Japan is probably one of the places that Ms. Buddha and I never seem to get sick of to visit, it is clean, people are honest, and generally very easy to navigate, and when all else fails, the population there are one of the most sincere and helpful people you’ll ever meet – so when my mum came to visit Ms. Buddha and I in Hong Kong, we made an effort to have a short trip to Osaka again – and take her to one of the highlights from our previous trip earlier this year – Kuromon Ichiba Market. (Map in case you forgot)
If you have a car – parking is amply available – and if you don’t know how to use it, you can read my guide to parking.
Once there – my mum had a huge grin one her face as she ate all the food that we had last time, plus more!
After roaming for a bit more, we came across a store that my mum wanted to try and she just started lining up – I didn’t know at the time, but it turns out that Takoyaki Wanaka was actually really famous – we went for the simple 4 flavours set and then tried to find a place to sit down. We also ordered an okonomiyaki because the staff were really welcoming and we were taking up their place – so just makes sense to be fair. Be aware that the place is quite crowded with mainland tourists who thinks that this place is a rest stop more than anything – even when told to leave…
You can recognise the store with the sign and also the masters working their magics making the takoyaki.
One advice if you are at Takoyaki Wanaka is that if you’re planning to dine in – you should just walk inside and get table service (mind the squatters) but the staff are super friendly and you can order the 4 variety set along with any okonomiyaki that you’d like.
The wait is quite long for the food because the takoyaki is made by the masters up front and they were swamped with takeaway orders as well – but none the less they came in good time and Ms. Buddha and Mama Buddha dug in – they absolutely loved it, although they left the mayo one because fatty should definitely love mayo right! I have to say, the texture of the balls were cooked to perfection and the topping was just a nice addition!
The okonomiyaki came next and we went for the beef offcuts one – the beef used were very tender and flavourful and as someone who places texture as a top priority – this was probably one of the better okonomiyaki I’ve had – the sauce also complimented the beef without being too overpowering.
The market continues to offer excellent food at quite reasonable prices and the service is always top notch (Japanese service is frankly quite hard to fault) – one drawback is that it has become somewhat of a tourist destination where the more typical places are swamped with tourists.
Buddha Explores 
1 Comment