Hello. I wrote a post about how to enjoy soba for dinner a few weeks ago and people seemed to like it, so I thought I might give it another go and talk about okonomiyaki this time- being originally from Kansai, this is my soul food! (I know I have too much time at hand atm…)

First of all, let’s put it out there that okonomiyaki is just a street food. It’s supposed to be humble and simple, a comfort food like mac n cheese. It’s never really a sophisticated thing. So don’t think of it like tempura or sushi, it’s not going to be a michlin star food. But at the same time, there definitely is quite a difference between an amazing place and a mediocre one. You’ll know when it’s good, I assure you.

One more thing. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is totally different from Osaka-style okonomiyaki. (I come from a proud Osakan parents’ home, so I was taught not to call theirs okonomiyaki and call them Hiroshimayaki instead when I was a kid lol) They are great on their own, you should definitely try them when you visit Hiroshima, but it’s a different dish, so they are never to be confused.

So here we go.

Okonomiyaki

• Hard or soft; that is the question. Okonomiyaki batter is made of wheat, egg, cabbage, dashi etc. and it usually contains grated yamaimo (yam) to create fluffier texture. The trend now is super fluffy okonomiyaki like the ones you get at Fukutaro in Namba (a very popular place, always in long queue but worth it). While some people think the fluffier the better, some people, like my father, prefer more classic ones that have the good balance of fluffiness and heaviness. Umeda Ichibangai is a great small food alley to look for “classic okonomiyaki” feel, not just the taste but also in terms of atmosphere. Kiji and Sakura are the famous places there.

• Fillings and variations. The menu will give you an array of okonomiyaki with different fillings and some variations (I’ll talk about non-okonomiyaki menu later). The most basic fillings are either pork and squid, they each give great textural experience. Okonomiyaki place usually has something like “special okonomiyaki” with mixture of various expensive ingredients (like mix of pork, squid, scallops, shrimps, beef etc.). And while they sound super appetising, personally, I’d go for a simple pork okonomiyaki first if you’ve never had one before. Those sliced pork gets really crispy at the bottom, and with the simplicity of it all… it’s just heavenly. Trust me. Other ones to look for are oyster okonomiyaki, which is usually winter-only menu. And then, there’s “modern okonomiyaki”, which is my personal favourite. It’s a normal Osaka-style okonomiyaki but has yakisoba noodles sandwiched in between. When done right, it’s so good.

• Each restaurant has their own recipe for sauce, and the sauce can be either spicy or sweet. Spicy doesn’t usually mean hot, it means more complex, sharper taste than the sweeter one. Some places have both a spicy one and a sweet one and let you choose (or even mix).

• In Kansai area, it’s more common for the chefs to make okonomiyaki for you while you often see DYI okonomiyaki restaurants in Kanto region (probably because of monjayaki being DYI normally). I personally prefer my okonomiyaki to be made professionally, but if you want the experience of flipping okonomiyaki yourself, there are places like the popular chain Yukari that’ll let you make one if you want.

• Here’s my pet peeve. Okonomiyaki are cut into squares, unlike pizza. Cut them into something like 4 by 4 squares first, using “kote”, and then eat piece by piece. You can eat it with kote or chopsticks, whichever you like but kote can get piping hot so be careful.

Other than okonomiyaki

• When I go to an okonomiyaki place, I prefer to order a variety of things, not just okonomiyaki. The most common thing to order along with okonomiyaki is yakisoba noodles. It’s a good one to order at the end (because it messes with the plate). People also like to order smaller dishes like tonpeiyaki (pork in egg roll) or butter sautéed scallops as starters. Starting with a glass of beer with sautéed scallops, while waiting for okonomiyaki… sounds great right? Here are a few more things I would personally love to recommend:

• Negiyaki. It looks like a variation of okonomiyaki but it’s actually totally different. It has a bunch of green onion (negi) instead of cabbage, usually fluffier, and is finished simply with soy sauce rather than okonomiyaki sauce (if the restaurant asks which sauce you want for for negiyaki, please go with soy sauce, it’s the best). The one with gyusuji (stewed beef sinews) as filling or topping is… ugh I’m drooling as I’m writing about it. There are restaurants that specialise in negiyaki too; Negiyaki Yamamoto in Umeda (and other locations) is soooo good. You can thank me later.

• Akashiyaki is a hidden gem of konamon world. It looks like takoyaki but the fluffiest of any konamon food and you eat it by soaking it in dashi soup. There are a few okonomiyaki restaurants that do akashiyaki like Takohachi in Tennoji and Okaru in Nara, both are my favourite places to go.

• So here’s how I normally order at an okonomiyaki restaurant: akashiyaki (if they don’t have it, sautéed scallops or something similar), negiyaki, pork (modern) okonomiyaki, finished with yakisoba. That’d be good for 3 people I’d say. I like to taste different flavours so this is how I go, but I assume a lot of people also like to order just a few okonomiyaki and yakisoba and try different fillings.

• There are so many different items like sobameshi, omusoba etc. and each restaurants have their specialties. Honestly, the best thing to do is to ask the waiters what’s their specialties and what’s most popular! You can never go wrong that way.

Wow this became much longer than I expected. Thank you for reading if you did, and hope you have a wonderful experience in Osaka and in Japan. Enjoy!

ETA: And yes, if you have your recommendations, do comment away! I now live in Tokyo, but whenever I go home I love trying a new okonomiyaki place in Osaka.