Konbini: Cult recipes, stories and adventures from Japans iconic convenience stores

by Brendan Liew, Caryn Ng

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Japan, Food

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a gluten free person, I eat surprising well when in Japan and the konbini really helps with that. Amazing recipes and information in here, as well as lots of pictures. Only drawback is some of the recipes are Americanised and I want something closer to the Japanese versions but good news, I should easily be able to make them gluten free.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other readers more familiar with Japanese culture and foods will get a lot more out of this book than I did-- it's probably not for people making their first forays into reading about Japanese anything, as it uses a lot of Japanese terms very casually. That's probably a lovely reading experience for the intended audience.

Most of the recipes looked simple enough, but again, mostly not for beginners-- between the specialty ingredients and multi-step processes (layering, shaping, chilling, frying), lower-confidence cooks should start with something more like Let's Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photographs are amazing, the food is delicious and you can taste the food through the pages.

[Kate]

Made the soy milk and pork nabe and some other stuff. Fun book!

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mouthwatering recipes, but I was hoping for more about the konbini's place in what the authors call social infrastructure.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook certainly captured the zeitgeist, at a time when there has been a significant uptick in overseas tourism into Japan, and when konbinis have been gathering a huge fanbase on social media. Foodwise, there are a lot more recipes than I had expected. In addition to classic konbini food such as sandwiches, croquettes, fried chicken and steamed buns, the author also explored simple, homestyle dishes in general - the sort that might be available in the bentos in konbini, that people might grab to eat at home after a long day at work. Combined, they seem to form a good collection of simple but authentic day-to-day dishes.

The book also presented a potted social history of konbinis and their place in Japanese society. It is Lawson-centric - it appeared that Lawson was the only company who was willing to be interviewed. It would have been nice if a more rounded review was an option.