Japan s Most Famous Streetfood OSAKA Food Tour

Good morning! It is another day of exploring Japan's kitchen. We're in Osaka. We are currently on our way to get some breakfast, Udon, and hopefully see some fiery, flaming action at Izakaya Toyo. I'm hungry. It's very muggy, but that's okay. Let's go. You are so alive. We are so... The filming conditions is less than ideal. It's a standing bore. We're here at Udon Kyotaro. I got myself some with tempura and whatnot. Mine's got like my taki mushrooms and meat. That's good. It's nice and simple but super effective. And it's got some meat. I love that you can put like different little toppings in it as well. So I'm gonna add some just a little. I also love that they have like a self-serve tempura station. So I have no idea what I got but chicken. And then this one I think looks like squid. I think it's a fish cake. Oh you're right. That's so good. Okay so I got like this dry version. Like there's no broth but it comes with like egg yolk and you drizzle it with soy sauce. I guess it's more rich and like I like how the sauce actually sticks to the udon a bit better. Oh yeah it's like the least flattering angle ever. It's like a meat croquette. The noodle as well. Super bouncy. Okay time for a coffee pit stop here at Soot Cafe. We just got some coffees. You know just a little pick-me-up to get us going for the day. I got an iced choc-nut latte. And Kuya over here got a little cappuccino. Nice latte art. I'm intrigued by this choc-nut. It has the chocolate and the nuts on the rim. Really nice. It's like having a little Ferrero moment but in a coffee. Quite nice. The coffee is quite light and it's roast so it's not super strong but I don't mind that. I don't mind that. Might I mention they also roast their own coffee and they have higher end beans that you can do the hand drip stuff too. They got the expensive stuff here. So in the absence of a flat white cappuccino. Dare I say and be best coffee I've had in the trip so far. Yeah yeah like definitely the foam is thicker than like a normal flat white. So it is I guess kind of technically a cappuccino but the flavor in here is excellent. So for their lattes they use a lighter roast and then for their other drinks like the americano and cappuccino they use a darker roast and this is so good. Wow this is the closest we've got to a New Zealand coffee in this trip. Yeah Envy excellent cup of joe. All right we are here. It is hot but we are here at oh there it is at Osaka Castle. One of the great castles of Japan. This entire castle complex is so massive. It's got like two moats, two defensive rings around it. Even just seeing this walls themselves are incredibly imposing. Just imagine besieging this back in the day. It is an incredibly beautiful building but the main tower keep is not actually the original one. As you know like a lot of Japan was bombarded in World War II and this was also a victim. So this is a reconstruction of the original keep. It played an important part in the reunification of Japan in the 16th century and there's also a museum inside of it which we are gonna go to right now. You know Yanby I would say I completely immersed myself beforehand in the Osaka Castle experience. You know why? Why? Shout out Shogun Total War. Great game. So you can either take the stairs or the elevator but the elevator is much too long but luckily it's air-conditioned inside. Okay best friend that concludes our visit to the Osaka Castle. It's not exactly an immersive and authentic like castle experience. Like yes the outside is a reconstruction of the Tokugawa era castle but the inside is actually quite modern. So you know you don't really get like the actual authentic interiors. But Yanby I reckon give me a thousand nara dear. I can take on that castle in two weeks. My steed. But now it's on to lunch. Let's go get some. It's starting to rain. Flamethrower action. Oh Yanby do you want anything to drink? Coke. Huh? Coke. Okay. So what do we got? What do we got? What do we got? I reckon that one. That one. All right gang we made it. We're at the very end. But that's okay. I'm sure we'll get to see him eventually. Yeah yeah. But it's literally like just like communal dining here. They just literally seat you with strangers. Well stand. But this is honestly the kalia kainan vibe that I love. I wanted a beer but it's only the one liter bottle but it's relatively cheap anyway at like 680 yen so whatever. I'll take that. I mean I should get my coke. Yeah. Thank you. Long time waiting. Power to my test. You know what you call that? That's what you call an absolute mad lad. Pop off fire lord Ozai. Like I know there like are gimmicks and stuff but this guy is the real deal. It is just so mesmerizing just watching him. I could not do that. I have dainty little fingers. All right cracking one open for the boys. I mean out of all the beers I'm glad it is asahi though. My favorite. Yes sir. Kanpai. We kind of just start with this while we wait for the guy to boil all the tuna. So yeah we got the fatty tuna and then the ikura, the salmon roe mini rolls as well. Fatty tuna time. Fatty tuna. Mmm interesting. This one's fattier but it has a bit more of like a chew to it. Dare I say I prefer the lean. Mmm interesting. There. Lean tuna. I like how soft it is. Like there's no riddles to understand. Even for a lean tuna that sure is fat and soft for a lean one. Really good. What is this? The salmon? Yeah simple but delicious. That burst of just seafood. Yeah it's delicious. And then this one it's super fatty but it's got a char to it. I don't know. Just eat the whole thing I don't care. Five five. Oh yeah. It's got some of the sinew in there which is why it was like slightly harder to eat but that was gloriously fatty. You also got like a fatty tuna rolls with some rice and some tuna. Simple stuff but simple is best sometimes. Yeah does the job. You know fatty tuna with rice and nori. What more can you ask for really? So like don't worry if you miss out on his first time. He does it multiple times. He's literally doing it again. So and it kind of frees up after the first one. But this also comes with some sides of like crab and scallop with some scallions. Yeah. Can't go wrong with that you know. Love me some scallops and some crab meat. But that was pretty that is pretty decent as well. It was very mesmerizing. Him absolutely prince. He was an absolute mad man with it. But yeah this is their iconic broiled tuna. It's topped with some spring onions and I think some bits of perilla leaf as well. It also comes with like a soy sauce or like a vinegar in the bottom. Let's get a chunky ear piece. Definitely you can taste that smoky char. Like nice piece of tuna. Like it's not dry which I like because you know he's like really broiling that. But it still remains some sort of I don't know what he just said. I got distracted. But yeah that tuna you know it's smoky. It's meaty. Has more of that like meatier taste. Oh yeah this one looks like a nice decent piece. I'll dip it in some more soy sauce. Oh yeah. Almost has like a slight bitterness to it because of the char. Pretty good. A fireworks show even Fire Lord Ozai would approve of. I like how you included me in this shot when I'm not saying it. Because I'm trying to capture your reaction. I would compare that to like seeing your favorite artist for the first time in concert. Like you see this guy all over YouTube and Netflix and stuff. And yeah you do kind of have to line up. And yeah it's like you know social media slash Netflix hype activity. But it's just one of those things that you just have to go. What a legend. Like where else would you find someone like literally searing his hands with a flamethrower. You're pretty much paying for the show. Like the food at the end of the day was like pretty simple stuff that you'd get anywhere. It's just like sashimi rolls and broiled tuna. But it's really there for the experience. The street side vibes. Yeah and that is priceless in itself. So I don't know what we're gonna do for the rest of the afternoon. Nap. But nap and dinner. You know we had a light-ish lunch so we can't resist a sweet treat before heading back to the hotel. Okay got the goods. I got a strawberry ice cream melonpan. I just love the taste of strawberry ice cream. The creamy ice cream you know with the warm slightly crunchy and soft melonpan. I'm glad I got strawberry and not vanilla for a change. That was really yum. And I got myself a cherry blossom. It may be the complete opposite season, but hey when in Japan cherry blossom. Interesting. That's almost like a florally bubble gum. I quite like that. It's still got the crisp on the outside. It is kind of pricey. It's like 800 yen for our ones, but you know at least we do get like some pretty sizable hunks of ice cream in there. And you are in the heart of Dotonbori, so obviously the prices are expected to be more up there. Good thing it's still delicious though. Don't do it Yanby. Don't do it. No no no no you won't. All right before dinner takoyaki spot first. All right this is our daily takoyaki. We're here in the main strip of Dotonbori. You know there's a million takoyaki spots, but this one is a bit unique. It's called Takoyaki Chuhachiban son Dotonbori. As you can see they've got the super enlarged suds ridden takoyaki. And why do you think it looks like it has the suds? It's because the batter is made with like some sort of rice krispies looking thingy or like drops of tempura batter that's been bubbled and fried. So their most popular one is a half and half of just like salt seasoning and the classic sauce and mayonnaise. For something that's on the main strip of Dotonbori it was like 8 for 7.7 which is like you know it's like that's standard. Standard which we've kind of seen. We do appreciate a takoyaki that's been freshly cooked as well right in front of you. And the line does move pretty quickly, so let's see if this is gonna burn my tongue. Oh oh got two pieces of octopus in there. That's actually pretty good. They're actually my favorite one so far because like I personally don't like the takoyaki batter where it's too much you know too much of like the uncooked batter. This is a good balance of both and I'll try the one with the you know with all the octopus. Oh yeah there is the good old octopus. But see how there's not a lot of that gooey batter which I personally don't prefer. A delightful takoyaki might I say. And I do love the additional texture that the tempura thingies add to the batter. All right Yanby, we find ourselves, I don't even know where we are, but we're kind of north of Namba, south of Umeda by the river and we find ourselves at Motsunabe Miyakawi. It's just us right now, but what is the time? It is almost 6 30. It's a Wednesday night and it's just us. Very good. And this place as the name suggests specializes in which is a type of awful stew. I believe originally Motsunabe was originated in Fukuoka, but there is another type of like awful dish that's grilled and a bit more dry that's become popular in Osaka and the Kansai region. So you know we got our burners. I'm very excited. It's kind of giving the vibes of when we had the chanko nabe back in Tokyo. Also for my drink, I got this drink called hoppy. I've heard about it, but I actually have no idea what it entails. It just said a throwback to Showa era tastes. Showa era being you know like early 20th century. I have no idea. Oh interesting. It's like a beer but lighter. Lighter than Asahi? Yeah it's kind of like beer that's lost its flavor a bit. You know what I mean? I just gotta cope. Cheers. Kanpai. Okay so our first dish has arrived. This is their grilled motsu. I believe that stands for intestines. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it comes in this sizzling platter with some spring onions, some lemon, and oh like once it came into the grill you could just smell the aromas of the spring onion, the oil, the spices in there. Low-key it reminded me of sisig, like the scent, the aroma. But yeah they have like these fatty pieces of offal. And we got some rice. Just a small bowl just to absorb the oils you know. And I So good. Oh actually no I'll taste one by itself first. We're in flavor town baby. That tastes so good. The spices in that, there has to be like some sort of like chili or peppers in there because that's just so flavorful. It's not like spicy spicy but it's spicious. This time with some rice. The pieces of like the organ meats are definitely like fatty and juicy. Some of them have like a bit of a harder bite to it. Some of them have a much softer fatty bite like this one. And you want something to go well with beer, this one is the one for you. I'll pay you. That is a beautiful palate cleanser, yes. Okay we got our main event here, the motsunabe. And then we just gotta let it simmer for a bit. But it's got the broth, it's got the I don't know garlic chives, scallions, I don't remember. And then the cabbage, my cabbages. Can't wait for Last Airbender season two. But let's give it a stew. All right, the motsunabe has simmered. So let's just get some. As you can see, you know, the cabbage has withered and there are your pieces of intestine. Let's just get a sizable chunk. Yes. There isn't actually that much intestine, you know. There's probably like four or five pieces in total, which is, you know, I wish there was more. But this is just a portion for one after all. Yanby with the absolute elite move. Maybe we should taste the broth first. Oh, interesting. It's like a soy, slightly sweet. Yeah, that's delicious. Definitely a bit more flavorful than your classic soy dashi broth. Without further ado, the actual intestine. I'm gonna get some of the Itadakimasu. That was lovely. I love how clean the intestine is. Yeah, like no funky funk. And that's coming from me. And I'm not the biggest fan of like intestines. Yeah. Because I find I find them to be a bit gamey at times. One more, one more, one more. Yeah. Overall, it's a very, very comforting dish, I must say. You know what this is Yanby? Guilt free. You know what this is Yanby? Guilt free drinking. Only 11 calories to be exact. That's unskinny. All right, Yanby, as we stroll down the Oh River, capping off another day exploring Japan's kitchen. So much flavor. We're in Flavortown today. Yes, we definitely were. And shout out to Osaka Castle for fulfilling my Shogun Total War dreams. It's been another great day. But before we end it, take it away Yanby. Haiku of the day with this guy. Is it a guy? I think it's a thing. This thing. Osaka Castle. A beautiful sight you are. Just like our viewers. Bye.