So i reached Noda station at about 9.30am and took 20mins to walk to the Osaka Fish Market.
When i reached, nothing was happening, the market was over. I was slightly intimidated by the surroundings so i just walked confidently like i was not walking around alone in a deserted fish market
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| Before entering thr Fish Market |
Google Maps eventually led me to Endo Sushi. After reading some reviews, i was determined to try it for myself. I was so lucky, because i did not have to queue at all.
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| Humji attempt at taking the sushi chef's pic |
When the staff realised i did not speak Japanese, they handed me this English menu with clear explanation on how i should order. Each plate is 1050yen. I really wanted to eat alot more but because it was almost lunch time, i chose only the first and second plate.
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| Omg so excited!! |
The first piece that went into my mouth was the Anago and it was BOOOOMMS. Pardon for using that expression. BUT it was like the sushi exploded in my mouth and i couldn't talk for a while. Sooo yummmyyyy!!!! The uni was my first, and it definitely tasted fresh and sweet to my first timer tongue though i was trying to decide if it should be described as slippery or creamy. The toro was so thick and soft omg!!!
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| Plate number 2!! |
So. good.
After whomping down all that sushi i stood up and softly 'gochisosamadeshita-ed' the lady who collected my money. So shy. Hurhur!!!!
And off i went back to the apartment where RJ was busy washing loads of clothes with the washing machine. I was so confident with myself that i took the wrong train and ended up at the Universal City station. So i took another half hour to return to the apartment. Along the way back, i met a Taiwanese lady who asked me how to get to USJ. I advised her accordingly since RJ and i had gone to USJ the day before. Went back feeling proud of myself until i realised i might have advised her a longer route. Gosh.... -_-
Back at the apartment, i demolished a yakult pudding i got from Family Mart the night before. Not too bad, exactly how i imagined it to taste like.
And off we went to Daruma! Today was supposed to be the day we visit Mount Yoshino, and find peace meditating in the mountains. But we were so tired from USJ, and missed the kushikatsu dinner due to my missing souvenir misadventure. So we decided to skip Mount Yoshino and go on down to Kushikatsu Daruma for lunch, and explore Dotonburi before we meet Clarice for dinner!
After exiting the Nankai-Namba station, RJ pointed out this cheese tart shop Pablo which appears to be very popular.
We queued up for the tart but realised they only sold the big sized ones so decided to make a visit to the Dotonburi cafe where the small ones are sold and continued down to Ebisubashi-suji.
The street was really crowded, and we started to hear other tourists around us. When we reached Kushikatsu Daruma, we noticed Creo-Ru right beside it. Creo-Ru is a well known shop selling Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. The menu looked enticing so i queued up for Creo-Ru while RJ queued up for Kushikatsu Daruma. Unexpectedly the queue at Kushikatsu Daruma moved so much faster than Creo-Ru and so i abandoned the takoyaki for fried skewers. Kushikatsu is a local snack that originated from Osaka and are deep fried skewers. Daruma is a popular kushikatsu chain and we wanted to eat it because it's a local thing and RJ likes deep fried stuff. lol.
The staff at Kushikatsu Daruma were all very friendly and the shop was tourist oriented, with menus in various languages and staff who spoke languages other than Japanese. It was happy, bustling, and energetic and i liked it alot.
After a while of walking, we decided to make a trip to Pablo for the cheese tarts and backtracked towards it (i think). Along the way, we came across a stall selling cream puffs, and tarts and stuff called Hop Chou a la Creme. There was a queue and so we blindly queued up too HAHA. We got a chestnut puff and a 'Hot Hot Choco Custard puff'. While waiting, i attempted many times to take a picture of the stall. But RJ destroyed them:
RJ... i really don't know what to say... I made a last ditch attempt at the photo, and suddenly a crowd rushed past
So i give up, anyway this picture is more important. This yummy cold chestnut cream puff!
The staff were all very friendly and service oriented, and it was nice. We ordered the original cheese tart as well as the matcha one. The cheese was so smooth and lava-like, it just flowed out once we cut the tart. Omg, very cheesy and custardy. The crust is crunchy and yummy but the custard was not really my thing. I got quite 'gelat' after a few bites. I didn't really like their matcha one since i felt that the matcha and cheese custard just did not go well together.
After we left Pablo, we went on down to Umeda to meet Clarice for dinner at Amataro Izakaya. Clarice was looking really good and happy with her life in Japan teaching English. I was so sold on the idea of enjoying life long term in another country hahaha. It was great meeting her and loved it that we were just chatting away even though we had not met for eons. I was very full from all the food i had eaten and i wanted something simple and healthy. So i asked for some soupy thing and set my sights on this hotpot looking thing that looked like chicken soup. We ordered small items here n there and somehow, it just became alot of food. When the hotpot came... OMG... it was totally not the small and manageable size i was expecting.
Clarice can sit inside the pot!!
After exiting the Nankai-Namba station, RJ pointed out this cheese tart shop Pablo which appears to be very popular.
We queued up for the tart but realised they only sold the big sized ones so decided to make a visit to the Dotonburi cafe where the small ones are sold and continued down to Ebisubashi-suji.
The street was really crowded, and we started to hear other tourists around us. When we reached Kushikatsu Daruma, we noticed Creo-Ru right beside it. Creo-Ru is a well known shop selling Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. The menu looked enticing so i queued up for Creo-Ru while RJ queued up for Kushikatsu Daruma. Unexpectedly the queue at Kushikatsu Daruma moved so much faster than Creo-Ru and so i abandoned the takoyaki for fried skewers. Kushikatsu is a local snack that originated from Osaka and are deep fried skewers. Daruma is a popular kushikatsu chain and we wanted to eat it because it's a local thing and RJ likes deep fried stuff. lol.
The staff at Kushikatsu Daruma were all very friendly and the shop was tourist oriented, with menus in various languages and staff who spoke languages other than Japanese. It was happy, bustling, and energetic and i liked it alot.
I ordered the set as it seemed pretty value for money. I was not too bothered with the various items as they all seemed yummy. When the food came, i had some fun trying to figure out which item was the chicken balls, which was the beef and which was the pork. The dipping sauce tasted quite interesting and went well with the skewers. I am not a fan of deep fried food so after the 4th stick, they all started tasting the same. I think RJ felt some pieces were not too bad, and the icy cold draft beer here was superb!!
After we left K.D, we were too full to try Creo-Ru. So we just continued walking around. I went into an arcade/capsule machine shop to check out the items and just had to take a picture of these R-rated key chains
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| I had to blur out those pictures at the back LOLS |
After a while of walking, we decided to make a trip to Pablo for the cheese tarts and backtracked towards it (i think). Along the way, we came across a stall selling cream puffs, and tarts and stuff called Hop Chou a la Creme. There was a queue and so we blindly queued up too HAHA. We got a chestnut puff and a 'Hot Hot Choco Custard puff'. While waiting, i attempted many times to take a picture of the stall. But RJ destroyed them:
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| Had to enter the picture and move |
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| Had to insert her puff at the last min right in front of my phone camera |
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| -_- |
And the 'Hot Hot Choco Custard Puff'
They were yummy, the crust was light and crispy. The best thing was that the cream was also light and not 'Gelat' I'm not a custard fan, but i have to say the chestnut cream was not too bad, and the crust was yummy. And so we continued down to Pablo. I was kind of 'looking forward' to being delighted by the famous Pablo cheese tart due to the good experience with Hop Chou a la Creme!
After we left Pablo, we went on down to Umeda to meet Clarice for dinner at Amataro Izakaya. Clarice was looking really good and happy with her life in Japan teaching English. I was so sold on the idea of enjoying life long term in another country hahaha. It was great meeting her and loved it that we were just chatting away even though we had not met for eons. I was very full from all the food i had eaten and i wanted something simple and healthy. So i asked for some soupy thing and set my sights on this hotpot looking thing that looked like chicken soup. We ordered small items here n there and somehow, it just became alot of food. When the hotpot came... OMG... it was totally not the small and manageable size i was expecting.
Before you say 'No what it looks ok what', look at this picture:
Clarice can sit inside the pot!!
It's bigger than RJ's and my head together!!!
But it was so good... sigh.. and the plum wine, the yuzu liquor, the alcohol.. 3 words:
GOOD AND CHEAP.
XOXO.
We chatted and chattered over the food and drinks and before we knew it, it was late and the right thing to do is to go our separate ways. Sigh, that 'yi yi bu she' de feeling when you realise that once you leave, your friend will be leagues away soon. So we took some pictures to commemorate our night out.
It was great to see you Clarice!!
Xoxoxox!
But it was so good... sigh.. and the plum wine, the yuzu liquor, the alcohol.. 3 words:
GOOD AND CHEAP.
XOXO.
We chatted and chattered over the food and drinks and before we knew it, it was late and the right thing to do is to go our separate ways. Sigh, that 'yi yi bu she' de feeling when you realise that once you leave, your friend will be leagues away soon. So we took some pictures to commemorate our night out.
It was great to see you Clarice!!
Xoxoxox!
