If you have eaten Japanese food, it is most likely that you’ve seen or tasted Japanese short grain rice. But have you ever had the white rice for breakfast the way we do?

We eat “Hakumai” (white rice) at any time of the day. With a steak, curry, you name it. Most noodle restaurants even offer a small side of rice to go with the noodle. (Cause you know, there’s never enough carbs)

For breakfast, we normally have a hakumai with a bowl of miso soup and something flavourful to go with the bland rice. My favourites are mentaiko (spicy cod roe), umeboshi (pickled plum), and natto. If you hear that we eat spiced codfish eggs at 8 A.M. you might think “not me.” But it’s essentially some fresh caviar for a brekkie – now that’s what I call a quality lifestyle. While umeboshi and natto have become famous and available in Sydney, mentaiko hasn’t made it yet. If you get a chance to visit Japan, make sure you look out for places that offer mentaiko with rice! We also use mentaiko in Japanese-style pasta…and it’s absolutely to die for. If you prefer mentaiko pasta, check out this pasta chain in Japan.

Long story short, if you don’t think you’re a breakfast person, rice person, or let alone some fishy egg person…well you should be in Japan.