Food Fridays - Osaka
Osaka is historically known as "The Nation's Kitchen". Although the original intent of that phrase was more practical than complimentary, Osaka has blossomed into a food-centric city where almost everything is made fresh, delicious, and right before your eyes.
Takoyaki. Probably the number one street food option in Osaka. Pieces of octopus cooked into a ball of toasty batter and smothered in various toppings of your choice. Caution: contents are mouth-scorching hot!
On the more traditional side, a little conger eel on rice with seaweed and Japanese pickles.
We stumbled onto this one restaurant for the ramen, but discovered this delicious hot noodle dish with an intense fragrant garlic sauce. Amazing!
This is what happens when Jimmy takes a bunch of snacks and plates them himself. The results are quite pretty. We have dried fish over mashed daikon, quail eggs, and smoked duck.
Another Osaka special dish: Okonomiyaki. A savory mix of flour, eggs, and, in this case, pork, squid, octopus, shrimp, and much much more. All grilled right in front of us on a large hot plate counter top.
Yakitori, or as Jimmy likes to call it "stick meat". Every little piece is seasoned and hand grilled on a little coal barbecue for that perfect char.
Japanese hot pot. Cook the finely sliced beef and pork and veggies yourself, and add in a little udon, dipping sauce and rice.
Gotta love Japanese set menus. A little bit of everything. Stewed beef, grilled beef tongue, and a small flavor-packed bowl of spicy Japanese curry.
Yakisoba. Noodles on a hot plate. Simple, but soooo good!
Oden is usually known as a winter dish, but we were able to find one restaurant that was serving it in the fall. Big chunks of filling foods like tofu, egg, and daikon simmered all day in a warm comforting broth. Definitely a great dish to ward off the cold.
So, we couldn't go to the Kansai region without trying the famed Kobe beef. This little plate was $15. How does it compare to Alberta beef? You'll have to ask Jimmy!