As everyone in Osaka and every guidebook about the city will tell you, okonomiyaki, that pancake-like Japanese dish, is this city's soul food. It's comfort food, fit for every man, woman and child. Some might argue the same for takoyaki, octopus batter balls, but ...
We are living through a renaissance for the boulangerie in Japan. In just about every city and town across the country you'll find artisanal bakers making quality baguettes, epi, croissants and pain au chocolat. Le Sucre-Coeur — a deliberate and saccharine play on the famous ...
Some fish swim in universities. Or university-run fish farms, to be exact, and upon graduation they end up as sashimi served over a bed of crushed ice. This is the fate of the kuro maguro, bluefin tuna reared and harvested by Kinki University in Kansai, ...
Not all udon is created equal. I thought it was just me who was having a hard time, until I surreptitiously looked around and saw that a few other diners were also struggling. Takeuchi Udon Ten’s noodles are thick and delicious. They are also surprisingly ...
At Kunsei Lover Fumo, smoking — of the food, that is — is so desirable that it appears twice in the name of the restaurant, first in Japanese (kunsei) and then in Italian (fumo). The lover part should be self-explanatory. Just about everything on the menu ...
It's not quite cinema-dark inside Enza, but it's not far off. Indeed, the cinema connection is apposite: In many ways Enza is as much about yakitori as it is about icons of American cinema. Framed movie posters line the walls, but the best room in ...
The menu at Soryuko, a popular Chinese restaurant in Tenma, runs to roughly about 200 items, bound together in a large laminated volume. Narrowing this down to a few choices can be dizzying, but here's a hack that will help: put down the menu ...
Using the word factory to describe a restaurant lends a sort of industrial, rugged feeling. You're ready for something heavy duty. Imagine my surprise then, when I visited Sandwich Factory, which looks and feels more like an English tea room crossed with a cafe you ...
At Gomachu, tofu is fun, and possibly even exciting. It may even be sexy — the jury is still out. I realize I'm pushing the boat on a foodstuff that, while globally praised for its nutritional value, has about as much visual appeal as a ...
On the corner of Ogimachi Park directly west of Umeda you'll find a little oasis of Okinawan cuisine and culture. At Teianda they take their culture and food seriously, but not overbearingly so. Upstairs there's a stage for visiting musicians and artists from the southern ...
Hands up if you think spicy food in Japan could do with being (a whole lot) spicier? My hand is up — both of them, in fact, and I'm not alone. Ajith Prasanna Rodrigo, owner of Nuwara Kade, a Sri Lankan bar and restaurant located roughly ...
A few years ago, Katashimo Winery in southern Osaka brought out Tako-cham, a limited-edition sparkling wine that, as is suggested by its name, is an ideal partner for takoyaki, the nation's favorite batter ball. While Katoshimo might have been the first winery to hit on ...
