🌙 🍡Use code SHARMELEON to get $5 off your first #Sakuraco box now: team.sakura.co/sharmeleon-SC2308 Experience Japan from the comfort of your own home 🇯🇵 Have you tried Japanese Food in England? What are your thoughts? Sainsbury's sushi was so much better than I was expecting 😆 Which country should we try Japanese food in next?? 👀🌏
Japanese restaurants in US are mostly run by either Koreans and Chinese, so I'm guessing the same in UK. Especially someone naming the restaurant わがまま. 😂
@@badar-uugangantomor8670no that’s not true, there’s a legend about a rabbit who lives on the moon (in both Japanese and Chinese culture) and that’s why the rabbit is a symbol of the moon festival
In the Abroad in Japan podcast he tells the story of how Sharla's cats "marked their territory" all over his first shipment of his (then) unreleased book. The "anti-Cat" Chris lore was very strong that episode... 😅
@@inspiteofshameI think he's the classic grumpy person who didn't care for cats...until he got one. Then, he finds out he actually loves them or at least, really loves the one (or in this case, two) he now has 😊
It really puts in perspective how respectful everyone is in Japan when you compare it to how many people in London shout at Sharla about what she's filming. I love the friendliness, and you can tell it's all good natured, but really stark shift compared to a usual Sharla vid!
@@linusfotografyou're right, that's so interesting! Do you think it's because they're so accustomed to foreign tourists? I used to live in Germany, where the culture is similar to Japan in the sense of their respect and quiet toward each other. So when I lived there, as an American, I found myself craving a different type of socialization, so we'd go to Ireland All. The. Time. Similar folks who just start chatting and want to be your friend! I love seeing Sharla respond so warmly 😊
Really fun and random couple of days! BIGGEST SUPRISE: Sainsbury's Sushi counter - definitely didn't expect much from it but it was legitimately good BEST OVERALL FOOD: Wag's Katsu Bannana Ice Cream - Not really Japanese but sooo good BEST CAT: Fungus - No elaboration required Special mention to the Ramen place who were so friendly and even let us get some cool shots of food being prepped. The ramen was really nice (noodle rigidity aside) and I've been there before for their bbq stuff which is amazing.
I love how you're so fearless with vlogging in a place where it's not as normalized as it is in Tokyo. I loved hearing all those people's reactions as it's very similar to the ones I got when vlogging in America 🙈✨
@@sharlainjapan Belarusians get like that too, especially in the subway stations. They'll call the police on you and everything else, then spend the next 3 hours getting all your documents checked and interviewed 🙃
@@RT-qd8yl Valid. As much as a social media person I am. I do videos and clips but at places with permission granted and also with noone not in the circle, in the background. I wouldn't like someone just whipping out their phone in a shared public space and doing a live or filming. Kind of disregarding others space in public. But eh, depends on contexts as well. So, amateur film at our or your own discretion, at the end of the day.
Been a fan of the channel for a long time, but as a Yorkshireman, seeing you pick out a Yorkshire tea, this is the pinnacle of your content to date. SOLID choice Sharla, proud of you. 🎉
Haha we are in Australia and my daughter moved to the UK for a couple of years, brought home an English lad who got us all hooked on yorkshire tea. He didn't last but we still only drink yorkshire tea 😂😂
This was a fun tour! My mom would totally sigh and mutter "mattaku" upon encountering a restaurant called "wagamama". I used to call her "wagamama" sometimes (when I was feeling facetious) and she'd called me "dame-chan" or "dameneko" (hence my handle). One of these days, I am going to open a cat cafe called "dameneko". All the cats will be very naughty. And then I will make a social media / messaging app called "chotto", which will reward indirect and passive-aggressive language.
Great to see Canterbury Tails featured here! The team are amazing and care so much for their cats and customers, if you're in the area make sure to book yourself in!
Access to Japanese food in the UK has gotten a lot better in recent years. Almost all of the supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, etc) will have a sushi counter. And there are also a lot more Japanese restaurants about now, too. My favourite Japanese restaurant can be found in London's Chinatown and it's called 'Tokyo Diner'. The food there is the most authentic tasting Japanese food that I've had in the UK, and it's relatively cheap, too.
Big agree, I used to find it so difficult to find Japanese food, but as you said, almost all of the supermarkets have them (Although personally I'm not huge on Tesco's sushi, haven't tried the others), and then there's the chain store Wasabi that I absolutely love.
Hey Sharla, if you haven't already, next time you're in Canterbury check out the restaurant Tamago, it's run by Japanese staff and I love the food there :)
That cat cafe was the best! You can tell it's popular, and the store and cats are all well cared for. Glad you got Pokemon cards, found really good Japanese food overseas, and had a nice time. Thanks for introducing us to this UK town! 😃
More importantly: why would you go to McDonald's of all places to buy cucumber?! That's like going to the supermarket to get a burger, fries and a coke.
I think nice sushi in UK supermarkets that's made in store is a fairly recent thing. Up until a few years ago it was the regular pre-packaged stuff you would expect.
Yeah, Tesco has partnered with yo sushi and have counters like that Sainsbury's one. they make it fresh and it's honestly really good, haven't seen raw tuna there yet though
Wagama is selfish, wagamama (noun) I would translate as self-indulgence. If you turn it into a verb e.g. wagamama-ne then it would mean selfishly. So yeah, it's selfish to be self-indulgent but if you share it's ok 😂
It’s a stupid name for an overrated restaurant. People here in England consider themselves ✌️”cultured”✌️ if they eat out in somewhere other than McDonalds - such cute inverted snobbery, as most of my fellow Brits wouldn’t know their ass from the elbow. 😂
@@ChrisP978 Hard disagree. It's definitely more commonly translated as "selfish". (p.s. I don't even think it can be used as a verb. Certainly not as "wagamama-ne")
I was really expecting most of the food to be like the first place, with it having a Japanese label but being designed for more British palates, but I was super pleasantly surprised to see people doing actual authentic Japanese dishes AND doing them well! I'm also very ready for Chris's complete conversion into a cat person, let's go!
That cat café is going on my itinerary for my next UK trip! I'm sad I missed the book signing by a single day, because I could only stay for a short time. Caught a musical premiere, though.
I met you in Nottingham just recently, I was visiting from Denmark and had a Harajuku t-shirt on 🇩🇰 I understand if you don’t remember me but I just wanted to say that your video about your thyroid operation came just as my mum had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and I was so upset but your video gave me some hope for a miracle like yours, and then a couple months later the miracle happened when she had her thyroid removed and it turned out not to be cancer thankfully ❤ I felt too awkward and didn’t want to be super cheesy at the book signing but I really wanted to thank you because I just feel like that video of yours brought so much hope and good fortune to my life 💕 Thank you for an amazing experience at the book signing ☺️ I hope you enjoyed your trip to the U.K.!
I’m so so happy to hear about your Mom’s good results!!! What a relief😭🙏❤️❤️ Thank you so much for coming to the book signing it was really lovely meeting so many people!!🥹💕
Can't speak for the rest of Canada, but I can confirm that the ramen in Toronto has vastly improved since it became popular and mainstream. However the issue is the pricing, where you're paying double or even triple the amount you would normally pay in Japan.
Me, from California, the ramen is also very good here, with places like Marafuku Ramen and Ramen Nagi and more around. We also have the same issue with pricing and how everything is so expensive here, espeically compared to what you'd pay in Japan. I will also note that California, espeically the coastal urban/suburban centers have a vast somrgasboard of excellent and sometimes affordable food from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds (think Ethiopian/Eritrian, Japanese/Korean/Chinese/Taiwanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indian, Russian/Ukrainian/Polish/Latvian, Mexican/Salvadoran/Peruvian and MORE)
There are lots of ramen places in Vancouver area and if you google Victoria there are a number of places to try ramen. There are variety of ramen in BC.
Uhhhh I live in Toronto and have been to Japan several times, and from what I’ve seen the standard ramen price in Japan is 900-1200 yen and in Canada its 12-16 CAD on average, so no, not double or triple lol
@@hellofromspace Uh, I'm Japanese who lives in Toronto who's been to Japan several times as well. If you're simply comparing the cheapest prices you can find, then sure you can find a fairly cheap bowl of ramen in Toronto. However if you compare a typical ramen at around the 1,000 yen range in Japan, the same bowl with the same ingredients (i.e. egg, meats) can easily cost over $20 in Toronto after taxes (and don't forget tip!). So yes, that equates to double and sometimes being tripled the price.
Sharla, the next time you are back in BC, and if you get the chance to get over to Vancouver, there's a really good ramen restaurant in the west end on Denman Street called Kintaro. They have amazing ramen! Definitely worth the stop 😋
I did a crazy stock-up on pet supplies in Belgium recently. We don't have any snacks or toys in Rwanda. I brought them back a pet fountain, which they absolutely adore, and what my friend laughingly refers to as 'kitty crack.' That paste in little tubes that you give as a treat. I've never seen them react so positively to anything before! I really think it contains something it shouldn't 😳
My cat loves those creamy treats. I usually let her have one in the morning and she had learnt to expect it! I keep them in the fridge during hot weather!
I knew that the fried banana and ice cream would be delicious, cause we have that exact thing in like most restaurants that serve Asian buffets in Sweden, and it’s like the best dessert ever! ❤
I love that you guys are cat "Daddy" and "Mommy' too. I love my adorable lil fur babies It's such wholesome content seeing you and Chris in that cat cafe spreading your love among the little fur babies that need it so much! Great content.
When I saw the title, I was like 'Oh God' but I'm glad (mostly surprised lol) that you thought the Japanese food was good! Lucky you went to Sainsbury's, I've tried supermarket sushi from a few chains and uh most of them are not good LOL. Always love your British vlogs especially, it's nice to see you enjoy what I always take for granted! The cat cafe looked amazing, definitely popping in there next time I'm in Canterbury!
Great video! Otsukare. I laughed out loud at that mosaic. Also at the answer to the "Who's that Pokemon?" clip. Thanks for giving me a chuckle or two today. Take care guys and gals.
So happy you thought the food was good, I absolutely love going to Shoryu in Oxford and it's good to know it actually is authentic! I will let my sister know about Canterbury Tails, she'd love it.
i used to live in canterbury during uni and its so fun to see you get to enjoy and explore the city! makes me want to go back sometimes since there was so much i never got the chance to do or try while there and so many new things have popped up. i always liked how many different japanese restaurants would pop up there too. happy samurai, tamago and mr miyagi are a few id always walk past and loved to try. also i feel like the people randomly videobombing seems so odd, i wouldnt normally used to see people be that upfront to approach you when i was around. love the cat cafe and the wonderful cat name fungus, iconic name.
It’s so cool to see you enjoying Canterbury, and checking out the new spots. Also kinda weird at the same time, to see my stomping grounds in your vlogs! 😂 Definitely checking out that cat cafe soon!
Omgggg amazing watching Sharla explore my home country ❤! Absolutely loved this vlog had me laughing so hard. Also £50 for two ramen bowls is soooo expensive omg. Also love how Sharla is so pleasant to average rude British kids/ people that harass people 😂. So awesome seeing you go to all the places that are so familiar ie Sainsbury’s ❤ Thanks for a great video!
This vlog was so unexpected and enjoyable, it felt unhinged in a good way. Like when you pop something, your initial reaction is to say ouch but it felt good after all. Different.
Another amazing video 🎉 Glad you’re having a good time in the U.K. I’ve always wondered what the matcha Ice cream is like at the Japanese cafe Wasabi. Great on a hot day apparently. I hope you can try it and let me know how it is. ❤ much love x
Haha this is near me! I went to the Korean Cowgirl last month. They used to be in one of the old places near the slanted building but they recently moved to that place. Their stuff definitely isn't traditional, it's definitely more asian fusion food, but it's still really good! Tamago on Northgate is nice too. The Pho restaurant you passed at 10:14 has only just opened and they do some nice Pho in there too! It's a chain but it's pretty close to what you'd get in Vietnam apparantly.
First time I went to a cat cafe in Leeds had a near identical copy of my first cat. The urge to not cry was tremendous. I see why we they have such an appeal about them though.
One of my favourite RU-vidrs is in a city nearby, wow! 😍 The cat cafe is awesome !! Been there a few weeks ago! Have you tried happy samurai? By no doubt the best Japanese in Canterbury!
This is awesome, I live in Canterbury and had no idea ya'll were here. My absolute favourite Japanese restaurant in Canterbury is called Happy Samurai which is actually owned and run by a Japanese family, its a shame you didn't got there in the video
One thing they almost never get right in UK - sushi rice... the texture and vinegar mixture is never correct unless you go to very high end places. In general supermarket sushi in Japan is better than most restaurant sushi in London. Have been to Shoryu in London and they do indeed do a good Tonkotsu Ramen. Tonkotsu is by far the most common variety - would be nice to see more Miso, Shio, Shoyu bases but most places seem to just do Tonkotsu...
Wagamama was actually where I had my first Ramen and I have to say I never had one as good as that first one ever since, even in a ramen restaurant in my country (I am from Bulgaria) that was owned by a family of Japanese brothers I think. The Wagamama restaurant I tried my first Ramen was the one near the O2.
SO! 1: The pokemon cards are not just in the UK, I know it's happening in most of Europe, and in the USA. Possibly in other countries too. 2: I worked at a sushi counter (Panku in an ASDA) for a while and they're pretty decent food wise. Though keep in mind that a LOT of it was frozen. 3: While Wagamama's food is tasty enough, it's what happens behind the scenes that makes me not wanna go there. My bf worked there for a couple weeks and couldn't stand it. Training was practically non-existant, Food was being left out for long periods of time without being covered, things weren't set up to keep alergens or different kind of ingredients strictly seperated and you'd just have stuff out going stale and open for all sorts of bacteria before they then "assemble" all the different dishes on demand, since all the stuff is pre-cooked and basically just heated up again when someone orders something. And all of that is assuming the staff member was even taught the recipe to begin with.
When I was living in Canterbury there was this place literally called 店 and the Japanese girl I was with pointed it out that it's funny cause it literally just means "shop/restaurant". Back then I didn't know any Japanese but if I think back to it now it's pretty funny. It's a bit tricky to find it though.
Personally, being a Brit who has been to Japan 9 times, I find most Japanese restaurants in the UK put chilli on far too many things (especially Wagamamas where they use it as a garnish)! It doesn't help that I'm allergic to it, but I certainly haven't encountered that in Japan itself so I'm not too sure why we do it. I'm glad you are enjoying trying these places out though!
Wagamama has been going down the Korean inspiration route for a while now (adding Kimchi to some of the ramen too) ... Thankfully the food is still quite good / interesting. I am not good with spicy food too lol :D
I loved all the food and I am so jelly 😂 but my fav was the cat cafe. I wish we had one in Indiana. My cat かげ would be so jealous 😅 thank you for the beautiful video ❤
There has definitely been a Japanese food invasion in the UK recently and I happily welcome our new culinary overlords! There's a Japanese restaurant called Kanzzi in Epsom near where I work and we go there regularly for lunch - although it is a bit pricey, their unagi ju is really nice - the only time I've eaten eel outside of jellied eel. There's also Katsu on the rocks near where I live who make really nice katsu burgers, I really love the tonkatsu (pork katsu) burger. And very recently an izakaya opened up near me called Toriton izakaya, and the food is very nice! There has also been some very nice Korean restaurants coming out too, though the ones near me are primarily Korean fried chicken with Yangnyeom sauce. Of course London has had these cuisines for a long time now but it's recently been spreading all over the UK.
Hey Shar, I realize this video is a few months old so someone has probably already told you but just in case they didn't, the UK isn't the only country to include Poke'mon cards in their Happy Meals. The US also does occasionally... I was really surprised when you said they don't in Canada because I thought you all would have being neighbors and cultural siblings and all 😅 I have gotten a few packs over the years and you are more than welcome to them if you are interested. I would be happy to mail them to you! I am going to continue to hang on to my first gen collection that I go as a kid since I have already kept them for 20 some years and I figure my future kids might want them. But you can definitely have any of the new ones I have acquired 😊
one interesting experience I had was when visiting Germany, I tried out a Japanese restaurant. The waiter only spoke German and Japanese. I only spoke English and novice Japanese but we were able to communicate with Japanese. 😆Do you ever try speaking Japanese at a restaurant not in japan?
It's funny to hear a ramen described as creamy almost like a carbonara. There's this place called Kizuki that does a garlic ramen and it reminds me of a garlic linguini. 👀 So I've had similar thoughts eating at some ramen places with a western footprint.
This feels like an old school Sharla video, just exploring and enjoying the adventure, love it ! ( not a critique, just haven't watched in quite a while... )
The point of the pull tab on the happy meal is to make a tray to eat from for the kiddies. You can pour their chips out and put the burger in it. They make less mess that way
You've picked the best week to come to the UK this is the first week of full sunshine since June! we've had the worst summer this year nothing but clouds and rain all the way through lol
The best Japanese restaurant in Canterbury was a little place called Tamago around one of the back streets behind the cathedral. It's still probably the best Japanese restaurant I've been to in the whole uk. Haven't been in years though because I moved out of the area. I wonder if it's still there...
@@emmasmith8367 That's so good to hear! I've seen so many restaurants pop up and disappear in other cities I've been living in over the years especially through the lockdowns. But Tamago really was a good one 😊
Loved the video Sharla, really glad you are enjoying being in England. I think you brought the good weather with you though because we've had a really wet and cold Summer this year. I think we had one nice week in June and the last couple of weeks have been really nice but other than that we haven't really had much of a Summer! Looks like I'll be planning a day trip to Canterbury soon on the back of your video. I had no idea they had a cat cafe!?! Xx
I'm early! 😂 I've been hooked on the malty biscuit tea since I saw you drinking it; I get it from Amazon because I can't find it in specialty stores here. It's so good! I found roasted brown rice tea in a shop and I've been drinking a lot of that too, though it's quite pricey; it's from Japan so I suppose that's why it's so costly.
Sharla got me hooked on the Yorkshire teas too 😂. I adore the Toast and Jam. I keep it in my Amazon shopping cart at all times and stock up if the price goes down! There’s a tiny restaurant near me here in California that makes their own Roasted brown rice tea (genmaicha) and it is amazing. They only serve it in-house though.
