Rikuro – Osaka, Japan

A missed post from the Osaka trip!!!

I tend to gravitate towards lineups.. and we saw this long line and the aroma coming from the shop smelled sooooooooo good.

I didn’t know what I was lining up for..  There were 2 lines which apparently was for “cold” cheesecake and “hot” cheesecake.  We lined up for the hot cheesecake, fresh out of the oven!

it’s the type of baked cheese that’s soft and fluffy!

yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm .. it’s so good that we ate most of it before dinner!

Rikuro

– across from Takashimaya / near Namba station

Japan, 〒542-0076 大阪府大阪市 中央区難波３丁目２−２８

Kaji Hoten 博多割烹 かじ 本店 – Fukuoka, Japan

As I’ve mentioned earlier, this area of Japan is famous for fugu (puffer fish) and also raw squid.

I found this restaurant online and it’s quite reputable in Fukouka (in existence since 1955).  It’s normally at least 10,000 yen for dinner but at lunch, there’s a set menu for 2500 yen… and it includes fugu and a squid!

aww.. the chopsticks rest is a pufferfish…

appetizers and a small plate of fugu…. The quality of fugu here is a bit better than at Shimonseki market… hence, only a few pieces..

more appetizers…

the raw squid!  We ate most of it but the rest were deep fried (that’s another dish!)

tempura…

chawanmushi (steamed egg)….

miso soup with clams….

All this for 2500 yen! Such a good deal!!

FAIM? OUI OUI!!!

Kaji Hoten 博多割烹 かじ 本店

２丁目-３-１１Nakasu, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka,
Fukuoka Prefecture 810-0801

Tel: +81-92-291-2219

Yatai Mami-Chan – Fukuoka, Japan

Out of the entire Japan, the city most famous for street food is Fukuoka.  There’s sooo many food stalls for snacks and also yatai (open-aired food carts that can sit about 8-10 people).  Yatai has been around for more than 300 years…so they’re like the original food trucks!

One of the most famous area in Fukuoka for yatai is along the Nakasu River (near Canal City).  But the yatai that popped up from my research, Yatai Mami-Chan, is located in the business district, outside an office building.

Mami-Chan! She’s cooks everything herself (with the assistance of her husband)!

shochu..

free appetizer.. chicken wings!

gyoza… soooooo good.. we kept ordering.. Mami-chan wraps it when you order it.. so fresh!

yakisoba..

tamagoyaki with roe……

oden…

Having a yatai meal is definitely an experience to try once.  Sitting elbow-to-elbow in a smoky semi-enclosed area and trying to converse with drunk boisterous Japanese men… definitely unforgettable.  Mami-Chan is so hospitable .. it feels like eating a meal at her home!

FAIM? OUI OUI!!

Yatai Mami-Chan

Located on Showa Dori right behind Fukuoka Honten Bank. 福岡銀行本店,2-13-1 Tenjin,Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture 810-0001

Street eats @ Fukuoka, Japan

We ate our way though a park in Tenji, which had probably more than 50 food stalls… maybe even a hundred!

2 skewers of grilled octopus!

okonomiyaki on a stick!

mochi

deep fried sweet potato sticks

In Tenjin, we also found a tiny shop selling home-made bean mochi? There was a lineup so I gravitated towards it…

it was mochi with red beans….very soft and chewy….and the beans were huge!

Apart from food stalls, we also found this really line up for croissants at the Hakata JR station.

we bought 3 flavours of mini croissants to try:

normal, chocolate and one filled with sweet potato… nothing special.. and the crust was soggy….. which is a croissant-fail.

Street Eats in Fukuoka

Ippudo 一風堂 Honten – Fukuoka, Japan

To complete my tonkatsu ramen pilgrimage, I had to visit the original Ippudo shop at Tenjin, Fukuoka.

refreshing iced tea.. in HK, it’s just iced water…

gyoza….

tonkatsu ramen… Love the thick broth! and good thing the HK one tastes like this!

spicy tonkatsu ramen..

I think this reconfirms my love for Ippudo and the number 1 rank in my ramen list.

FAIM? OUI OUI!!

Ippudo 一風堂 Honten

Address: Fukuoka City, Chuo Ku, Daimyo, 1-13-14
Tel.: (81)92-7710880