Travel Diary: Osaka, The Nation’s Kitchen

What better way to end my Japan travel series than with a post filled with the yummiest food we ate while in Osaka? Osaka is after all the “nation’s kitchen”–home of endless gastronomic choices of only the best beef and seafood. I must warn you though, you’ll surely be craving for some Japanese food by the time you finish reading this post. Watch out for occasional drools and stomach noises.

First restaurant on the list: Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M. We heard they serve the BEST matsusaka beef which makes it a must-visit restaurant in Osaka. It’s always full though so my sister made sure to make a reservation prior to our trip–weeks in advance. She hunted them down on Instagram and prayed to dear God they’d notice her message. Luckily, they did.

You see, I belong to a family of (weirdly slim) foodies and steak is one of our favorite dishes ever so we’ve tried a lot. But believe me when I say that this is hands down the best beef I’ve EVER eaten. At the risk of sounding exaggerated, it’s so good that I can still remember the way it tasted in my mouth.  If you do go, make sure to order the wagyu rice aside from the selection of beefs.

Because Osaka is already so close to Kobe, we headed to Kobe for a few hours just to eat some kobe beef. I told you, we’re steak lovers so we take them very seriously. We made a reservation at Wakkoqu Restaurant to get our kobe beef fix. It’s apparently one of the best. And true enough, it didn’t disappoint. The chef prepares the dishes right in front of you so you can smell all the yummy goodness at once. If you have time, you should definitely try this restaurant as well. If not, then Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M will do. It’s still number one in my heart (and stomach).

For the freshest seafood, we went to Kuromon Ichiba Market–a 600-meter long market with 170 stalls that offer not just seafood but fruits, beef, vegetables and more. It’s been around since 1912 so you know the stalls here know their food. Most of the restaurants here have no chairs for sitting at all though. Some offer bar stools. A few have tables. This isn’t really an issue though when you get there. You’ll be too preoccupied with the food you’re eating, you’ll hardly notice the need for proper seats. While in Kuromon Ichiba Market, the standouts we tried were the huge scallops, blowfish sushi and hot pot and kobe beef.

We spent most of our time shopping in this area–Shinsaibashi-suji and Ebisubashi-suji. There are a lot of restaurants and cafes here to enjoy too so you’re practically set just roaming around ere. Somewhere along this strip, you’ll find a waffle place that sells the best waffle. I wish I took note of the name but I got a bit carried away devouring my waffle. Hopefully, you’ll stumble upon it. I believe it’s the only waffle place along this strip.

The crab restaurant pictured below is probably the easiest restaurant to find around Osaka. It’s practically a landmark here. Situated near the famous Glico billboard, you’ll find this huge crab on its exterior. It’s definitely hard to miss. The restaurant is called Kani Doraku Dotonbori Honten and serves the juiciest crabs.

Basically the entire Dotonburi area is a foodie haven so you can just get lost here and experiment.