Thursday 30 June 2016

Eating in Japan: Osaka

We are very lucky to have just spent a week in Japan, soaking up some sunshine and lots of yummy food. I thought I'd just share a couple of highlights. They are by no means fancy restaurants, but great places for a quick and inexpensive meal.
 
We stayed at the Westin in the Umeda district, so these places were all easily accessed from there on foot. I had quite a list of food I needed to eat in Japan, and these ticked off a few boxes.
 
Curry Chicken Udon
We wanted to try both Japanese curry, and Udon, and this restaurant satisfied both in one go. Ordering from the restaurant machine was an interesting experience, but we did manage to get what we wanted.
Restaurant: Tokumasa
Location: 〒531-0076 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Kita Ward, Oyodonaka, 1 Chome−11−8
 

Delicious curry, tender chicken, and perfect noodles. I could easily have gone back for a second helping.
 
Ramen
I love tonkatsu ramen, and we managed to have a few different variations over the week we were there. For approximately 1000yen, we had ramen "with the lot" and it was delicious. A huge serving that had me stumped right at the end. We also had a serve of gyoza which were delicious dipped in the chilli provided and a little soy sauce.
This restaurant is a chain, but don't write it off because of that, you'll miss out on a great experience. Its a small restaurant and a line forms outside because its that good.


Restaruant: Ippudo OsakaLocation: 6-7 Kakudacho, Kita-ku | 1F, Osaka



Okonomiyaki
Something I'd never had until I arrived in Japan, but after my first experience in Tokyo, I wanted more. There are a million places to choose from, and we picked this one as we strolled around underneath Umeda station because it was busy and the food looked yum. We also didn't have to cook it ourselves. We were spotted from a mile away and shown the English menu which had pictures and pork and seafood options for each type of Okonomiyaki. We missed out on being able to order other little nibbles by virtue of not being able to understand the Japanese menu but don't feel we missed out on anything. We tried the traditional cabbage style, as well as the spring onion style of okonomikayi. We also finished off with an undo version which was equally delicious. The chef cooks up the okonomiyaki, then it is delivered to the hotplate at your table for you to top off with any extra toppings, divide up and eat.

 

Restaurant: SakuraLocation: Shin-Umeda Shokudogai 新梅田美食街, 9-26 Kakudacho, Kita Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 530-0017