned out to be food one, P.S: Miracle Train sucks is so blah. None of the characters are my type remotely likeable and if I had to pick one in ep.1 I guess it would’ve been Tsukishima, but now that they’ve revealed him to be some monja freak I say DO NOT WANT. So sad that in a show full of bishies the only interesting character is the dog =/ (And maybe Tuxedo Mask, lol)