Can you survive quarantine with just Family Mart ? Part 1

Now finally, after so long, here comes the motherload. This took months of prep and also redrafting and at least 14 days of research and compilation because it is now time to answer the question: can you survive  quarantine with just Family Mart? 

The luxurious lobby

Before I begin, here is a recap of sorts. As mentioned some time ago, I am now based in Japan for the immediate future (click here to know more) and as such I would have to go through a 14 day quarantine before I can move around the country. And my quarantine zone was the amazing ANA Crowne Plaza However, what was not provided and I had to fork out under my own expense is food. I can have room service and they look nice but overly expensive. There is one saving grace though. At the lobby of the hotel, there is a Family Mart. 

My comfortable room for 2 weeks. 

Quarantine rules differ from country to country, and in Japan, as long you do not leave the quarantine zone (ie the hotel) then its all fair game. So I am allowed to leave my room but only for buying food and for laundry purposes. Although there are not any strict rules in moving around within the hotel, its better that we stay in our own room. 

A common sight for the next 14 days

Now back to the post. Seeing that 14 days means at least 48 meals, I have decided to segment the post into days. And to make things more interesting, I will NOT repeat any food items. Also seeing that there will be a lot of content to cover, this 14 day journey would be separated into several parts. So don't be surprised if it goes to about 5 or 6 posts long. Without further ado, here we go!

Day 1 

Reprieve

This despite being the first day was to me the toughest. Stuck in the airport for 5 hours after a midnight flight with crying babies almost broke my spirit. I eventually checked into the hotel about 1pm and almost immediately went to get something for the empty gullet of mine. A prawn cutlet sandwich came soon enough, accompanied by a bottle of cold Suntory Boss coffee. I am always surprised as to how good Japanese convenience store sandwiches are. And the coffee was the much needed caffeine boost to ensure my sanity stayed intact. I also bought a pack of sweet potato chips, but it got demolished before I took any photos. I was that hungry. [Total Damage : 637 yen]

This does look restaurant quality

Dinner was much more comforting, and I thoroughly enjoyed what I had. Nothing is more soothing and warming than a bowl of hot udon. And accompanied with a plate of dumplings? This was a satisfying meal and was very flavourful. I was also surprised as to how Family Mart is able to prepare soup based dishes for mass production just like that. Its not restaurant quality, but damn near close. [Total Damage: 769 yen] 

Day 2

First meal of the day

For my first breakfast, I was introduced to the joy of convenience store bread in the form of twisty bread sticks. This sounds like some oxymoron, but the bread selection was actually really good. And surprisingly fresh and fragrant, loaded with buttery after tones. [Total Damage 120 yen]

Real bacon!

For lunch, carbonara was on the menu. It looked like someone has made a paste out of Cheetos and plastered it on some spaghetti and bacon bits. But it tasted really good, probably too good. It has a junk food feel to it, similar to those cheese powders from corn snacks. It felt incredibly indulgent and sinful. Will I eat this again? Probably not. But it was great when it lasted [Total Damage : 450 yen]

Packed bento at its best. 

Dinner was definitely less manufactured and it was a bento set. Not just any bento set, but a triple colour sobou chicken set! This had a bombastic name, and it comes with bombastic flavours. The rice was topped with pickles and egg shards. The chicken was coated with a sweet and sour sauce, being accompanied with a namban style sauce. Thinking of this made me shiver with enjoyment. Accompanying this stupendous bento was a box of mix fruit and vegetable juice from Kagome. Having this made me think that I can go through quarantine without much fuss after all. [Total Damage: 606 yen] 

Day 3

Yin and Yang

Breakfast for this day was one of the more interesting ones as I had steam buns. The black pork steam bun sounded innocent enough, but the pizza bun was an oddball item that I was really looking forward to. It surprisingly worked. The marinara sauce worked well with the cheesy center of the bun. Being piping hot, it felt more like a pizza pocket. The black pork bun was good, but its essentially a pork bun. Will order both again though. [Total Damage: 328 yen]

The motherload!

Lunch was somewhat abit ambitious. For that day I got myself 2 stuffed onigiris, a clam miso soup and some pickled cucumbers. The onigiris were the special premium type, with one stuffed with fish roe and another roasted beef. Both were bursting with flavour and would recommend if you need a tasty lunch quick. The pickles were a bit of a let down, and was pretty expensive for what it is. The miso soup was a revelation though. Although it was an instant soup (ie: add hot water), it came with real clams! An interesting lunch indeed. [Total Damage : 753 yen] 

Another surprising hit. 

Clams made an appearance again in the form of pasta for dinner. And as a companion, I had another Kagome mix fruit and vegetable juice box. If you like garlic butter style dishes, the clam and mushroom pasta will sort you out nicely. What can I say? This was another great pasta dish, and tasted much cleaner and less manufactured than the carbonara that I had. [Total Damage :538 yen] 

That is all for now folks, and do click here for part 2 . In the mean time, stay safe, eat well and Merry Christmas.