Apparently Osaka is well known for its takoyaki (octopus balls) and okonomiyaki however for many reasons too boring to get into, we settled for a sushi-ya called Nawa Zushi Shiten. According to the Guide, it is one of the area's most popular sushi restaurants. The main part of the restaurant (which is quite large) was full when we entered, so we were directed across the alley to a smaller section of the restaurant. It was kinda empty when we entered, but was quite full when we left. We sat at the counter, and the chefs prepare our sushi as we order them. Not much English is spoken, and the menu is in Japanese so some knowledge of at least hiragana and katakana would help with the ordering. But the waitstaff and chefs do try to help with ordering. The chefs were pretty amused by us gaijins, particularly when I whipped out my camera to take photos of them and the food.
The chefs at work:
The food itself was great - the seafood was fresh, and eating the sushi as soon as they are assembled is the best way to eat sushi. We tried all sorts of weird and wonderful seafood like o-toro (the fatty belly flesh of tuna which is a delicacy), uni (sea urchin roe, which we've tried before but this was actually quite sweet and wasn't at all fishy - a good sign that it was fresh), cockles, and many others that I cannot remember off the top of my head. Due to my extreme hunger (and partly because it always feels odd taking photos of food in public), I didn't take much photos of the food. The food was good anyway, and wasn't all that expensive - we had at least 10 different types of sushi and the bill came to around 3000 yen (~AU$33). It was a good experience and I would recommend the place.
The salmon sashimi sushi
The exterior - the main part of the restaurant is on the right hand side and the extension is across the alleyway:
** gasp ** takoyaki? okomiyaki? I WANT!!!!!! I've always wanted to try takoyaki. You see it all the time in anime when they go to festivals, seems to be a really popular roadside stall food. I also remember seeing okomiyaki on Fat Pizza, where they were ordering okomiyaki and going on about how the Japanese have a really strange sense of pizza...
ReplyDeleteHmm... o-toro... I seem to recall that's the best part of the tuna to use for sushi, fatty and tasty (and is pricey too)... what is it... o-toro, chu-toro and toro right? We probably only get the "toro" version here... :(
If you know of a proper sushi-ya in Perth that does this, it would be really nice of you to point us in the right direction... I'm talking, full on order direct to the chef and everything.
The closest for anyone who wants to try that I've found so far is this:
Tansawa-Tei
1 Shenton St Cnr James St
Northbridge 6003
I tried takoyaki for the first time in Sydney earlier this year (see my post here. There were takoyaki stalls in the market area in Sydney too. Unfortunately it seems like Perth is missing out on it. Okonomiyaki is quite yummy, and is really a pancake batter with veges, egg and meat in it with lots and lots of seasoning.
ReplyDeleteWe've been to Tansawa-tei, and we thought it was a bit too pricey for what it was worth. I haven't been to any "authentic" sushi-ya in Perth..