Here we are in central Tokyo at Tokyo Dome City a place to full of fun challenges
like thunder dolphin
a roller coaster that goes through a building and of course
Tokyo Dome but today we're talking about food challenges
and help me out is KAI OKUDERA who is a food writer for
Tokyo Cheapo com..... and master of the universe
KAI so I wanna talk about food challenges
but what strikes me as unusual are that food portions in japan are quite small
aren't they?
Very true I came here almost three years ago
on the first six weeks of here I lost about seven kilos (15pounds)
That's right I think it's all built around this principle of
meaning don't waste anything I think
I'm from HAWAII and people will go to the buffet & stack food
like a pyramid and take that back to the table and eat it all
and try to do it again and again and again until they can't move
in Japan you don't see anyone having like a Fujiyama(mountain) of food
So I've seen a lot of really unique food challenges in Tokyo like that
Go GO curry
2.5 kilogram curry rice food challenges like fried stuff on top
definitely something I want to try out yeah I think I saw like Skytree
TEMPURA don, it's about this high
Tokyo's full of lot of challenges and KAI and I went to one nearby hear
in Iidabashi
where I had a monster GYOZA dumpling and you had the...
Triple jumbo Raman(noodle)
KAGURAZAKA-HANTEN is right next to Iidabashi station
one of Tokyo's big crossroads and a student hub. You can't help walking by the
restaurant window and saying
"HUH? Are you serious?" on the bottom are 4 food challenges with the Jumbo
GYOZA (dumpling) being the most ridiculous
a 100 GYOZA plate. massive fried rice triple jumbo Raman and this
a GYOZA for GODZILLA
the inside is humble but inviting. A lot of Japanese celebrities have been here
to try these challenges
they even have a wall of fame
KAI's Ramen comes first
the best Ramen is always served fast how's this competitor feeling?
It's a lot of Ramen but I think I can do it
of course KAI has a strategy right?
No strategy just gonna eat it
here comes the biggest dumpling in the world
its massive a don't try this at home sort of thing
2.5 kilograms pork mince
with some veggies all wrapped in a bread like shell. Its equivalent to about one
hundred normal size GYOZAs
maybe more! This is my EVEREST
You climb a mountain one step at a time but first we need to cut this thing open
Like cutting through cake....
would you look at that?
jumbo GYOZA is gushing with juice. It's just waiting to be devoured
normally you can pick up each user with chopsticks
but this mama needs a fork and knife
Crust around the GYOZA is more like bread
than a GYOZA (dough)
Soaks in all the oil....from the meat
pack with flavor!
The 1st bite always goes down easy doesn't it?
food challenges like this has really grown in Japan
I asked the manager simply what's the deal
don't overdo it? This is a challenge and like all challenges we take it seriously
it's more than food, right
GYOZA is usually a side dish accompanied by a bowl of Ramen
but really it can stand by itself as a meal especially when it's as big as a
cake
let's check in with Kai
one down and two to go KAI made a classic mistake
with the timer on he slurped down boiling hot noodles and has paid the price
the scorched mouth! You have to really pace yourself with the monster food challenge
the first bowl...the second bowl...
slowing down...I burned the mouth pretty bad...
What % of your stomach full?
Let's not talk about negative thing. Be positive
ok my stomach is about
seventy percent full
Eaten only about 30 percent I'm not good at math but
doesn't sound very promising
KAI has hit the wall hard
each bite goes down like a brick..... even delicious Rahman has its limits
Pick it up! the second wind, right?
Second wind? You feel it? Eye of the tiger?
hit the wall this is the moment where
you have to grab the inner...
power your inner strength! fight through it
push pushing into the stomach let it
work!! don't give up
until the end!! You hear that KAI?? don't give up
right
sometimes pep talks aren't enough
Are there really ways to defy human limits
I saw this on TV once
massage down.... Maybe not
with time running short on our stomachs at the limits
there was just no where to go it's not polite to leave food on your plate in
Japan most Japanese eat
every grain of rice in their bowls at meals but the human body has its limits
especially for untrained competitive eaters like us man versus food
food 2, man nothing. But it was fun
and the memories will last a lifetime and so will that flavor
jumbo GYOZA and triple RAMEN
It's been few days since that MONSTER GYOZA challenge and I'm still tasting it
After taste of the pig
yeah it's not pretty. No it's not! One of our biggest regret I think was
not finishing it.Leaving something on the plate. There's always another challenge, right?
Yes! Tokyo in Japan are loaded with food challenges! So if you're walking in
the city and you see a fun challenge in the window
don't be afraid to go in and just try it Bring some friends!
Mottai-nai!