(xi) Special Osaka food post

Food. Glorious glorious food. There was no way I could taste the exact same flavours when I'm back home. If anything, the food in Japan has really raised the bar for me. It really did not disappoint.
But on to the food in Osaka. I mentioned in the previous post about having breakfast at a curry store in the Umeda Sky building - Coco Ichibanya. The dish I ordered was a Tonkastu (deep fried pork cutlet) with rice and a very hefty thick serving of curry and pieces of melted cheese. Mmmhmm...plus a side of potato salad and an iced coffee. The level of spice can be chosen when ordering, and personally I felt the moderate level was perfect as the level of spice didn't obscure the sweetness of the curry.

At the HEP shopping center, we had lunch at a Hawaiian style restaurant where they served steak on hot plates and very lovely pancakes. Unfortunately I didn't take a good enough photo to post on here, but I did make sure I had a beautiful shot of these highly recommended cheese tarts nearby from a store called Pablo. Pablo is a chain store that is well known for their melt-in-your-mouth cheesecake like tarts, and we couldn't help ourselves to also try their milkshakes. In order to try all their flavours, we picked the original, chocolate and macha mini tarts to go along with our strawberry (left) and white chocolate with almond cream shakes (right). The tart filling didn't melt as much as I thought it would when I cut into it, but the taste was very rich and creamy. Also as part of the Osaka Amazing Pass, we also got a free biscuit when we showed them our passes.

During the river cruise on the Okawa River, we spotted a line of food stalls behind the cherry blossoms where we immediately made it our dinner spot.

I thought these were something fancy but they were just round potato tots with cheese and ketchup.

Plenty of yaki soba wrapped with an egg omelette.

Sausages wrapped with more egg omelletes.

And my favourite - Dango. These were twice the size from the ones I tried back in Tokyo.

I barely remember what this snack was, but from my vague memory the roll had meat inside and there was a choice between either egg or cheese on top.

Didn't taste it personally but thought this was cute - a seal shaped cotton candy

During one of our meals in Osaka, we randomly stumbled across this restaurant that served Champon - a lesser variant of ramen made of egg based noodled. They came in a very rich and hot pork broth with a bountiful amount of crunchy vegetables.

Kushikatsu is a plate of deep fried vegies and meat on a stick, which sounds simple enough but again, a must try in Osaka. They come with a large bowl of communal dipping sauce, so it's a big no-no to dip again after the first bite.

This self-serving restaurant also has a cute way in delivering the food across to customers. Once the chefs are done in the kitchen, they place the food and plates on literally a toy train with a number of carriages and it zips down the middle and stops at the right table. You grab the food, press the red button, and the train returns to the kitchen.

Finally, I'll leave the rest of the photos of Dontonbori here and the takoyaki we devoured that also had a savory soup option. My eager stomach is already waiting for a return trip!

(x) Osaka : scenary viewing, the palace, and Dontonbori

As the second largest metropolitan city in Japan, many people would recognize Osaka as the city with the iconic Osaka Castle. But there's far more then just the castle (and the food but that's in the next post!). We spent 2 days exploring Osaka, and utilized the Osaka Amazing Pass which provided unlimited local transportation, detailed maps, and many coupons.

Umeda Sky Building

This office building is unlike any other as it towers 173m high with a Floating Garden Observatory that offers a wide panoramic view of the city. We reached the building on foot from the Osaka/Umeda station. Of course it's hard to not pass the opportunity to take a couple of snaps from the ground up before riding the impressively steep escalators to the Observatory. The cost of admission is 1000Y.

 

For those who are terrified of heights, it's a good idea not to look back as you're half way up the escalators. 

You can either enjoy the scenery inside behind the thick glass panels, or step out to enjoy the views of the Yodo River that separate Osaka and Amagasaki.

In one section of the outdoor observatory was a 'couple section' where couple locks can be purchased and locked onto the wires as shown below.

 

On the lower floors are restaurants lined and decorated in a style of the Showa Period (1912-1945). We went in the early morning so there was barely anyone there, but the restaurants weren't opened either.  However there was a curry restaurant called CoCo Ichibanya that opens at 11am just outside of the restaurant floor, so we had our breaky there before heading up the tower.

 

HEP Ferris Wheel 

Another perfect way to enjoy the scenery of Osaka from above ground is to go on the HEP Ferris Wheel. HEP FIVE is a department store that has a huge red ferris wheel atop its roof, hard not to miss from afar. In the atrium we were greeted by a pretty grand size of a red whale above us. Just off to the side were 2 attendees who gladly directed us to take the elevator to the 7th floor where the ferris wheel was.

Admission fee was 500Y per person, and each gondolla was big enough to fit a family of 4. The scenery certainly didn't fail to impress.

  

Osaka Palace




Ahh finally Osaka Palace, a place (not surprisingly) brimming with tourists. It was a beautiful day to walk from Tanimachi 4-chrome Station, and the views of the surrounding parks and cherry blossoms made the walk quite enjoyable leading up to the palace itself.

A sight that caught my eye before entering the gates was an elderly gentleman that had a cute chihuahua in his duffle bag.

Just outside the palace is a large time capsule implemented during an expo in 1971. It contains cultural assets of the 20th century buried 15m beneath the monument, promoting peace and prosperity. The upper capsule is to be opened at the start of each century, whilst the lower capsule is to be opened in the year 6970.

Inside the palace was a museum that held relics such as art, armour, weapons, and details of the construction of the palace and history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the emperor who ordered the castle to be built in 1583. This castle has been destroyed by troops, rebuilt, struck by lightening and burnt down, survived the air raids during WW2, before being revamped in 1997.

Okawa River Sakura Cruise

As part of the Osaka Amazing Pass, we got to experience a free river cruise along the Okawa River, which is usually limited in April during the cherry blossom season. This 10-20 minute cruise was a great opportunity for us to rest our feet for the day, as we sat back and enjoyed the sights of the cherry blossoms and the sun setting in the distance.

Namba Shrine

Living in Namba, we didn't realise how close we were to this shrine that's hidden within the neighbourhood. What impressed me (and almost terrified me) when we entered the shrine was the site of the enormous lion head that forms part of a performance stage. Fortunately it was still daytime, but to think of how it would look like if we decided to visit at night with those wide eyes glaring down at me...

Dontobori River and Cruise

Finally to finish off the Osaka post and move onto the specific food post, we come to Dontobori - literally the nation's food kitchen just minutes away from Namba station. The place also heralds the famous Running Man Glico sign, which had LED lights put in so that during the evening, we get to see the Running Man running across the world behind him. Again thanks to the Amazing Pass, we got to go on another river cruise along Dontobori River. The guide gave us the low down of the history of Dontobori and the sights around the river.

Also along the river we were lucky(?) enough to catch a glimpse of a musical dance performance performed by a young girl band. Across the river on the other side, we were humored by a number of fans mainly comprising of middle aged men, some which were dancing along to the band's moves.

Also during the cruise, we came across the towering building of Don Quiote, a store that sells...well practically anything? Found in many cities across Japan, you can basically find anything, from food products (eye out those green tea kitkats and rainbow poki), clothes, houseware, merchandise, stationary...to other interesting products like costumes and adult toys...
Interesting fact about this store though. They actually built a ferris wheel around the store - hence the red gondolas on the outside of the yellow frame - but the idea terminated due to a machinery fault. Ah well, still impressive to look at all the same. This store never seems to go quiet, as its continuously filled with tourists stocking up on snacks and souvenirs.

A beautifully decorated love hotel - Rose Lips, can also be spotted along the cruise.

And finally before we ended the ride, we were told that the famous Dontobori bridge is lined with cooking spatulas that's commonly used to make their city's signature dish - Okonomiyaki, or their version of a savoury pancake.

As the sun sets on Dontonbori, the lights came out and illuminated the whole city. The crowds became thicker as dozens of tourists and locals arrived to hit the restaurants and bars scattered around the area. It was definitely my favourite time of the day where I instinctively prepared all my senses to scout out the best culinary delights that Osaka has to offer.