Category Archives: Ramen

Halu

Halu Skewers

In the dark, walking on the sidewalk towards the restaurant, it can be easy to miss Halu’s door, if not for the small bench outside, groups of folks milling about, the shoji screens covering up part of the windows, and the numerous items plastered on the door and windows – most are old concert flyers and menu pages, advertising the bill of fare; others are clearly warning notices – unless you’re truly, awfully oblivious – you’d see that Halu definitely does not serve any sushi in any form, nohow, nowhere. “No Sushi Today (or Tomorrow),” the signs proclaim; and “Sushi Free Zone” just for good measure.

Halu’s popularity a good sign that the lack of sushi is clearly not a problem. Continue reading →

Ippudo Ramen Osaka

Ippudo Ramen

We had perused the archives of Ramen Tokyo most assiduously in preparation for what to expect at a Ramen-ya in Japan. We had read of the interminable lines and of the push-button Nihongo-only ticket pre-ordering with no photos whatsoever. We read of tiny shops with only counter seating, and of patrons who dined solo, heads-down, looking and interacting with no one until their bowl is thus rapidly consumed. We read of instances where couples and friends may not necessarily get to sit next to each other. We read of having to procure your drinks prior to arrival, or at least while waiting in line (usually there is a vending machine or two nearby), of the need to bring a packet of tissues or your hankachi (handkerchief) since no napkins would be provided. Continue reading →

But What About the Food?

Beautiful way to start our meal - Kikunoi Roan

Hassun course at Kikunoi Roan: skewer of miso-marinated avocado, smoked salmon and Tai liver; grilled squid with nori seaweed and egg yolk; fava beans, mountain yam “butterfly;” poached egg-bearing octopus; Tai sushi with Kinome pepper leaf; Yurime lily root petals; Udo stalk petals; ikura.

Indeed, what about the food? The trip was planned after all, in CCDD fashion, around food. It’s been absolutely glorious – from the high-end to the low, from street food or market stands to Michelin-starred establishments and smoky izkayas, train station ekiben or small ramen-yas filled with salarymen… we’ve been eating very, very well.

In Osaka, I think I quite had my fill of takoyaki; DD kept wanting to sample these wherever we went, and we ended up tasting some from 4 different vendors. We also loved sushi fresh from Kuromon market and Endo Sushi in Osaka’s Central Wholesale Fish Market, similar to, but not as big as Tsukiji.

Okonomiyaki in the Dotonbori

Continue reading →

The Arrival

HIkari Shinkansen at Shinagawa Station

While long, the process of getting from Narita to Osaka, I’m happy to report, was quite straightforward and utterly lacking in any sort of stressful near-misses or complications. Essentially we arrived at Narita Airport around 3:10pm, got through customs and immigration and finally made our way down to the train station by 4:45pm. There were so many helpful individuals at Narita, whether it was the information desk clerk in the basement floor of the airport near the train stations, or the JR clerk who exchanged our JR pass vouchers for actual passes, apologized profusely when she found out the next rapid Sobu express to Tokyo was leaving in about 3 minutes (we declined and opted to take the next one arriving in another hour), most helpfully booked us reserved seats on the Hikari Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka-Shin, and gave us exceptionally detailed directions in great English.