Hokkyokusei (Osaka, Japan)
Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho
Tempozan Market Place
1-1-10 Kaigan-dori Minato-ku
552-0022 Osaka
Tel. +81665765501
http://www.hokkyokusei.jp/
The movie Tampopo is responsible for many of my Japanese food obsessions. Ramen of course, but also the moreish omurice, a homely dish of omelette filled with fried rice, which is eaten throughout Japan.
After a hard day of fish viewing at the Osaka Aquarium, and trippy IMAXing at the Suntory Museum, we stumbled into the Tempozan Market Place, a huge mall located on the waterfront, looking for a feed. Now, the Japanese are big on food theme parks. So it comes as no surprise that Tempozan Market Place has one such theme park, Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho. Retrospectively modeled after downtown Osaka in the second half of the 1960s, Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho (Osaka Eaters’ Alley) showcases 20 or so restaurants that are popular in and around Osaka.
We couldn’t resist the plastic displays of omurice outside of Hokkyokusei, and so wandered in for lunch. Hokkyokusei is quite a famous omurice chain in Osaka and has a fair bit of history, opening its doors for business all the way back in 1922. The space that we dined in is but a scaled down version of the restaurant, but it was a pleasant place to lunch and the open kitchen allowed glimpses of the chefs at work.
Mellie had the plain omurice. Just look at the tasty fried rice encased by the perfectly cooked omelette! The rice was also studded with delicious shitake mushrooms.
I had the omurice with curry and pieces of mini tonkatsu (fried crumbed pork). The curry had a bit of a kick to it, quite different to some of the limp Japanese curries in Melbourne, and the tonkatsu was crunchy and ever so tasty! Also imagine fried rice oozing out of the fluffy omelette and melding with the curry – oishii!
God bless Tampopo, omurice and Japan!
Written by ElegantGourmand on
November 13th, 2008 | Tags: Hokkyokusei, Japan, omurice | Category: dining experiences
| 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
| Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL
November 14th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Oh HOW DID I MISS THAT?! I was in Japan in September, did the Suntory Museum/IMAX/Aquarium thing all in one stinking hot day and found an awesome little Takoyaki kiosk type shop tucked in a corner just before you get to the train station. Takoyaki + Beer = Bliss.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I’ve just done Japan this week again and already I want to go back. Highlight this time was “autumn fish”, a sashimi dish featuring a fish with particularly high omega-3 oils. The bizarre thing is that it only gets so oily at this time of year… hence the name. Delicious and healthy, what a combo.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Omg katsu curry is my FAVOURITE!
November 15th, 2008 at 6:21 am
It’s an easy one to miss, Shannon. The place is tucked away inside a huge shopping mall. I think we might have passed the takoyaki place too, on the way back to the station. Yes, that combination sure is bliss.
Wow Ken, seems like you’re a regular traveller to Japan! The autumn fish sounds great! What I love about Japan is that they’re really big on seasonal eating, for exactly the reason that you mentioned: ingredients are good only at certain times of the year.
I love katsu curry too, Sarah. I wish the ones here in Melbourne had more kick!
November 22nd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Ooh i’m sooo jealous! The last time i was in Japan was six years ago- and you couldn’t convince me to eat anything raw then. Now i’m just dying to go back and eat my weight’s worth of sashimi!
November 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
woah, damn it, wish i discovered this place during my jap trip.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Oh God that sounds so good – I love Japanese food (as is evident from my first, inaugural food post – http://veeviensblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Japanese) – have just started food blogging and would love your comments. If you’d like to link me that would be awesome! =o)