Experiencing Osaka's Food Culture

Japan is one of the top countries that top chefs and foodies often mention when it comes to talking about best food destinations.

During a recent visit to Osaka with friends, I was able to experience Osaka's food culture. Most of the locals in Osaka spend on good food and it is apparent that only good restaurants survive in this city. 

If there is one word to describe Osaka's food culture it is "kuidaore" (which means "eat until you drop" in English).

The  Glico running man  company signage in Dotonbori in Osaka is
 said to be a popular photo spot for visitors. It  has been revised
  several times in order to celebrate events such as the World
 Cup and to boost the team spirit for the Hanshin Tigers, Osaka's
baseball team 

Visitors may have a nice boat ride  around Osaka

Travellers and foodies will find Osaka as a food haven as it is a place where high quality and affordable food is found.

Here are some of our yummy food discoveries during our visit to Osaka.

We went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant located just a few steps across the Glico running man signage and beside the river walk in Dotonbori.

The facade of the Okonomiyaki restaurant

We tried the Okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake-like dish that is composed of ingredients such as squid, prawn, octopus or meat that is mixed with shredded cabbage and flour based batter and topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, dried bonito and aonori(green laver).

The restaurant's cook prepares freshly made okonomiyaki
and  udon noodles

Okonomiyaki dish which is good for sharing and affordable
 since it is priced at around Yen1,050 per order

We also had some soba noodles and some popular street food dishes.

Osaka soba with pork, squid, beef, shrimps and egg
served on a hot plate on our table

Takoyaki balls  which is grilled octopus slices mixed with flour
and egg based batter and topped with pickled ginger, onions.
and special takoyaki sauce

Kushikatsu dish  which is deep fried pieces of food on
skewers. We tried the one with cheese, green bell
pepper, sausage, shrimp and beef.

After our lunch we headed to a well-known place for cheese tarts called Pablo.

The staff at Pablo places a logo on top of each freshly
baked cheese tart.

The original cheese tart at Pablo

We opted to get a whole Pablo premium cheese tart for take home for our group.

Premium Pablo Cheese Tart

The premium Pablo cheese tart was like a creme brulee type tart since it had a sweet caramelized sugar on top. It goes well with freshly brewed coffee or a nice cup of hot tea.

Osaka is a fun place to visit. It is definitely a good place for foodies as it offers a wide variety of local food which is freshly prepared using high quality ingredients. After each meal, you will certainly say "Oishi"(which means delicious in English). Cheers!