OSAKA: sukiyaki

There's a electronic superstore Yodobashi Umeda in Osaka. It offers more than just the newest electronics, household items, computers, or cameras, but it also has a lot of restaurants and shops inside of it.

After shopping for my mochi maker and some other fun stuff, John and I went to this Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki place called Tajimaya on the 8th floor in Yodobashi Camera.


Of course everyone wanted to eat there, too, so we had to wait in line for about 25 minutes.

It was not too bad to wait in line for a while because the restaurant put out some stools for people to rest on... plust it was fun seeing how parents tried to entertain their children in line. They were cute.


When we finally got in, we decided to go for the Top Grade Japanese Beef course. It was like 10 more dollars to go for the Top Grade Japanese Beef compared to "regular" grade beef, and it was an all-you-can-eat (with time limits of 90 minutes). It was all worth it to spend the 10 dollars!

A cool guy lead us to a sukiyaki table where we found a cast iron pot on a holegen plate. We didn't quite know what to do, but we watched the cute couple next to us and pour in some soup stock in the pot, added some vegetables (from the buffet table) and then the cool guy was back with the beef.


OMG. The beef was so yummy. My camera just couldn't do it justice. It was really good.


It would melt in your mouth!

I loved the sukiyaki sauce and the shitake mushrooms, different vegetables, and the udon noodles that we put in the pot. They were so delicious!

And how come there were no other pictures of the cooked food or anything else at the restaurant, you ask. I was just enjoying the food too much to stop and take any more photos. That was why.

donburi

Every year we go to Japan we enjoy the many different donburi dishes at the small eateries. Most of the donburi shops are chains, and the largest being Yoshinoya.

We've eaten there a few times... most of the time it's late, and nothing else is open... after all, these donburi shops are usually open 24 hours a day!

Another donburi chain that we see quite a bit in Osaka was Nakau. There's one in Nakatsu (near Umeda) that's really close to the hotel we usually stay at.


Chicken donburi.


Beef donburi is a must-have in donburi shops.

The food at these shops are not super fantastic, but it is like simple home-cooked meals... plus it's always available... and that's a very good thing.

pocky!

A lot of people know I love Japanese treats... cookies, candies, chips, cakes, you name it, and among them Pocky has been one of my favorite for a long time. These stick cookies coated in all sorts of chocolate are just hard to resist.

Joyce's sister sent her some Pocky treats, and she was kind enough to share a pack each with me! These are of some crazy flavors: banana, green tea, blueberry, and mystery marble.



And every time I have Pocky I think of "Glico Man" at Doutonbori in Osaka!

OSAKA: nissin instant ramen museum

Japanese instant ramen noodles are yummy, and it all started with Monofuku Ando who invented the world's first cup of instant noodles at age 48!

And who knows, there's a museum in Japan to honor Ando, and it's called The Monofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum. According to their web site, visitors can learn how to make the noodles from scratch (with class fee) and create their very own cup of instant ramen with the ingredients and spices they choose.

I read all about it before we headed off to Japan, but didn't end up going after all. Sad. I really wanted to make my own cup of instant ramen!


I did see a special Nissin Chicken Ramen bus when I was in Osaka. I guess that would have to do until I go and visit the museum.

OSAKA: golden dragon ramen

John told me he had started looking for tickets for our trip to Japan later this year, and I realized that I really have to eventually finish up writing about the "Kansai, Japan 07/08" trip soon, or I would probably forget all about it.

With that being said, I'm going write about the "Golden Dragon Ramen" on the famous food/market street Doutonbori in Osaka where we visted one day.



We've passed this ramen shop several times in the past. From what I undersood there were two other sub-locations on Doutonbori, and the one we went to was the main and original shop.


There's almost always a line of people in front of this corner shop. You have to stay in line in front of a ticket vending machine to get your ramen ticket. There were not that many choices... in fact there were two: original ramen, and ramen with extra grilled pork. Simple as that. After you get your ticket a guy would greet you, take your tickets, and show (point) you your seats.

These "seats" and the little tables are on tatamis (that are on platforms). I think you have the options of taking off your shoes or not. I noticed that if a girl was wearing a skirt, chances were that she didn't even get her legs onto the tatatmi, but to just sit side-ways off the tatami platform.

After you are seated you can walk up to the self-service counter to grab water, kimchi, other sorts of pickles, and spices. John got some kimchi and water for us. I saw a lady got a whole bowl-ful of chopped green onions to go with her ramen soup. Interesting.


I think we got the "original" bowls of ramen.

The soup base Golden Dragon was a pork-bone base. Thick and delicious. The pork in the soup was thinly sliced and flavorful. Yummy!

We sat, ate, enjoyed the crowded shop and street, and tried not to look at the people who are waiting in line to buy their ramen tickets, staring at us.

OSAKA: best lip balm ever

The first year we went to Osaka I forgot to bring my lip balm, and everyone knows I can't do without my lip balm, so I went to drugstores and othe shops wanting to find a basic and good Japanese lip balm.

And there were so many of them! Then I saw this "Omi Brotherhood Menturm Medicated Stick with Menthol". It was made in Japan, and on the package it said it was for "dried, chapped and cracked lip". I had to give it a try.



I had been buying some and bring them back to the U.S. every year since then. It's "thick" and larger in diameter than standard stick lip balms, not too hard or soft, and it moisturizes and "stays" on your lips very well!

Oh, and it doesn't get all melty in my pocket! That's always a bonus.

OSAKA: happy chinese new year!

Theoretically Chinese New Year falls on February 7th this year, but since the majority of people who celebrate Chinese New Year is in Asia, it's already the 7th anyhow... therefore, Happy Chinese New Year everyone! We've gotta eat a lot of Chinese food today.


We saw this puppy dressed up all festive on New Year's Eve when we were in Osaka. She was waiting for her people outside a shop next to her bicycle. She was really calm and quiet, and just sat down when we were taking her pictures.

P.S. I know people say it's "Year of the Rat," but "Rat" just doesn't sound cute. I think I'll call it "Year of the Mouse."

OSAKA: hot snacks

We finally got some sunshine here in Salt Lake City, but it's still really cold. I'm starting to miss all the hot snacks at the convenience stores we got in Japan.


There was oden (in the front), and all sorts of bao.

Hmm... hot snacks... just thinking about them makes me feel warm.

OSAKA: sanshu udon

One of the places John and I go to eat at in Osaka every year is "Sanshu Udon". It's a little shop near our hotel that specialized in handmade udon noodles.

The shop used to be one of a bigger chain, but the owner decided to go independent and started making his own fresh udon noodles every day. It's all worth it. The udon noodles at the shop are amazing, and the soups and sauces are great as well.


John usually gets the "katsu kare udon" (curry fried pork chop cutlets udon) and he got the same thing this year. I got the curry fried chicken udon this tiem. The pork and the chicken were tender and the curry soup/sauce was just amazingly delicious, and a little spicy as well. They were so good!

Sanshu Udon
Toyosaki 3-4-12, Kita-ku, Osaka
Hours: 11:00～15:30 (l.o.15:00)
17:30～22:30 (l.o.22:00)
Closed on Sundays.