Food – Page 38 – Robot Claw

The Happiest Meal

May 2, 2019

I was having a wretched day, suffering from seasonal allergies so bad I want to tear my skin off. Add to this uncertainty about planning/booking our late-semester vacation and the usual end-of-semester-workload blues and it was clear I needed an injection of cheer.

Since it worked last time, the answer was of course a Happy Meal! So here we go again…

Well now, what a coincidence: there’s an Avengers: Endgame promotion in effect! I stifled excitement as I ordered, pulling my head further into my hood so the octogenarian beside me didn’t judge.

“Can I have Thor?” I asked the server?

“You can have two!” he responded with a smile. I hadn’t yet ate and my lunch was already grand!

There’s my meal, which cost a total of $3.26! Not bad for a burger, fries, apples and a drink. Plus you get a toy! As I unpacked all this I could feel my spirit soaring.

There’s something very familiar about a Happy Meal. The tastes haven’t changed in decades and the quantity of food is perfect not just since I eat less now but also because the meal ends just at the point at which the flavours become repulsive.

My burger was notable. Not due to taste or texture, but because the overly dry bun stuck in my half-swollen throat nearly every swallow, thus distracting me from the slightly rancid taste of the overly flaccid fries.

In fact one bite I almost did choke, and as I wildly grasped for my beverage to wash it down I questioned whether Maccas should return to the days of pink slime if only to lubricate their food. I ate on cautiously, reminding myself that no meal – not even this one – was worth dying for.

Iron Man apple slices (acidic and rubbery) soon made the burger a memory, and as I ate I pretended not to notice the pair of obese retirees who were apparently enjoying a lunch consisting entirely of an insane quantity of chicken nuggets. I don’t think they saw me, since I was behooded and half-concealed by the inexplicably (for 10:30 am) overflowing trash receptacle.

With the food gone it was time for the toys. Prepare to be astonished:

Yes my friends, such was my Antipodean charm that I got not one but two toys! There are apparently 14 different ones to collect, all of which have stunningly sculpted likenesses of the actors in the films. Of course lightning-maestro Thor is best, and as you see I got both versions, including him wielding Stormbreaker and the other of him wearing a futuristic suit from… um… what the hell is that weird suit?!?

And it glows?!?! I’ve seen every MCU film and have no idea what this version of Thor is supposed to be, so I’ll assume it’s a glimpse into Phase Four…

I didn’t forget to punch out my Avengers security card before leaving, and as you can see the entire food + toy experience had definitely turned my frown upside down. It may not have been the best lunch I’ve ever had, but I can say in all honesty it absolutely was the best lunch I had today…

Eggstravaganza

April 20, 2019

JK visited today, and even though we all know she’s here mostly to see Zoffy I felt as a good host I needed to have an activity planned. And with tomorrow being Easter the obvious choice was this:

I don’t remember ever dyeing eggs at Easter, so I bought some of these inexpensive kits to try it. It’s very easy, toss a tablet into a mix of water and vinegar and dip a hard-boiled egg in. The kits come with crayons that you use to write on the eggs to keep portions undyed.

Naturally I went with the obvious design: Gudetama. My first attempt was a bit experimental:

But I got better with my second (see later). Other issues arose with the coloring for my Grimace egg:

And the fact that I dropped my K-Pop egg (that I had done for Bernard):

But overall it was fun and the eggs came out better than I expected!

We made a few each and here they all are. What do you think?

In case you’re wondering they won’t be wasted. KLS and I aren’t boiled egg fans, but JK will take them home and turn them into sandwiches 🙂

Tokyo Four

January 17, 2019

Today we visited ‘the happiest place on Earth’:

When I was planning this trip I’d wondered if Disney was even open in winter and not only is it very much open it’s also very, very popular! The lines to get in were much longer than I remember from previous Disney trips and the park was every bit as active and busy as a summers day!

Our first ride was Star Tours (the Star Wars ride) which had been updated to contain material from the current trilogy which was a pleasant surprise. We followed with Space Mountain which was significantly faster, darker and more thrilling than I recalled and sent Bernard into a spin! No more thrill rides for him!

No worries, there were still many more rides than we’d have time for: Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, Small World, Tiki Birds, Jungle Cruise and Pooh. As always happens at Disney the hours flew by and 7 hours after arriving with the sun setting and a great chill descending it was time to leave.

Bernard’s favorite was Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, and his least favorite was Space Mountain. For me today I loved Jungle Cruise since the captain of our boat was a young lady that loved to perform (in Japanese of course) and really hammed it up 🙂

And speaking of getting into the spirit…

Disney here is a bit different from in the USA in that there are very few kids. Most of the guests are young women who are more often than not decked out in Disney clothes with Disney accessories and wearing some type of Disney hat. There’s loads of different ones, and we couldn’t help but try some on:

Should we have bought them??

Anyway I’ll put a bonus photo in today’s only-five-photos-a-day Japanese blog series, and of course it’s the one you’re waiting for…

You’re welcome 🙂