OSAKA – The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The skies are clear and sunny. The tail end of winter provides a cool breeze – a respite from Manila’s sweltering temperature.
And there is an abundance of delicious food that you would literally be led by your nose to that unassuming stall selling street food, the long queue of locals waiting for their turn to be served a sure indicator that your tummy is in for a treat. Or, perhaps to that Michelin-starred restaurant where you can kiss a substantial percentage of your month’s salary goodbye for a three-course meal.
In Osaka, Japan’s second largest city and considered as its food capital, there is no scarcity of gustatory pleasures that would make you unleash your inner ‘kuiadore’—a Japanese term that roughly translates to “eat until you drop.”
Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki
Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki are Osaka’s iconic snacks. If you see an octopus sign, some guy cooking takoyaki in round molded griddle pans could not be far behind. Served in a boat-shaped container, one order usually has around six to eight pieces of piping hot savory balls with a chunk of octopus tentacle inside, doused in a piquant sauce and Japanese mayonnaise and topped with dried bonito flakes and green onions. Some stalls, like the ones outside Osaka Castle, offer grated cheese as free additional topping. Okonomiyaki, also known as Japanese pizza, literally means to grill anything you want. Following the Osaka-style of cooking okonomiyaki, all ingredients (such as shrimp, pork belly slices, and cabbage) are cooked in batter with tempura scraps, and topped with mildly sweet sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, dried seaweed, and dried bonito flakes.
Ramen
At the heart of the Dotonbori area is a popular ramen house that is packed with Japanese workers. A floating dragon welcomes customers, followed by Japan’s iconic vending machine where you would get a ticket for your ramen. You give the ticket to the staff in exchange for a number, and within less than five minutes they will call out your number and serve your chosen ramen. The soup is tonkatsu (pork broth) style and the noodles are served with thinly sliced chashu pork. You can adjust the flavor of ramen with the complimentary kimchi, Chinese chives, and roasted garlic. Oh, and remember to take off your shoes as you slurp your ramen while seated in the restaurant’s tatami mat. Smoking is allowed inside the restaurant, and beer is the only drink you can buy inside Kinryu. For non-alcoholics, you can bring in your beverage of choice from the many vending machines outside.
Sushi and Sake
You can learn how to make authentic sushi at the Umemori Sushi School. Here, you would take 20 grams of Japanese rice and top this with different kinds of seafood – salmon, tuna, prawn, fish roe, and squid among others. Your finished product will serve as your lunch, along with clear noodle soup and prawn tempura. There are also several sake breweries in Japan, including Hakutsuru Sake Brewery, which has been in operation since 1943. It is located in the Nada district of Kobe, which has high-quality natural spring water and cold winters – two elements ideal for brewing sake. Hakutsuru also offers sweet varieties of Japan’s poison of choice, including the citron- and plum-flavored sake.
Crabs
Kani Doraku is a famous crab restaurant found in several locations in Japan, easily identified by its iconic giant, moving crab billboard outside its restaurants. The original store in Dotonbori serves both king crabs and snow crabs. The lunch set menu, starting at around ¥3,000 is less expensive than the meals served for dinner which can fetch for as high as ¥9,000. From boiled crab to crab tempura, to miso crab and crab sushi, you can have your fill at this store, as long as you make sure to reserve ahead as the restaurant is almost always full.
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