Here I am, still trying to get through the Japan trip in 2006. Pathetic, I know. So I've decided to quickly go through the Japan trip by grouping some of our culinary experiences.
The following is a summary of the snacks that we've had in Osaka City(大阪市):
(1) Tako-yaki (たこ焼き)
One of the first snack we've had in Osaka is Tako-yaki (たこ焼き).
Tako-yaki is "a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu/天かす), pickled ginger, konnyaku (蒟蒻), and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise, and fish shavings (katsuobushi/鰹節)" (Source: wiki.org)
We walked past a stall with lots of people buying the snack, so we assume it would be good. Luckily, that tactic worked. The diced octopus was chunky and the dumpling were very tasty indeed.
(2) Okonomi-yaki (お好み焼き)
Ms YI also took us to an Okonomi-yaki (お好み焼き) place in Osaka. Okonomi-yaki is said to be orginated in Osaka. However, there are lots of regional variation of Okonomi-yaki. Literally, "Okonomi" means "what you like" and "yaki" means "grilled" or "cooked". So Okonomi-yaki put together would mean "cook what you like, the way you like it". (Source: wiki.org)
When we were looking through the menu, we were offered many choices. We could pick our ingredients (like create your own pizza) or pick a set 'design'. We decided to share so we picked a few random things from the menu. In Osaka, Okonomi-yaki are pan-fried batter cake. The basic batter is made of flour, grated yam, dashi, shredded cabbage and egg. You can also add things like seafood, cheese, onion and other vegetables. Just like a pizza, the 'cake' is topped with a sauce. It is very much like the Worchestershire sauce. I personally am not a big fan of the sauce, so I ask them to put very little sauce. It wasn't too bad in the end and it was certainly better than what I have tasted in Australia before. We ordered three portions but in the end we can only stretch ourselves to finishing two and a half portion. It is actually quite filling!
(3) Ramen (中華麺)
After we had the Tako-yaki, we turned around and saw an outdoor ramen shop. It looks quite good so we tried it as well!
Here is the person serving up a batch of ramen:
Ms YI and I having ramen
The ramen is very yummy. They call this the 'Chinese style ramen' (中華麺), but I must say there is nothing Chinese about the taste of it.
(4) Tofu-ryori (豆腐料理)
We visited a specialist tofu restaurant for 'afternoon tea'. It was a restaurant with a contemporary style. They served up a degustation menu, which contained many little dishes made with tofu.
We didn't take much photos, because it's difficult to get good photos of tofu anyway. Here is our only photo of the food:
There were a few special dishes though. One of them is a tofu jelly which is made with top quality soya bean in the 'real way'. It was really delicious!
(5) Blowfish/Fugu (河豚), horse sashimi (馬刺し) and random sashimi platter
OK. This is the special one.
There are a few things which we really want to try while we are in Japan. One of them was blowfish.
Blowfish, or pufferfish, is highly toxic and there is no antidote for the toxin. But it is considered a delicacy in Japan. Ms YI needed to do some furniture shopping so she wasn't with us at the very moment we tried the delicacy. We did get some comfort from her when she confirmed that she has tried it before. Apparently, it is something that she has eaten a fair few times before. I was told that most of the death associated with eating the fish usually involves unlicensed chef preparing the fish in the wrong way.
(For those who don't know, blowfish contains lethal amounts of the poison 'tetrodotoxin' in the internal organs, the skin and the testicles. In Japan, only licensed chefs can legally prepare and serve the fish to the public.)
So, SP and I, brave as we always are, ordered the fugu (blowfish) sashimi because it seems to be most adventurous. The fish is deliberately sliced very thinly so that the pattern of the serving plate can be seen through. It was chewy but it was essentially tasteless. SP thinks that it is an expensive tasteless bubblegum. To me, the fish wasn't that special but it's good that I've tried it now and that I have survived! :)
Another special dish that we ordered was the horse sashimi. It wasn't something on our must-try list, but we saw it on the menu, and decided to give it a go as well. The horse sashimi looks very much like beef sashimi, except it is served with ground ginger, fried garlic slices, some type of dried flower and soy source. That was actually the star dish of the meal. I guess both SP and I like meaty dishes and the horse sashimi was very tender. It is highly recommended!
We ordered the mixed sashimi platter to overcome my sashimi cravings. Having lived in London for the previous 6 months, I was totally deprived of good quality sashimi. The sashimi in Japan is definitely of top quality and the sashimi are sliced rather thickly. The added thickness increase the texture of the fish. Together with proper wasabi and sashimi soy sauce, it was perfect.
More on raw fish later. Now, I have to get the post out!
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