PSA: Fake Japanese food warning
Sushi Takes On the Burger
BusinessWeek: February 7, 2007, 11:05AM EST
…Soon, there will be something new for their food-court trays: sushi rolls and teriyaki. Japanese-food chains are spreading to shopping malls and strip-store centers across the U.S..
……Maki of Japan is one of five fast-food restaurants sharing the food court in an outlet mall in Aurora, Ill., 35 miles west of Chicago. Its menu includes beef sukiyaki for $5.29, with steamed rice or maki noodles... There are plastic utensils at the cash register and, tellingly, no chopsticks…Compared with McDonald’s or even Panda Express….
WTF is maki noodles“!
I always warn Asian tourists that Panda Express only looks like a food-like substance, but now it looks like I need to warn them about the faux-food, Japanese “maki noodles.”
It seems that various kinds of “maki noodles” are a Philippines speciality and those clever Pinoys conned the Maki of Japan food-court chain into thinking that “maki noodles” is a Japanese food.
[....googling research break....]
Ok, ok…. With a little research I’ve found out that the mysterious “maki” is a Philippine-English term for a pork soup with tapioca starch that came from southern China. Supposedly , the best “maki house” is the “Ha Yuan” (sic) fast food chain that serves “maki mi-homemade flat noodles simmered in a rich pork stock.” See photo below.
UPDATE: According to the astute 3Yen reader Ceciyl…. “Maki isn’t the Japanese maki. Ma is Fukien [Chinese] for meat, ki is the sticky soup, mi is noodles. It’s actually a literal description of the food itself. I’m thinking that people who are more familiar with Japanese terms might get confused since they got to know the Japanese maki first, so food called maki would automatically form a picture of the Japanese maki in the mind.
Story idea thanks to Mulboyne
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February 9th, 2007 at 11:26 am
You know, it’s funny. We have a fast-food sushi chain around here. I’ve never tried it, though, because it’s a fifteen-some hour drive to the ocean from here, and I’m not gonna trust my cold seafood to a fast-food booth manned by 16 year olds.
February 9th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Ohhhh. I also get the willies whenever someone orders me sushi at a baseball park skybox at a Denver Rockies or Chicago Cubs game a gazillion miles from the ocean. However, most sushi in both Japan and the States is frozen before it cut up and served. That is, 99.99% of the tuna and shrimp sushi was frozen on factory ships while it was still on the ocean. The “fresh” sushi is not all that common, despite the lies they tell you. Actually, fresh, raw fish is often much lower quality than fish flash frozen at the source.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:53 am
Hi! Maybe you can try Ha Yuan maki mi when you come to the Philippines :)
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:58 am
Gee, since you’re from the Philippines maybe you can tell me why they’re called “maki mi” noodles. I just assuming that it’s a mangled Japanese term.
The “Ha Yuan” part I’m guessing really refers to “Hua Yuan” Shanghai [Xi Jia Hua Yuan] and this dish is based on a hot-&-sour soup of that area.
Mysterious.
UPDATE:
As Homer Simpson would say, “D’oh!”
Now it all makes sense. Except for the name, the “Maki of Japan” fast-food restaurant chain is the idea of Biagio Schiano, an Italian in Florida. Maybe Biagio Schiano has some connection to the Philippines since he put Filipino noodles “Maki Mi” on the menu (”Maki Mi” is the Filipino spelling and Makimi is the Chinese spelling, right?).
The “Maki of Japan” fast-food sushi bar menu may have Filipino noodles “Maki Mi” because he was already serving it in his other “Asian style” restaurants as he describes:
Judging from the pictures and menu of the “Maki of Japan” food court, I will bet the Maki Mi must be very odd at that fast-food chain.
However, I have seen “odder” things on the sushi-go-round in Tokyo. On Kaiten-zushi —literally “circulating sushi” is where plates of sushi are set on a conveyor belt encircling the customers— I seen French eclairs and Mickey Mouse Pudding(tm) go past me between the plates of cold dead fish.
Anyway…thanks for explaining to me the REAL story about MakiMi. I will try some of the “Maki Mi” Filipino-style noodles at the “Maki of Japan” in Aurora, Illinois, which is very close to my grand aunt’s house outside Chicago.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Just to clarify–Maki Noodle at Maki of Japan is not meant to be any type of “Makimi” Filipino noodles. They just named their stir fry noodles after their restaurant–Maki of Japan. Also note that Maki of Japan are not affiliated with Panda Express.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:23 am
hey,
I would like to know why this guy taro in number 4 makes reference to Biagio Schiano being an Italian, seems a little racist you think. This is America we have the right to change traditonal ideas to fit the needs of the people. I would like to reach out to some powerful Italian groups to get this filth removed.
Taro here is a hint you homer spitting non-intellectual, get a life. Who gave you the credentials to be a food critic? Who gave you the right to comment on this type of food and quote peoples websites.
Dont reply to me.
Good day!
August 28th, 2009 at 9:28 am
She-e-e-it, somebody wants to defend food court/mall food such as, “Maki of Japan, our true Japanese concept.”
In two legal words, “Fair Use.”