Branded as a food city in Japan, Osaka offers a variety of different delights.  Grilling stuff on a hot metal plate is a common cooking method for all sorts of food items, as indicated by the word ‘yaki’.

Let’s start with monjayaki, a pancake made from vegetables, meats and seafood – finely chopped and formed into a ring on the hot metal plate. the batter is then poured into the fortification and left to solidify. Consistency gooey and soft. A shared dish for a fun group activity.

It’s cousin okonomiyaki is much more well-known, it is firmer in consistency and makes a nice solid pancake that is then topped with sweet sauce, mayo, seaweed and bonito flakes.

Another ‘yaki’ and popular street food is takoyaki, made in metal wells to form soft spheres filled with a chunky piece of octopus. Topping are often the same as for okonomiyaki.

Enough of grilled stuff? Kitsune udon aka fox udon to the rescue. Deep fried tofu with thick, white noodles in a clear broth seasoned with soy sauce, sake and mirin. Legend says that foxes love fried tofu – go figure. Warm and comforting.

For a special treat, matsusaka yakiniku – grilled matsusaka beef – will tingle the senses and make the tastebuds sing, it is that good. Matsusaka is one of the three big wagyus alongside kobe and omi. So, so good. Melt in your mouth, juicy, delicious pieces of culinary heaven.

December 28th, 2018