- When was the last time you ate a meal at a restaurant? What did you eat? How much did it cost? How was your experience? Why?
- Do you eat out at restaurants often? Why?
- Have you ever worked at a restaurant? If yes, how was it? If no, would you like to? Why?
- Where do you live? There are many restaurants that are well-known and popular in the area where you live. Tell me about one; what food do they serve? How expensive is it? Have you eaten there? Why?
- Tell me about a restaurant experience that you have had or heard about that was either outstanding or appalling. What happened?
- If a bank agreed to loan you ¥10 million ($100,000) to open a new restaurant, what kind of restaurant would you open? Why?
well-known=よく知られている, outstanding=素晴らしい, appalling=最低, to agree to ~=~に同意する
Question 1
I have not eaten at a restaurant recently (apart from KFC) as I have a new baby. I think I last went to a restaurant in Kita Horie (in Osaka) called Bistro New Orleans around January. It was delicious !!! We ate traditional New Orleans food such as gumbo (a chunky seafood soup) and a spicy beef sandwich with macaroni and cheese. I think it was about ¥4,000 for two people including drinks. The restaurant's atmosphere was great too, and the owner was very friendly.Question 2
I don't eat out often - even before the baby. I enjoy cooking at home and my wife likes my cooking too. Sometimes we go to a restaurant but only on special occasions or if we are too busy to cook anything.Question 3
Yes, I worked as a chef before coming to Japan. I trained in New Zealand and I got my first full-time chef job in England at a Michelin Star restaurant. I have not worked in a restaurant since 2011 because I moved to Japan in 2012. I do not want to work in another restaurant as the hours are long - unless I own my own restaurant.Question 4
I live close to Ikoma city but not in the city. I live on the rural edge of the city. There are only three restaurants where I live. A McDonald's, an Italian restaurant and a Chinese restaurant. McDonald's is world famous but I do not know whether the other two are famous or not. I have only eaten at the McDonald's but I would like to try both of the other restaurants, especially the Italian restaurant as they have all you can eat pizza during lunch time.Question 5
The overall standard of Japanese service in the restaurant industry is superb, especially when I compare Japan to other countries. Every time I go out for dinner I am happy with the quick and attentive service.Question 6
I would open a dessert cafe. The profit margin with desserts is arguably much better than with meat and fish dishes.Tough Vocabulary
| - English - | - Japanese - |
|---|---|
| recently | 最近 |
| delicious | 美味しい |
| atmosphere | 雰囲気 |
| occasions | 幾度となく |
| rural | 田舎 |
| overall | 全体的 |
| superb | 見事 |
| attentive | きめ細やか |
| arguably | 陳述書 |
Let’s go for all-you-can-eat pizza together!
I think you might be able to make a lot of money with a dessert cafe in Japan. I think strawberry shortcake would be your top seller.
I think it would depend on the area but if you could set up shop somewhere with a lot of foot traffic, somewhere frequented by a lot of young women with disposable incomes, you could make a killing with a dessert cafe. That said, you’d probably lose a lot of your earnings paying rent on the location.