Japan Trip 2013 - Day 12 & 13

Day 12
The morning started with us packing and getting ready to move from Kyoto to Osaka.  After Ducky's hard work in packing up the luggage, we decided to grab a quick lunch near where we were staying in Kyoto.  Kitty remembered seeing a ramen shop a block or two away from where we were staying.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Although not as packed as the previous place we went to, it was overall a simply good bowl of ramen, certainly less greasy at least. The broth was wholesome and the pork was soft. But their egg was cold and marinated to the core with soy sauce which we did not find too appealing. It was a good lunch none the less. Seems like most of the time you can't go wrong with ramen in Japan.

Potato Croquette

Potato Croquette

We ordered a croquette........a plain old croquette. Crispy on the outside, potato-y on the inside. Enough said.

We journeyed into Osaka afterwards, which is the land where you "eat till you drop" so they say.

Pungency Milk Tea

This is by far my favorite packaged milk tea product. I had it while I studied abroad and fell in love with it ever since. Unfortunately ever since the melamine scare, this product seemed to be pulled from the Asian supermarkets in America. I can only get this whenever I am out of the country. Despite the "pungency" label...it tried to convey it had a stronger tea flavor...not that it was stinky. 

We didn't have to walk for until we found one of Osaka's signature items: TAKOYAKI!　

Takoyaki

MOAR Takoyaki

Some people may swear up and down that one shop may be better than the rest but to be honest we found that any stall we tried was pretty tasty and full of octopus goodness. Plus you get 8 for ４００円 to ５００円 which is a steal considering how in America it's usually almost $1/per takoyaki.

Jumbo Ice Cream Sandwich

On our way home we picked up some ice cream. I got an ice cream sandwich. The outside was like a wafer texture, and biting into it one would get a mouthful of ice cream and a piece of chocolate in the center. This is actually available back at home but I had a hankering for it. Ducky chose a Calpico popsicle which to his disappointment was just slushy Calpico package inceptioned into another container on top of a wrapper. STILL AWESOME IN THE HEAT THOUGH.

Calpico Slushy

 Day 13

We heard that there was a very famous bakery near where we were staying, Maison Kayser Bakery from Paris in fact. When we passed by it last night we saw an extensive line to get into this place for its carbohydrate delights. So this morning we ventured to see what all the hoopla was all about.

Pear Danish, Croissant, Croque Monsieur

These were some of the best pastries we have ever had.  The croissant was perfectly crispy and had a rich buttery taste.  The pastry of the pear danish was nice and crispy just like the croissant.  The pear topping was nicely moist and sweet and topped with pistachio to add a nice crunch.  The croque monsieur was cheesy and had a slice of ham in the middle.  The cheese worked well with the ham and neither was too overpowering.  Probably, would have been better hot, but the croque monsieur was delicious, regardless.

Mango Milk

 Kitty was thirsty and stopped by a convenience store to get some refreshments.  She bought a mango flavored milk.  We both agreed that it just tasted like milk with mango flavoring.  The milk and mango flavor didn't seem to work too well together.  Not something either of us would get again.

Shiromaru Cha-su Ramen

Akamaru Cha-su Ramen

 After being in Japan for almost two weeks, we finally made it into the famous Ippudo.  For those who don't know, Ippudo is a chain of highly regarded ramen shops.  There is even a branch in New York City.  Kitty got the shiromaru ramen and Ducky got the akamaru ramen.  The main difference was the black garlic oil and chili oil in the akamaru.  Both the ramens we ordered had a tonkotsu base and were both very flavorful.  One thing to note, Ippudo also lets you choose the firmness of your noodles varying from normal, medium, and extra firm.  Each bowl comes with at least 6 slices of cha-su, negi, cloud ears, and some bambooKitty's shiromaru had a crisp, clean pork flavor.  Ducky's akamaru ramen had a stronger and spicier flavor due to the black garlic oil and chili oil that was added on top of the ramen.  The garlic and chili definitely enhanced the flavor of the ramen without masking the pork flavor from the tonkotsu.  We both agreed that this was by far the best ramen we have had in Japan.  Definitely must try Ippudo ramen.

LIFEGUARD

After walking around Dontenbori area, Ducky got thirsty and bought a drink called lifeguard.  He wanted to try it mainly due to the psychedelic colors and zonked out looking cartoon rabbit.  We both concluded that it tastes like Monster Energy Drinks without the caffeine.

Double Flavor Latte

Cappuccino

We met up with my friend at Hiro in Osaka Station for some afternoon coffee break.  Although neither of us are super coffee drinkers, I've started to appreciate it more and more. My latte was sweet and caramel-like with chocolate mixed in with the cream on top. Ducky's cappuccino had a much stronger coffee taste and needed a bit of sugar.

Strawberry Pon de Ring

 Pon de Ring is having a １００円 fair for some of its donuts.....so yes. Rampage on donuts. Ducky still prefers the original but I liked the touch of strawberry frosting. I was a little apprehensive it might be sickeningly sweet, but it tasted more like a strawberry pocky stick than anything else....with fluffy chewy dough.

Cream Croquette

This was possibly the best croquette either one of us has ever had.  The exterior was perfectly battered and crispy.  The interior was a cream cheese filling and warm.  The filling was not too salty.  Every bite was filled with a perfect balance of crunch and creaminess.  Definitely recommend getting this croquette from a stall in the basement of Daimaru department store at Osaka station.

Ika-yaki

What we also found was Ika-yaki, which is chopped up grilled squid cooked with batter, egg, and Worcestershire sauce and grilled into a flat crepe shape. It's one of Osaka's signature snacks but Ducky and I had only heard of the okonomiyaki and takoyaki. But I am glad my friend suggested us to try this because for only ２５０円 this is a pretty darn good snack. 

Chicken Kara-age

We also raided this cart that was smelling deep fried chicken that smelled heavenly. We were really impressed since despite taking about 40 minutes to get home the chicken was only slightly soggy and still retained a majority of its crisp. It was also tender and juicy on the inside, so even though it was a bit pricey it was worth it.

Unagidon

Osaka is known as a good place to get Kansai style eel, which is fully grilled with no steaming involved.  The Tokyo style includes a steaming step.  Supposedly, the grilling adds a stronger flavor and makes the eel crispier.  Eel by itself is already expensive, so finding a special expert at Kansai style would be even more expensive.  We settled for department store/food market quality in the basement of Kintetsu-Abenobashi station next to the Osaka Station. The bento included about 8 small squares of eel on top of seaweed shreds and rice.  We saw them broil the eels in the oven prior to serving the slices in the bento.  Ducky did not notice much difference between the eel in the bento and the eel that is found in nigiri or rolls in America, which uses Tokyo style.  The stall did say they were grilled.  Perhaps, to get the full experience, the eels should be freshly grilled.  Unfortunately, this would be very expensive and we would have to wait to try this the next time we are in Japan many years from now.  Overall, the bento was a nice dinner.  The rice was flavored with a teriyaki sauce that also covers the eel.  I would recommend only recommend getting this bento if you do not feel like paying about 50 USD for the full osaka grilled eel experience.  If you can afford it, I would go for the fresh and real thing.

551 Horai: Buta-man

Juicy meat of our Buta-man

551 Horai is really famous for its Chinese style meat buns. I tried it four years ago when I came here to travel abroad and it's still as good as I remembered it then. Even though we didn't come here to eat Chinese food, this is definitely worth it. Their pork filling is a little sweet and was not oily or greasy at all. This is a must get in the Kansai area! One huge bun is only １６０円！

Apple "Cake" (Pomu)

To finish off with dessert we got this super shiny beautiful cake with the following layers:

• Apple jelly glaze
• Buttercream
• Apple compote
• Apple mousse
• Macaron 

This dessert spewed essence of apple every where...and oh my goodness that apple compote mixed in with the mousse layer....divine.