Osaka Hai Jinks

Eats In Osaka

Most people I know who have been to Osaka have left impressed by the dining scene there. 'The food there is great,' was the general response when I mentioned that I would be going there.

And no wonder. Osaka, the second most important city in Japan after the capital Tokyo, can boast of being ichiban when it comes to certain kinds of food.

Do you know, for example, that it is the city of okonomiyaki (a pancake that contains shredded cabbage and yam) and the deadly blowfish? Or that it is where the founder of Nissin invented the first instant ramen in the 1950s? Or even that the ubiquitous plastic food replicas which adorn the windows of Japanese restaurants had their origins there?

Restaurants that have been around for more than a century still stand today. While some have grown into multi-outlet chains, others are content to stay pretty much unchanged, happy to focus on maintaining quality rather than quantity.

Most eateries are tiny, though that is no indication of how good they are. Food seems a healthy obsession with the Japanese, and Osaka is a good place to satisfy that craving.

A recent four-day eating trip to the city left me impressed with the variety of food available. And contrary to expectation, you do not have to pay very much even at the famous, albeit small, eateries.

Fugu

Fugu, or blowfish, is famous for being poisonous, and it is not uncommon in the past to hear of people dying from eating it.

But such cases are rarer these days and usually involve people who are not trained to prepare it. A 1958 law in Japan requires all chefs who prepare fugu to have a licence, so go to a reputable place. You should feel perfectly safe in Zuboraya, one of the most popular fugu restaurants in Osaka with six branches.

The one at Dotonbori, a busy street mall near the Namba underground station that is packed with shops, cinemas and restaurants, is the main branch. The narrow, five-storey eatery is right in the middle of the mall, and you spot it by a giant replica of a puffed-up blowfish above its entrance.

Fugu has a crunchy texture and the best way to savour that is to eat it raw. To make it easier on your jaw, the meat is sliced so thin that it's translucent. Dipped lightly in ponzu sauce, the flavour is light and refreshing.

The sashimi set (1,600 yen or S$25.50) also includes strips of fugu skin, which has the firm texture of chilled pig's skin. For the main course, opt for a nabe set (2,650 yen), which is a Japanese hotpot that comprises chunks of the fish as well as cubes of tofu and vegetables.

Once cooked, the meat becomes less crunchy but remains firm and smooth. Add another dish of grilled fugu with mayonnaise (850 yen) and you will have enough food for two persons.

Zuboraya Restaurant
1-6-10 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku
Tel: 06-6211-0181
Opening hours: 11am to 11.30pm

Whale Meat

Knowing that the rest of the world is aghast at the idea of eating whale meat, this speciality restaurant, which has been around since 1967, has put up a website in English declaring that the meat it serves is approved by the International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling (ICRW).

According to the eatery, the ICRW 'mandates that as much as possible all whales taken for research under Article VIII be processed and the proceeds dealt with as the permitting Member Government (in this case, Japan) directs.

'Therefore, after the scientists have examined the whales and taken the data they seek, the meat and blubber from whales are sold to defray the high costs of research.' Even if your conscience is soothed by that piece of information, not everyone will take to whale meat.

Tokuya's speciality is hari-hari nabe (4,200 yen), which is whale meat in hotpot. The sliced meat, which looks like beef, is coated with water chestnut powder. When cooked, the powder forms a slippery coat over the chewy meat, which is tough like beef but has a slightly fishy taste.

Besides whale meat, the nabe also comes with lots of mustard leaf shoots, called mizuna. They look like dou miao (peashoots) but have the distinct bite of mustard. There are also small pieces of Mexican chilli pepper to add some kick to the broth.

Tokuya Restaurant
1-7-11 Sennichimae, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi
Tel: 06-6211-4448
Opening hours: 4 to 11pm; opens at 2pm on weekends and public holidays. Closed on last Sunday of February

Okonomiyaki

This pancake made from flour, egg, shredded cabbage and yam is so popular in Osaka that there are many restaurant chains specialising in it. Chibo is one of the most popular, with 50 outlets. Its biggest branch is in the Dotonbori shopping area.

You can choose all sorts of stuffing for your pancake. Try the special, called Chiboyaki (2,100 yen), which has a mix of beef, pork, squid and shrimp. Or try something more unusual with cheese and corn.

The killer for the okonomiyaki here is the sweet sauce and mayonnaise that are squirted on top, before being covered by a heavy blanket of bonito flakes.

Chibo Restaurant
Chibo-Dotonbori Bldg, 1F-4F, 1-5-5 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku
Tel: 06-6212-2211
Opening hours: 5 to 11pm, closes at 10pm on Sundays and public holidays

Udonsuki

Udon cooked in a hotpot may not sound very exciting, but you'll be won over after a single slurp of the thick noodles in Mimiu. Udonsuki has been the restaurant's trademark since 1928.

Neither too firm nor too soft, the noodles are cooked in a clear but tasty broth. Those who want a bit of kick can add a dash of minced ginger and spiced radish to the cooked noodles.

The set (4,000 yen), which is enough for two, comes with a starter of sashimi, a skewer of grilled meat and sherbet before the suki (another name for hotpot) is brought to the table.

Besides udon, other ingredients that go into the pot include beancurd skin, mushroom, Japanese yong tau foo and some very sweet clams. You also get a single live prawn that comes inside a small lacquer box. The meal ends with dessert, which was oranges and strawberries with whipped cream when I was there.

Mimiu Restaurant
4-6-18, Hirano-macho, Chuo-ku (near Honmachi subway station)
Tel: 06-6231-5770
Opening hours: 11.30am to 9.30pm

Sushi Bars

No foodie should visit Osaka without hunting down Yoshino Sushi Restaurant, a tiny sushi bar that has been around since 1841. It was renovated just a year ago though, so it does not look its age.

Current head chef Oyama-san, 69, has been working there since 1962, and many of his regulars - corporate bigwigs with offices in the area - have been patronising the eatery for almost as long.

It is famous for its unique Osaka boxed sushi. Cooked rice is first pressed into a small, open wooden box and pieces of marinated fish are placed on top. A flat piece of wood is then used to press it down lightly.

The square slab of pressed sushi is cut into neat rectangular bite-sized pieces before it is served. The rice, which comes studded with mushroom and vegetables, is flavoured with vinegar while the fish is well-marinated. The resulting sushi is so tasty that there is no need for soya sauce or wasabi on the table.

A serving of eight pieces of assorted sushi topped with fish, prawn or egg costs 2,500 yen. Another specialty here is the senbajiru (400 yen), a fish and radish soup. The secret is in the water, which comes from the area and gives the soup a clear, sweet taste.

Yoshino Sushi Restaurant
3-4-14 Awaji-machi, Chuo-ku (near Exit 1 of Honmachi subway station)
Tel: 06-6231-7181
Opening hours: 9am to 9pm (closed on weekends and public holidays)

Fish Market

Unless you're catching it yourself, where can you get fish fresher than at a fish market? Which is why sushi fans should seek out the sushi restaurants next to the Osaka Wholesaler Market.

The market is where the catch of the day is auctioned every morning. If you can get out of bed at 4am, join in the action.

But try to get a guide who can explain what is going on. Otherwise, the proceedings may not make much sense to you as bidding is conducted through hand signals and eye contact. What's better is breakfast at one of the eight tiny sushi restaurants next to the fish market.

These are where the market workers go after their morning's work, but many Japanese celebrities have been spotted tucking into the delectable fish and rice too. Check out eatery No. 3, Endo Sushi. It is 100 years old this year and there is good reason for its longevity.

The sushi comes in a set of five pieces for 1,000 yen. One piece is topped with tuna belly or toro, the most expensive cut of fish, but the rest are a mix and match of whatever the chef lays his hands on.

My set comprised toro, hamachi (yellowtail), tai (seabream), uni (sea urchin) and unagi (smoked eel). The rice is not pressed as hard as the Tokyo version Singaporeans are
more used to, but what's more unexpected is that it is slightly warm. This is the warm sushi Endo is famous for. It came about because business here is so brisk that the chefs cannot afford to wait for the rice to be cooled.

There is no wasabi in the sushi and instead of dipping the sushi in a dish of soya sauce, you merely brush the sauce lightly on top of the fish. That is all it needs.

Endo Sushi Restaurant
1-1-86 Noda, Fukushima-ku
Tel: 06-6461-7773
Opening hours: 5am to 2pm

Snacks

If you love those prettily packaged Japanese pastries with red bean paste, you have to drop in at Tsuraya Hachiman, a cake shop-cum-cafe. It was established in 1864 and moved to its current location, just a five-minute walk from Yoshino Sushi, in the 1960s.

It is famous for monaka, a square rice-flour wafer encasing some very sweet red bean paste. The shop sells an average of 2,500 pieces of these a day at 160 yen each. If these are not to your liking, you can choose from 3,000 other types of pastries.

Many of them are also filled with red bean, though prices vary. The shop manager explained that the beans come from different places, thus the difference in prices. The pastries make good gifts with their beautiful packaging. Or you can enjoy them with a cup of tea at the cafe at the back of the shop.

Tsuraya Hachiman Restaurant
4-4-9 Imabashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 06-6203-7281
Opening hours: 8.30am to 7pm

Red Bean Shop

The tiny Meoto Zenzai seats only about 10 people at three tables, so be prepared to squeeze in among strangers. It is in a lane off one of the street malls in the Dotonbori area next to the busy ancient Hozenji Temple.

It serves only red bean soup with a single mochi (glutinous rice ball) in it. The hot dessert is perfect when you need to take a break from your shopping on a wintry afternoon.

A set of two bowls of the soup costs 500 yen and includes a cup of green tea and a piece of salt-encrusted seaweed that you chew on in between sips of the dessert.

Meoto Zenzai
1-2-10, Namba, Chuo-ku (along Hozenji Street)
Tel: 06-6211-6481
Opening hours: 10am to 10.30pm