Food allergies?

[YukiTanuki]

I don't nesscarily have a huge problem, but I figured I might as well ask and see how other people would go about this situation. I have a boyfriend who I'd like to take to Japan someday soon; he's pretty interested in the culture, loves the food, is all Naruto crazy at the moment (he's a big ass Mexican so that should make it a little bit of an lol.) I know he'd have a blast being there. But. There would be some issues. He is DEATHLY allergic to shellfish (shrimp, crab, etc..) Last I checked, Japan was fond of using that type of food. Just a little. So I suppose everytime we would go out to eat I would have to ask if this particular meal had shellfish ingredients or not. It just seems like a pain in the ass to do such a thing each time, though. My mom says it's not very common at all to find someone in Japan with such an allergy. Does anyone else have this kind of problem? Would the japanese hate me for annoying them with such questions? Am I just asking for trouble? Is SSB Brawl any good?!

[Azrael]

I have the worst possible allergy you could imagine for Japan: allergic to fish and most seafood. While I'm not allergic to shellfish per se, I usually try to steer clear of it. I try to avoid seafood all-together.

Somehow, I'm still alive.

So yeah, I often have to ask "sakana ga haitte masu ka?" Its a pain in the ass, but oh well. I kinda sorta don't want to die. The Japanese aren't too big on menu-altering. Like, if you want to order the delicious-looking "Basil and Mozzarella Cheese Vinegar Oil Spaghetti with Anchovies" (that's not a joke actually) and you say "can you take out the anchovies?" the waitress will just kind of blink stupidly at you and say "but, it's Mozzarella Cheese Vinegar Oil Spaghetti with Anchovies". So then you have to choose something else.

That's the gist of it basically. Just avoid the menu items with fish or seafood in them. Yes, the allergy is rare (sometimes the Japanese question if I'm human or not) but I'm still alive so its possible to beat the rap.

And I can't answer the question about Brawl. I bought Devil May Cry 4 instead. :D

[ミュー]

...I have a boyfriend who I'd like to take to Japan someday soon; he's pretty interested in the culture, loves the food, is all Naruto crazy at the moment (he's a big ass Mexican so that should make it a little bit of an lol.)...
Oh shii, Masa's girlfriend done found her some OP9!
>_>

[悲しいパンダ]

Oh shii, Masa's girlfriend done found her some OP9!
>_>
That would be true is Masa was crazy into Naruto but he's a fan of Straw Hat Luffy, the man wanted for 300 million Beri. Besides One Piece beats Naruto, ANY DAY, EVERYDAY!

SSB Brawl kicks ass.

[Plekto]

Are we talking old Naruto or new? :)

I'd rate Bleach as a tad better though. One Piece is great, but it seems to be getting into a bit of a rut/lagging lately.

[YukiTanuki]

I have the worst possible allergy you could imagine for Japan: allergic to fish and most seafood. While I'm not allergic to shellfish per se, I usually try to steer clear of it. I try to avoid seafood all-together.

Somehow, I'm still alive.

So yeah, I often have to ask "sakana ga haitte masu ka?" Its a pain in the ass, but oh well. I kinda sorta don't want to die. The Japanese aren't too big on menu-altering. Like, if you want to order the delicious-looking "Basil and Mozzarella Cheese Vinegar Oil Spaghetti with Anchovies" (that's not a joke actually) and you say "can you take out the anchovies?" the waitress will just kind of blink stupidly at you and say "but, it's Mozzarella Cheese Vinegar Oil Spaghetti with Anchovies". So then you have to choose something else.

That's the gist of it basically. Just avoid the menu items with fish or seafood in them. Yes, the allergy is rare (sometimes the Japanese question if I'm human or not) but I'm still alive so its possible to beat the rap.

And I can't answer the question about Brawl. I bought Devil May Cry 4 instead. :D

Allergic to....FISH? Wow, how the hell are you still alive??? You just made me feel TONS better about my problem. :) I know what you mean about dem japs being stubborn; I work at a sushi bar and those chefs just can't seem to comprehend the concept of substituting or just NOT putting something in. Oh well. I'll just make sure my Mexi-BF has an intimidating look on his face (get him all cholo-ed up) whenever I order so that maybe it might help persuade them. ;)
Saw the demo of DMC 4, looks awesome! But I'm more excited for Brawl. :p

[MNJetter]

I went to a chain restaurant called Vita the other week. It's an Italian place, and I was with four other people (three Japanese, one American), all of whom were pretty strict vegetarian. We asked the waiter, and found out that there were absolutely no entrees on the menu that had no meat in them, but he went back and consulted with the head cook, who said that he could whip something up, so we just ordered the course meal and left its contents up to the kitchen. The food was absolutely delicious. Like, I would go back there and order it again even if I wasn't with other vegetarians.

So, moral of the story, some places are willing to bend menu items, especially if you indicate that you trust the chef and tell them what you can't eat. We did the same thing at a sushi restaurant, too -- told the chef that my friend was vegetarian, explained what that entailed, and just said have at it. He did, and it was delicious, and very creative. I'd never tried banana in sushi before.

[YukiTanuki]

I went to a chain restaurant called Vita the other week. It's an Italian place, and I was with four other people (three Japanese, one American), all of whom were pretty strict vegetarian. We asked the waiter, and found out that there were absolutely no entrees on the menu that had no meat in them, but he went back and consulted with the head cook, who said that he could whip something up, so we just ordered the course meal and left its contents up to the kitchen. The food was absolutely delicious. Like, I would go back there and order it again even if I wasn't with other vegetarians.

So, moral of the story, some places are willing to bend menu items, especially if you indicate that you trust the chef and tell them what you can't eat. We did the same thing at a sushi restaurant, too -- told the chef that my friend was vegetarian, explained what that entailed, and just said have at it. He did, and it was delicious, and very creative. I'd never tried banana in sushi before.

I love it when that happens. Yeah, some restaurants are cool like that, and others, like the one I work at, have sushi chefs with big, fat kendo sticks up their radioactive asses. :\

I question the banana in sushi...can't knock it til you try it though, I guess! :)

[Digital Masta]

You're a violent one.

[MNJetter]

I question the banana in sushi...can't knock it til you try it though, I guess!
I questioned it too, until I tried it. It's not even sweet and dessert-like, as you would expect. If you dip it in soy sauce, it just tastes like regular vegetable sushi, like a kappa maki or something.

He also made a futomaki with dehydrated apricots in it. That was....interesting. But I give him points for creativity.

[YukiTanuki]

Are we talking old Naruto or new? :)

I'd rate Bleach as a tad better though. One Piece is great, but it seems to be getting into a bit of a rut/lagging lately.

Old. We're a bit behind in the anime scene. I probably wouldn't like the new one as much, I've always liked my boys on the young side. (<3 Rock Lee)

[Azrael]

Its nice if the restaurant makes exceptions, but I wouldn't expect it as the norm.

Sometimes we'd make a request and they'd say they were going to do it but then the food comes out to menu-standard anyway.

[YukiTanuki]

You're a violent one.

Me? Por que?

[Matt W]

Its nice if the restaurant makes exceptions, but I wouldn't expect it as the norm.

Sometimes we'd make a request and they'd say they were going to do it but then the food comes out to menu-standard anyway.


I second this. I'm a vegetarian, and just telling them no meat and no fish does not at all guarantee that will be the case. You just have to be careful, but it is still possible to find good food if you try.

[MNJetter]

Most people aren't wiling to change the menu, but I can't imagine finding restaurants that are actually dishonest about saying that they would change the menu, and not doing it. Or at least having them be the majority. I mean, my friends and I found two places genuinely willing to alter their stuff within the last three months. Other times we go to restaurants, we are simply told that it can't be done. We have yet to come across someone who says it can be done, and then doesn't do it.

I second this. I'm a vegetarian, and just telling them no meat and no fish does not at all guarantee that will be the case.
Have you tried telling them no meat and no fish and no meat products and no fish products? If you actually told them "no meat and no fish" in Japanese, that is more of a miscommunication than them being stubborn, as "meat" and "fish" only refer to the specific, physial chunks of flesh. It doesn't refer to broth, or processed fish cakes, or bonito flakes, or any of those other side products that vegetarians also usually can't eat.

I've gone to restaurants where my friend asked if they had anything on the menu that was possible to make with "no meat and no fish," and they were all like "yeah, definately," and then my friend would continue by specifying what she meant by "no meat and no fish," and they would go "oh! .....no. I don't think so." Fish cakes and dashi seem to be especially confusing for Japanese people to think of as meat.

[Matt W]

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that they were deliberately lying to me or even being stubborn when they tell me something is ok. I think they just don't think about it, it just doesn't occur to them sometimes, and they only take the main part of meat out I guess. I mean, I've said no fish, and out comes shrimp or crab or something, cause they didn't think of them as fish or something. But to me no meat no fish includes fish cakes, katsuobushi, etc, though your right they never think of that. I have learned if I'm ordering tofu or something to specifically tell them not to put that on. But my Japanese is not very good, how would you say no meat or fish products, if I may ask?
Plus, it doesn't help that menus leave out so much of what is in the dish. Like, a couple of weeks ago I ordered something that said it was just noodles and vegetables on the menu and my Japanese friend confirmed thats what it said and thats what it looked like in the pic, but it was full of meat. I guess I should have made sure with waiter too though. I usually just eat at home though, it's easier and cheaper.

[akitaka]

I second this. I'm a vegetarian, and just telling them no meat and no fish does not at all guarantee that will be the case. You just have to be careful, but it is still possible to find good food if you try.
So is it that much harder to go vegan in Japan? Here in the states, while cooks really hate most any vegan that enters the dining room (at least in AZ where they're just plain obnoxious), they will bend over as far as it takes to get the menu done right, at least most of the time. I just don't see this happening in Japan.

[Digital Masta]

You're essentially screwed if you're a vegetarian in Japan. Especially if you're one that's not willing to bend slighty. You can do it but if you stick to it how you do in the states for instance then you're not going to have a fun time.

[MNJetter]

I totally disagree. That totally depends on what kind of attitude you have as a vegetarian in Japan, and I don't mean what kind of things you are willing to compromise. I have a dozen or so friends in my part of the prefecture who are vegetarians (and I mean strict, no meat, no fish, no products from dead animals at all sort of lacto-ovo vegetarians), and only two of them are even foreign. The rest of them are Japanese, and they get along just fine being vegetarian. My friends share lists of things that are safe to eat, places that will be accomodating to the vegetarian diet, recipes, places to order groceries, etc. It's not as easy as it is in the United States, but is still definately doable. Like any minority religion or lifestyle in just about any country, you have to find the appropriate community for it if you want to be successful.

Matt: If you want, I can have one of my Japanese vegetarian friends write a little note of explanation about what foods that can and can't be eaten, and PM it to you with a translation. Or I can just post it here if we have more than one person who would ike it. My Japanese is pretty good, but I usually let my friends do the explaining at restaurants, so I'm not as confident about my own version as I would be about my friend's.

You can also find restaurant information (good for people who eat meat but no fish, too!) at the Japan Vegetarian Society website (http://www.jpvs.org/) that someone (was it Eiji?) showed me last summer. The English version isn't as thorough or well-updated as the Japanese version, but it's something.

[TommyA]

Like Az, I have a fish and seafood allergy, which is especially bad with shell fish. My sister almost died eating shrimp for her first time about 20 years ago, it scared my mom and I went in to get tested and confirmed.

Being in Japan with such an allergy hasn't been such a hard task with the allergies. TONS of food options (especially since most of Nagoya's famous foods have NO fish or seafood!) have a lot of meat or other food items. Also I am physically disgusted by mushrooms so I always ask to take them out (kinoko/shimeji nashi de kudasai) , and no one (minus the girlfriend) gives me any dirty looks.

Also I've a vegetarian Welsh friend in Yokkaichi doing fine. His first month was difficult, but he seems to be doing fine now. It is definitely possible if you live near the right stores and learn to cook your own food!

[Digital Masta]

It's times like these that I'm glad I'm not allergic to anything. Or at least nothing that I eat.

[stsparky]

... It is definitely possible if you live near the right stores and learn to cook your own food!
The simple way is to describe yourself as a monk who can't eat such things.