Osaka is known as tenka no daidokoro or “The Kitchen of Japan”, a label it earned during the Edo era due to its rice trade. That moniker has remained because of the richness and diversity of Osaka’s cuisine. This richness and diversity is further highlighted in Dotonbori, possibly Japan’s chef’s table, the spot where the culinary magic occurs. Dotonbori is closely associated to the word kuidaore or “to ruin oneself by extravagance in food”. This belief may have produced Kuidaore Taro, a mechanical drum-playing clown in Dotonbori.
Some of the notable restaurants in Dotonbori that may cause the “ruin” of locals and tourists alike via food offer Osaka’s most famous edibles like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushikatsu.
Virg and I decided to share our food so we can taste more than one or two things that evening. We planned to eat enough food to tide us over the entire night.
We joined a queue of about 30 people to have our first taste of Dotonbori - a serving of takoyaki. Takoyaki is batter filled with octopus and shaped like a ball. These hot almost undercooked soft balls are sprinkled with bonito flakes and green onions and topped with sauce.
We used the vending machine to pay for our purchase and as we moved closer to the front of the line, we had a good view of how takoyaki was made. We watched the cook expertly flick the balls to make sure the batter was cooked evenly. Another person prepared the balls with the garnishes and toppings. It was like watching a well-oiled machine at work.
When we received our takoyaki, we proceeded inside a tiny closed area with simple dining area (which was a little dirty), and I popped the balls inside my mouth one at a time. They were a little hot (I am one of those kids who ate the marshmallow right away instead of waiting for a while for someone to double my marshmallow).
I had takoyaki in Tokyo and I shared eight balls with Virg in Dotonbori for *650 yen (US $5.92). The ones in Dotonbori were some of the more basic balls I have had, yet they were yum. I could taste the tiny octopus parts and the addition of bonito flakes gave the dish a contrast in texture and in flavor. Although, I have to say that I have tasted better takoyaki in San Juan. Yes, I know. I should not say something like that, but I have to be honest.
After walking for a while, I heard my stomach make a deep and resonant sound that could be attributed only to need of sustenance. Virg and I stopped in front of a kiosk that sold Japanese melonpan. Melonpan is a sweet bun covered in a thin layer of crisp cookie dough with grid line pattern on top. The grid line pattern is supposed to imitate the appearance of a melon, hence the name.
I chose a plain melonpan with green tea ice cream filling. It cost 400 yen (US $3.64). Virg had green tea melonpan with strawberry ice cream filling for 450 yen (US $4.10).
We consumed our melonpan sandwiches a couple of meters from the kiosk, beside a lamp in the middle of the street. The melonpan was heavenly. It was soft in the middle and crisp outside. Neither the green tea ice cream nor the melonpan was cloyingly sweet. Although it was a cold night, that melonpan sandwich was a much needed hug I did not know I was missing. There is a melonpan kiosk in the mall a block away from where I live. I am sure that I will visit it soon just so I can taste that beautiful melonpan. The filling is optional.
With enough sugar and energy flowing through our systems, Virg and I crossed the Ebisubashi bridge and back. After half an hour of walking, we decided to have one last bite of Dotonbori.
We dropped by a kiosk that offered skewered items like scallops, pork, beef tongue, salmon, squid tentacles, and big crab kamaboko. We ordered one stick of big crab kamaboko for 500 yen (US $4.56). We waited while the guy grilled our order. There were tables and chairs for customers beside his grilling station and he had laminated menus to boot. But he was so popular that all the seats were taken. We enjoyed our stick of crab standing up. OMG. It was perfectly grilled; juicy and a little sugary on the outside. It did not need any dip to enhance its flavor.
Before we left, we found some vending machines. One of them dispensed Pokémon toys. Just beside it was one with Rilakkuma toys. TR unleashed my inner TR, so I spent 300 yen (US $2.73) to buy a tiny toy for my tiny girl.
When we arrived at our Airbnb place, TR excitedly opened the toy. She thought that the pink ball was the toy, so she was doubly excited when she found out that there was another pink item inside it – a tiny pink Rilakkuma bag. Like a smart girl that I wish she will be, she read the paper and found out that there were five toys. She looked at me and with her left eyebrow enquired where the other four toys were. Hehehe.
For related entries, please read Dotonbori (Osaka, Japan) and Dotonbori – Signs (Osaka, Japan).
For more entries, please read Pokémon Center Osaka (Osaka, Japan) and Rilakkuma Store (Tokyo, Japan).
*Exchange Rate: US $1.00 = 109.76 yen
How to get to Dotonbori:
It is around five minutes’ walk from Namba Station on the Nankai and Kintetsu Railways and Osaka Metro Midosuji, Sennichimae, and Yotsubashi Lines.