Yummy Yakitori in Osaka

There's something very special with how Japanese people "bbq" their meats. Not only are they so keen to detail/treat cooking as a very sophisticated yet delicate art; they also go that extra mile by grilling with domestic Japanese chicken and using binchotan! Binchotan is a kind of charcoal made from oak which burns without smoke and is considered the most favored charcoal in Japan. It's also known as the highest  quality activated charcoal for purifying water! Once you've gone Binchotan, you can't go back!

I somehow got a seat without a reservation in a very packed house. After struggling with the language barrier; I was just told (via some other local eater that spoke some English) that if I could finish after 1 hour I could dine right now. If you don't speak much/any Japanese then prepare to write in Japanese what you want using your smartphone as they don't have an English menu and not much pictures to point at. With all these obstacles I had to face, it was still one of the best Yakitori spots I have encountered yet so far. Everything was cooked to perfection with the right seasonings. For those daredevils, I tried their raw chicken and although I wouldn't say I loved it, it was not bad. Don't worry there's a much higher quality standard in Japan when it comes to Chicken that you don't need to worry about getting "Salmonella" from consuming raw chicken. Each item I ordered were all highlights to me but if I had to get really picky, their Karage (Japanese fried chicken) was one of the best I ever had. Highly recommend this place to eat authentic Yakitori if you are in Osaka. I was the only foreigner in the building. Share if you like this post! =)

Front Entrance - hidden in a random alleyway

Name: Takadori Umedaten (たか鳥)
Address: Naka Dori Ranger Building 1F, 16-12 Doyamacho, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Google Maps: Click Here! 

The Professionals!

Marinated Chicken with Onions and Carrots

Binchotan Grill! (smoke is from the chicken reacting with the charcoal)

Grilled Chicken

Chicken Gizzards

Chicken and Green Onions

Crispy Chicken Skin

Chicken Wings

Chicken Intestines

Seared Chicken - Rare!

Chicken Meatballs - Tsukune

Japanese Fried Chicken - Karage

Peace! I'll see you again!

Michelin Star Sukiyaki at Kitamura

I didn't realize there were multiple styles of Sukiyaki until I came to this place. Kansai-style focuses on cooking the aged meat with just sugar, sake, and soy sauce instead of a soup/stew type preparation. I was pleasantly surprised at the results but then again it was a Michelin star restaurant so they clearly know what they are doing.

They used a heavy iron pan that ensured tenderness. The waitress also cooked the beef and vegetables in front of you. She delicately cooked our beef and vegetables to perfection. As with many Japanese restaurants, we used raw eggs! They were used to dip/flavor our beef. Surprisingly it worked really well. There's not really any concept of Salmonella in Japan due to their high standard of care/safety/handling of their poultry. This place was a little tricky to find even with GPS/Google Maps as it was located slightly off the main strip.

Osaka is apparently known for having one of the most affordable Michelin star restaurants so I thought I'd try one out. Definitely recommend trying this place out!

Name: Kitamura (北むら)
Google Maps:  Click Here!
Address: 1-16-27 Higashishinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka

Store Front

MMmmmmm Marble Aged Beef

Stewed Egg

Iron Pan

Master cooks!

Everyone in the Pool

Mmmhmmm Beef and Raw Eggs!

Yum!

Fist-Sized Sushi @ Uoshin

Do you remember those times when you go to a sushi bar and you got shoved with very little fish meat and a lot of rice in your sushi? Yeah, I have been a victim of those encounters. This place does exactly the opposite! My goodness, their sushi are humungous! Each was like the size of my fist! I was like where's the rice?? Although I must admit the quality of the fish wasn't quite the same as say a more expensive sushi bar but it was still relatively decent quality for the price let alone the portion!

Without realizing how much the pictures on their menu were very not to scale in a good way for the consumers, I ended up ordering more than I could handle. I ended up having to ditch some of the rice to at least finish the proteins! If you are ever in Osaka and see this place, don't underestimate the size of their sushi! This was quite a unique sushi experience that I never had before and I think it's worth a visit!

Store Front

Name: Uoshin
Location: Osaka, Japan
Google Maps: Click Here!
Food: Sushi

haha...Butchigiri Sushi

Yummy hot savory Egg stew

Only two Nigiris on this massive plate!

Same for this!

And this!

Even these were still pretty large, plate was actually really large...

Sweet Taiyaki (Japanese fish-shaped cake) and Kasutera (Sponge Cake Mini Balls) !

Taiyaki literally means "baked Sea Bream". In Japan, the Sea Bream or in Japanese it's referred to as "Ma Dai" is prized for its flavor and is often served during New Year's and other festive events such as weddings. I got the opportunuity to have fresh Sea Bream sashimi and it was really delicious. Reminded me of the Amberjack Tuna for its buttery but yet really clean fresh taste. But this post isn't about the actual fish but the dessert!

Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake that usually has some fillings inserted. The most common is the red bean paste filling from sweetened Azuki beans but you could also have custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato. It's made with some kind of waffle or pancake batter and is poured into very detailed molds. I ended up getting the custard one as we recently had Azuki red beans in our Dorayaki (Click Here for the Details)!

They also had another popular pastry called Kasutera which basically were sponge cake shaped into tiny balls.

You can kind of think of it as a lighter, fluffier, and most likely healthier version of a Boston Cream donut. What do you think? Let me know!

The place we went to was called Kasuteira Taiyaki. We just randomly came across it and it was found near the entrance of a subway station called  Tsuruhashi in Osaka.

Name: Kasuteira Taiyaki
Location: Tsuruhashi station
Google Maps: Click Here

Store Front

Hello Fishies

Insertion of Red Beans

Sea Bream!

Inside Custard!

Kasutera- Sponge Cake balls

Delicious Domestic Beef and Weird Stuff Grilled and in a Stew!

We were walking around the Dontonbori area which is a very food centric area in Osaka for a place to grab lunch. After browsing around many shops, we decided on this place! Unfortunately I don't know what the place is called but I took a picture in front of the restaurant for reference! I also captured the approximate location of where it is.

Store Front

 This place served Wagyu/Domestic (black cattle) beef to grill and it was super fatty and delicious. Keep in mind that because it's so fatty that you don't need to grill the beef for too long or you'll overcook/waste them! They used some coal I believe as the heat source for the grill. I tend to prefer beef to be cooked medium-rare. 

Mmmm...reasonable set

Domestic Beef Set

Weird Cuts Set (intestine, stomach, heart, ???)

Tasty Morsels

 We also got a stew with random pieces of meat that aren't commonly eaten in the United States. We probably got stomach, intestine, throat, and crotch? I saw penis on the menu but hopefully we didn't order that hahaha. I'm very glad that I kept an open mind about it because the stew was mindbogglingly amazing. Full of flavor and had a very rich taste to it but at the same time not overpowering to my palate and relatively clean taste. Only minor inconvenience I had was that people are permitted to smoke inside. I'm not a smoker nor enjoy the smell of it as it tends to give me a headache so aside from that, everything about this place was perfect!

Stew of Weird but Super Tasty Stuff

Stew after the flavors are all Fused In

Epic Stew!

This place is worth a try! Let me know if you have been here before!

Google Maps: Click Here