Mark asks, “What’s the best food you’ve had so far on your family adventure?”

Hi Mark,

Great question. Honestly, after reading your email, I searched “food” in my iPhone photos because only one restaurant immediately came to mind—and I thought, Really? That’s all I can think of?

I’ll get to that restaurant in a second. But I also realized that during this trip, I haven’t ordered much for myself. My kids always leave so many leftovers that I feel bad wasting food. I used to order my own meal and eat their leftovers, but that catches up to a guy my age pretty fast.

So I just stopped ordering.

The restaurant that came to mind is called Century. It’s a small Indian place near downtown Otaru, Japan. (I know I should probably be recommending Japanese food while in Japan, but this is just the cold, hard truth.)

During our six-week stay, we went to Century four times—five if you count takeout. I ordered the chicken tikka masala curry every single time because I abide by the philosophy: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Fun facts:

You can choose your spice level from one to—get this—forty. I ordered a five and later asked for more tissues to dab my forehead.
Pro tip: The locals ordered glasses of milk with their meals, which reminded me of the Midwest—a jug of two-percent always on my parents’ dinner table.
Century felt like cultures within a culture: an Indian restaurant in Japan run by a sweet family, their youngest doing homework at a table in the back, Bob Marley on the speakers. Japanese, Russians, Germans, and Americans all hanging out together. Heidi spotted a twenty-something American eating alone and reading Infinite Jest—a little “on the nose,” but it made us smile.

When I searched my photos, I couldn’t find a single picture of the place. I think that’s a rave review in itself—it means I was too busy eating.

Thanks for the question, buddy!

Love,
Aaron

P.S. Other notables: Pizza Hut, China. They hand out plastic gloves to avoid greasy fingers, but those gloves can’t do much about sauce all over your face.

P.S. Other notables…

Pizza Hut, China. I know, I know. But I’ve got four boys who are extremely picky eaters and it was nice to have some home comfort food. As you can see in the picture, they hand out plastic gloves to avoid greasy fingers (but plastic gloves still can’t do much about sauce all over your face).