Sunday, April 21, 2013

Eating Osaka and Kobe

When you see a street like this, you know it's time to get eating, so let's get started.
Osaka is famous for takoyaki, a ball shaped snack with octopus, ginger, onion and sticky dough.
The signs are easily recognizable, and Maneki-neko the cat agrees.
They are less easy to eat, however.
What do you get when you combine cabbage, batter, green onions, ginger, pork, bonito flakes, mayonnaise, special brown sauce, and sometimes sticky rice and cheese? My favourite Osaka dish, succinctly called Okonomiyaki.
Feel like a snack? Perhaps a crunchy crab snack?
Maybe not. Will and Keith were not big fans, and after this Barry was too scared to even try!
Ok, let's move on to Kobe. Below are nose prints from cows. We think the certificates have something to do with what Catherine calls "ancestors", or bovine family trees.
Below is a lot of beef. The lower one is Wagyu, the upper is Kobe. Other than the price, the difference was unclear. Apparently the fact that the cows have black hair is relevant.
Here Barry demonstrates the best way to enjoy the beefy beefiness. You don't want to absorb anything with your other senses.
And as a final demonstrate, Barry here shows the importance of perspective. Or: the risk of a sake glass causing your head to inflate!