Can you survive quarantine with just Family Mart ? Part 4

 

Probably one of the longest two weeks of my life, quarantine did eventually pass. Although being stuck in the same room for days on end, the food actually helped me to not go insane. Which is surprising, considering the fact that everything so far was from a convenience store. 

Day 11. 

God, the calories

The day started with a very calorie laden stomach buster of a croquette and egg sandwich. When people say that Japanese food is generally healthy has clearly have not gone out eating with me. Still, this was pretty substantial and the croquettes were pretty good, despite being cold and the crust being a bit soggy. The flavour really helped it work. [Total Damage: 138 yen]

A maddening combo

Lunch was not much healthier too. I initially had tomato sauce spaghetti. But seeing how plain it was, a serving of smoked sausages came alongside it soon enough. It was not pretty, but it tasted how it looked and sounded like. This really reminded me of my early days of learning how to cook for myself. It was tasty but definitely not the healthiest options out there. I do welcome the variety though. [Total Damage 748 yen].

Carb cometh, round 2

There was a good variety of pasta dishes for the day though, so without thinking, I ended up with another spaghetti meal for dinner. And for this time, it came in the form of beef and radish flavour. Fusion was the game for this one. And it was quite tasty. Imagine a Yoshinoya bowl but on pasta and you get the idea. The side kick of a cheese and onion soup was really good though. The soup was sweet, pungent, peppery and indulgent. That soup really made the whole dinner and was a slobberknocker of flavour. [Total Damage : 878 yen] 

Day 12. 

Finally some fruit. 

Seeing that whole fruits were absent in my quarantine deli-journey, I got myself some bananas, alongside another bar of Calorie Mate and a sweet toast for breakfast. Never had I looked forward to some bananas as much as this day. But then again, any fresh fruit would be very welcome at that stage in time. The toast was alright and it was more like a sweet roll but in oblong-ish form . The Calorie Mate was chocolate this time. So chocolate and bananas, not a bad combination eh? [Total Damage : 466 yen]

Chicken of the sea with actual chicken

Lunch was a tuna and chicken sandwich combination along side another soup. This time, it was chicken meatball. The sandwiches were pretty good, which seems to be the general standard for Family Mart sandwiches to be honest. They are not culinary marvels (except for the egg sandwiches), but they are tasty enough and serves as a good light meal. The soup however, was much different. It has a homecooked feel to it and was loaded with vegetables. If I had some rice along with this, it would have been awesome. [Total Damage : 666 yen]

At least it looked the part. 

Dinner was more interesting though,  as it was ramen! Finally making an appearance, I decided to take off my noodle snob hat and just tried this for a change. Well, it was alright and the serving was really substantial. However, it was not really good in terms of flavour and quality, not to mention that it is the same price as an actual bowl from a proper ramen shop. There was alot of baking powder taste in the noodles and the soup was a little off balance. Still, it broke the monotony of what I had thus far. I was left pretty stuffed after this.  [Total Damage: 598 yen] 

Day 13.

Golden!

Craving for some old fashioned fast food breakfast, I was gleefully surprised with an assortment of McDonalds type breakfast options. The fish fillet was a pretty obvious choice. I got myself a box of milk, just to round things out. The fish fillet sandwich was actually really good. The tartar sauce was zesty and slightly sweet, it was really spot on. The crust of the fish is a little soggy, but that is to be expected. Still, I really liked it. [Total Damage : 380 yen]

So much comfort

Seeing that soup for lunch the day before was actually pretty good and the only thing missing was rice, I revisited that idea today. I got myself a 10 ingredient soup (well, that was what it was called) and a serving of rice. It was nothing fancy, but tasted alot like a home made hot pot dish, with a bed of rice. It had a good portion of fresh veggies and some lean meat. The soup was clean and crisp. Not too salty. Having it with rice was just a no brainer and one of the more satisfying lunches throughout the quarantine. [Total Damage : 596 yen]

Hot!

The heat was ramped up for dinner again, and I got myself something I thought I would not get in a combini, and that is soup curry! Alongside this spicy dish was a tsukune stick, which is a grilled meatball stick and a grape jelly. The soup was incredibly spicy, which took me by surprise and had a killer amount of Szechuan peppercorns. I am not sure if any Japanese will order this, but this was right up my alley. The meatball was quite tasty although I do feel that the inside was a little dry. The jelly, on the other hand, was a bit mediocre. The orange one was much better. [Total Damage : 853 yen]

Day 14

 

This was some restaurant quality bun. Strongly recommend. 

Trying to shy away from bread, I got myself a steamed but this time with a sesame and red bean filling. This was good and reminded me of a dim sum outlet. With a can of coffee as a tag team partner, this was a good breakfast. [Total Damage: 259 yen] 

Ying and yang. 

Lunch was rice again, although with different companions, as I had a marinated pork bento along with a side of fresh salad. Although the bento was pretty good, with a teriyaki style flavour on the pork, the salad was like eating sliced cardboard. Well, at least it tasted healthy and I guess that is the reason for having it. Unless if you are a cardboard fanatic, feel free. [Total Damage: 561 yen]

Send in the noods! 

Dinner was much better tasting as I had a kitsune udon with a side of fried chicken. To make up for the salad earlier, the fried chicken made alot of sense. Then again, if I did not had the salad initially, I would not have persuaded myself to get the chicken. Anyway I digress. The udon dishes that Family Mart dishes out are so much better than the ramen I had, and that includes the beef udon I had at the very beginning. And the fried tofu was total perfection. Chewy, sweet and salty, it was spot on. [Total Damage : 647 yen] 

Day 15(?)

Wait what? Was it not supposed to be 14 days?

Well it seems that the only flight available for me to Fukuoka was not directly on my 14th day but rather on the 16th day from when I landed. Also, I actually had to clock in 14 blocks of 24 hours to be seen as 14 days. And it does not help that I checked into the hotel about 1pm for my first day.  So for people who are going under quarantine, you have been warned!

Some killer over here. 

In any event, since this is my last day in quarantine, might as well end this with a bang! I got myself a calorie laden and sodium packed sausage egg McMuffin, Family Mart style which was a whopper of aroma, fat and artificial flavourings. This was so good that it is actually comparable to the real deal. Sorry Ronald McDonald, your days are numbered! [Total Damage: 235 yen]

Fish done right. Oh and soup too.

Onigiri made its presence felt for lunch and I went up the hilt for this one. A mackerel rice bowl was accompanied with a red snapper one and a side of porky miso soup rounded out the meal. This was some serious good eats and it made me whet my appetite for some real sushi down the line. [Total Damage : 706 yen] 

The last supper

The final dinner was the coup de grace. 3 generous skewers, a side of soup, pickled vegetables and a serving of rice. Those skewers were not just any plain ones though, as I had one salt based chicken meat, another teriyaki chicken one and finally a seasoned chicken skin skewer. This was a real food coma. I could really taste the cholesterol for this one. [Total Damage 824 yen] 

If you can't read Japanese, it reads as JUMBO!

But being my last day, I needed to end it with a sweet finish. So an ice cream monaka sandwich came not after. With a chocolate core and an ultra crispy wafer as its shell, this was sugary and creamy masterpiece. It is available in any supermarket, and despite that, was one of the serious highlights of the quarantine meal binge. [Total Damage : 140 yen]

Till we meet again. 

So there you have it guys! The finale. This few weeks proves to show that Japanese convenience stores are so much better than many of their counterparts from different countries. Indirectly, this became a food tour of sorts of convenience store food options and I had serious fun doing it. I have to say that some of the food is not cheap and can be compared to certain restaurant prices, but when travelling is not possible under my circumstances, I could not argue really. In any event, I was really looking forward to my first proper meal that is not convenience store food. Until then, stay safe and hope you all have a good start to your new year. 

Goodbye quarantine room. You will be missed. 

PS: If you have yet read part one (click here), two (click here) or three (click here), I strongly recommend that you so.