Buy Laws(on)

Finally, Lawson is getting into the onigiri game!

Tried it and must say, their onigiri is pretty good.

Right amount of rice, generous amount of filling, the nori is crunchy and doesn't break apart when you pull the plastic wrapper.

Hope they make this a regular product in all their stores.

I Don believe it!

I'm a fan of donuts.

I'm a fan of omigiri.

Will I be a fan if these 2 came together?

Yes, there's a donut onigiri in Dunkin.

Had to try it. And it was okay. 

I'd still prefer to have my donut and onigiri separately, though.

Convenient breakfast

Because there were a lot of convenience stores around the hotel, we eschewed the buffet breakfast and decided to just grab brekkie at one of the stores.

This was my breakfast on our 2nd day.

Of course, the onigiri had to be there. And my drink was this Honey Ginger juice that was full-on ginger!

Wish our convenience stores here in MNL have this level of variety.

Kani get it!

As an onigiri fan, trying out the new Creamy Kani onigiri from 7-11 was on top of my to-do list.

Looks like 7-11 is really upping its food game.

My verdict: I'm missing the crunch of the seaweed, and the rice is a bit hard, unlike the usual Japanese onigiri. Flavour-wise, though, this is good. The kani and cheese balance each other out in terms of the taste and texture.

Next time, I'll buy seaweeds separately and wrap it myself. That's going to take this from a 7 to a 9!

Isn't it Romantic?

Whoa! 

There's a new Romatnic Baboy x 7-11 collaboration. 

They've taken familiar Korean flavours, and created Japanese Onigiri from that.

Looks like 7-11 is upping it's onigiri game.

Spam-tastic!

Remember that Spam onigiri that Mark and I ate when we were in Tokyo?

Apparently, it's now here in 7-11!

This I gotta try!

Seoul Food: the 2022 edition

Any trip to Seoul will not be complete without a trip to their convenience stores and trying the local fare.

There's a 7-11 near our hotel, so for lunch, I skiddimarinked on my way there with the intention of getting something quick and Korean for lunch. 

As expected, there was a plethora of choices. But yes, a choice had to be made. Which led me to these:

Of course, Onigiri should be in the mix. This is Kimchi Rice Onigiri. Yum!

Then, there's chicken barbecue Gimbap. Yum! Yum!

And to drink Dr. Pepper! Yum! Yum! Yum!

You can never go wrong with Seoul Food. Even the ones from 7-11!

Goody-goody Onigiri

Passed by the 7-11 near our office and spotted their Onigiri.

Bought it to see if it's as good as the ones in Japan.

Sugoi ne! They are! This Salmon Mayo Onigiri is da bomb! The nori wrap was crispy and had a hint of sweetness. The rice is nice and sticky. And they didn't scrimp on the filling. There was a lot!

Okay! This is now going to be my go-to for a quick and good Onigiri in Manila.

Taking Tokyo to Town

Looks like 7-Eleven in the Philippines is really serious about catching up to its Asian neighbours in terms of its snack and prepared food line-up.

Whenever we're in Tokyo, Mark and I both marvel at the breadth of snack options in 7-i. Of course, our all-time fave are the onigiris in all shapes and types. 

The same onigiri is also available in 7-Eleven stores in South Korea and SG. And I've been wondering when they'll have it here.

The answer came early this year when they launched this.

When you can't go to Tokyo (yet), let Tokyo come to you!

Traveling Tastebuds

While it isn’t as easy or simple to travel, it doesn’t mean that my tastebuds can’t do it for me!

Today’s afternoon snack is composed of my favourite drink from HKG, and Mark and my favourite Snack from JPN!

Yes! Vita Lemon Tea and Onigiri in the house!

Hopefully we can travel again to those countries and try the legit thing soonest!

Mark this place

Mark and I have been talking about going back to Tokyo. A lot.

We've been discussing where to stay, where to go, where to eat. Which haunts we'll go back to. Who are the friends we'll visit. And so on, and so forth.

Given our situation, though, it's hard to tell if that will happen this year. Or next year.

But while waiting for that day when we can finally hop on a plane and visit Mark's 2nd home, I've been looking for new places to visit. One can dream, right?

Today, I found another place that we can visit! A place that serves this yummers Japanese classic!

If an onigiri met a musubi met a sushi met a sandwich, it would definitely be this! And it's found at a place near Harajuku (another one of our fave places)!

Wait for us, Spam Onigiri at Pork Tamago Onigiri Cafe! We'll see you soon!

Pinoy Twist-ed

Okay. So it's good to put a local twist to international delicacies, but I'm kinda on the fence about this one.

It's common knowledge how I'm bonkers over onigiri. It's something that I always eat when I'm in Tokyo, Seoul and even Singapore. Plus, I'm experimental when it comes to onigiri. Heck, I even liked their pickled plum incarnations.

But bagoong inside onigiri? Hmmm... The curiosity level is high about how this will taste like. Thai bagoong rice, perhaps? Or just plain bagoong stuffed inside rice.

Question is: are my mind and taste buds twisted enough to try it?

We'll never know until we try.

OMG!

Onigiri! My Goodness!

Yes, we finally have the legit, 3-step Onigiri in Manila! It’s available at the biggest Family Mart branch in Makati, and they have it in 8 variants!

Take my money, please!

P.S. I ate 4 of these in 1 day!

First on the agenda

Onigiri and Welch’s grape, of course.

Just gotta love Seoul

Oh! Oh! Onigiri!

Look what I found in the nearby Korean store!

It's a legit onigiri! And I'm saying legit because it uses the same unwrapping style that we've come to know in Japan.

But as the Korean lady in the shop reiterated, this is a Korean version of the onigiri. And yes, I was able to taste some differences. Primarily, the rice isn't as sweet, and the tuna filling is sweeter than what they make in Japan.

Well, it's the closest to legit that I've seen in Manila. So, I'm not complaining.

Konnichiwa my old Tomodachis!

Well hello there, onigiri!

Yes, it's 7:00am in Tokyo and the first thing I bought was onigiri. Heck, I bought the onigiri even before I bought my ticket to the city.

Let the weekend Tokyo adventure begin!

(And I'm writing this from inside the bus. How cool is that?)

So convenience!

This is one of the sights that i look forward to in Tokyo.

Whenever I enter a convenience store and see the onigiri display, it gives me such a thrill! I can just sit here all day and eat onigiri!

Alas, i can't. I only have 2 days here, and there's a lot to do and see.

Hello again.

It's good to see this familiar airport once more.

And of course, it's good to enjoy my favorite train snack.

Yup, I'm back.