Sushizanmai, Osaka, Lunch

This was the lunch that we had when we got back to Osaka. We knew ahead of time that we were going to have sushi from the same restaurant chain we love in Tsukiji, Tokyo. They were delicious and very satisfying.

Kani Doraku Lunch, Osaka

After walking along Shinsaibashi, we arrived at Dotonbori area. We had a place in mind for lunch, a place that specializes in crabs. We were eager to try, it was our first time dining there. We tried many different dishes, all were with crabs, and enjoyed the experience. So much crab for one meal, even for one day.

Pancakes At Gram

Day 2 in Osaka, our plan was to take a stroll along Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori and sample all the good food as much as our stomach can consume. We knew we were being ambitious, we knew we rather have small capacities but everyone is allowed to dream big. We arrived a little bit before a half past ten and passed the cafe that we wanted to go too. It opens at 11, but DH saw a line formed already. I actually, did not want to line up, 30 minutes is long, but I did anyway. The line grew longer as the time went by. This is a popular place.

It certainly was exciting to see the thick, fluffy pancakes that have been featured by many people online.  Whether they are something that you love or not, is a different story. Everyone has their own preference. I am alright with the flavor, I love the experience. I had the pancakes with a cup of mocha that to me, was way too sweet. Would I go back? I must say, likely not. I would, however, experiment on making something similar at home that are healthier and I enjoy better.

Tazumura Tonkatsu Daimaru, Osaka

For dinner, we picked a place from the restaurants in Daimaru Umeda's 14th floor gourmet dining section. We are staying near Osaka Station and we did not really want to go far. Prior to flying Osaka, we had two trips to Malaysia within the same week and we were exhausted. 

We decided to start with Tonkatsu, we had confidence that they would be prepared well in the restaurant that we picked. Both dishes turned out to be so juicy, tender and delicious.

Ichiran, Osaka - First Meal

Saturday morning, we arrived at Kansai Airport earlier this month.  By the time we got to the hotel and  settled everything,  we were hungry. It was not quite lunch time yet but it was late for breakfast. We walked around to get to this particular pancake place, but the GPS led us to all over the place. We, somehow, stumbled upon Ichiran and decided to have their ramen. With a little over 1,000 yen per bowl, we were very pleased. Our food adventure just began.

Bye Osaka!

Time to leave Osaka! The bridge is the one that link the city to the Kansai International Airport.

Jean-Paul Hiven Chocolatier, Osaka

 

We were down in the basement of JR Osaka Mitsukoshi Isetan and we found the cafe of Jean-Paul Hiven, a high-end chocolate manufacturer from Paris. DH, who is a big chocolate lover, just could not resist and had to stop and taste.

 

Their shop next door, where people can buy different chocolate products to take away, shows many scrumptious-fantastic-tempting looking chocolate products.

I selected their special above, Longchamp Chocolait Lait and a macaron. They came with a cup of chocolate for a total of 1575 Yen. I finished all to the last bit. (This is how I gain weight during the holiday, despite lots of walking. My waist expanded and my legs were so worn out. Makes sense, doesn't it?? - mmm)

 

  

For his drink, DH asked me to help him pick and I went for Brazilian chocolate. It tasted better than what I had actually. He also had a slice of Caracas from the menu. All, everything in there, including their water, are so heavenly! Love to go back there again one day!

Cocktail Time At The Lounge

Cocktail time when we go on holiday, for us, is not about the drink. It's always about the food. We tasted a few that were served at the Hyatt lounge in Osaka. That's the glory of holiday!

Look! No Lock!

I was waiting for DH who was picking up our big luggage from The Ritz Carlton Hotel, at the bus bay at Osaka Station. I got two smaller bags with me, we just got back from Kyoto and were going to stay in Osaka again for two more nights. We were going to take the shuttle bus provided by the Hyatt Regency in Osaka. I saw a young woman came on a bike and left her bike by the fence and went away.Just like that. Without locking up the bike. Another bike was also parked nearby, without lock. Amazing! It must have been safe to leave them there!

Dinner At Trattoria Sette, Kyoto

The hotel where we stayed in Kyoto is not exactly within walking distance to the city. Of course transports are available easily too. You can take bus, train or taxi, but for dinner, we opted to stay in the hotel and have dinner there. We saw what we wanted anyway, Italian cuisine in the house! The hotel has a nice Italian Trattoria in their second storey called Sette. 

I felt like I had been deprived from eating leaves for a long time, when in fact it was just days. We ordered a plate of salad to share. Originally, that's about all that I wanted to eat, because I thought I had eaten way too much in the past days. I, however, could not resist to try their Roast Chicken. It was delicious especially its crispy skins. The portion? Aw, yum, it's big! There were two boneless breast and two legs. I had to share them for sure!

As we all can always guess, DH went for Fettuccine with Seafood. He cleaned up the plate, it was spotless. The food must have been superb! All were good and the service was outstanding. What else could we ask?

 

Tea Time At Paul, Osaka

Not long after having lunch in Shinsaibashi, we stopped by at Paul Cafe in the basement of Daimaru to have a little tea time. I would not normally eat such thing all by myself, but I was still hungry after walking and climbing the steps to go to Osaka Castle the whole morning. I was craving for something sweet and this was just the right one! Yum!I would burn the calories consumed as I was going to do more walking about!

Osaka Castle

We made it to Osaka Castle this time. We took JR train from Osaka station and alighted after a couple of stops only. We had to walk a bit, the leafllet says that it takes about 20 minutes of walk. We took our time and probably took more than 30 minutes to get there. It was a fine day, sunny but cool. 

The castle itself is not large, it has a observation deck at the top where people can see the city. We are not allowed to take pictures inside the castle, but I noticed many people do it anyway. What a shame!

After we were done, we walked again to the Subway Station nearby to take train to Shinsaibashi, a shopping area. It's lunch time! More walking.....

Little Flower Cakes

One of my favorite shopping trips is to Umeda Loft in Osaka, it has eight floors filled with wonderful things. I particularly love the household floor the most. We spent so much time in there, looking and getting stuff. Mostly I did! DH was on his phone, surfing the net and patiently waiting. I ended up with a couple of silicon pans and today I used them for the first time. So pretty!

First Lunch In Osaka

It was actually not even 12 O'Clock yet in Singapore, but we were so hungry. It was just nearly 1PM in Osaka, where we were, and we were having our lunch. There's a floor in the building where Daimaru is, in Osaka Station, where some restaurants are located. Of course there are more in in the basement and other floors too. We went to a place that served Unagi with Rice, thanks to the pictures and/or display that it has in front of the restaurants, it was easier to communicate to the waiter what we wanted.  

Both of us ordered set lunch, DH's is at the very top above and mine is the one right above. Both of them have rice and Unagi. They were delicious!