Chinese New Year Festival

                                                          <Reference: http://nichubunka.com/syunsetsu/index.html>

Chinese New year is coming soon!
It is for Chinese but There are some events for it in Japan too!

This is one of the biggest Chinese New Year festival in Osaka.

・Place: Tenshiba (Tennoji Park) 2 minutes away from Tennoji Station
・Time: 10 am ~ 7pm on the 25th and 26th Jan, 10 am ~ 5 pm on the 27th Jan
・Fee: Free entrance (there would be many stalls there)

You can see Chinese traditional performance and can try Chinese authentic foods 😆

The best Buta-man (steamed bun with meat filling) in Osaka! 551

Have you ever tried Buta-man (Niku-man)?
You can find them near the register of Convenience store (Lawson, Seven Eleven, Family Mart etc)
And it is so nice to have them when it gets cold. It is our fast food.

There is one shop I would like to recommend you to have Buta-man shop.
It's called HORAI .

We normally called them Niku-man (steamed bun with meat filling),
but for HORAI Nikuman is called BUTA MAN. (Buta means pork in Japanese. )

They are also famous by calling 551 (go go ichi)!

This is their logo, if you see it please try it!

I searched why they are called 551, and found it was the telephone number they used to have,
and also means "Koko ga ichiban", "This place is the best." in Japanese.

They have various menu for take out.

Buta-man (Steamed bun with meat filling)
I need to say this is the best one I have had.
2 for 340yen

Shumai 10piece for 650yen

Gyoza 10piece for 300yen

meat ball with sweet sour sause
1pack - 10piece for 300yen

They have many brunch in Osaka. They are reasonable and taste so good.
http://www.551horai.co.jp/index.html

I always buy and eat them when I travel by Shinkansen (bullet train).
Also it is good for souvenir for my parents in Hiroshima. They also love it!
 
I am getting hungry now....

I hope you enjoy Osaka food 551 !!

My favorite Ramen in Shinsaibashi - Zundoya

Hello, this is Masae from Osaka Hana Hostel!

Today, I would like to recommend you one of my favorite Ramen (Chinese noodle) shop in Shinsaibashi.

It is called "Zundoya" (ずんどう屋).

It takes about 5-6 minutes from Osaka Hana hostel on foot.
And the greatest thing about this shop is they open for 24hours!!

The big lantern is a sign of the shop from the street.

They serve ramen in pig bone soup (Ton Kotsu) and it's so good!!!

The most popular one is called "Ajitama ramen"

with chashu (BBQ pork), seaweed, spring onion and boiled egg.

My favorite one is Negi (a lot of spring onion) ramen on the left and my friend ordered Chashu men (BBQ pork) on the top.

Do you see the black bowl on the top the picture with some vegetable in it?
It is called "Takana"- leaf mustard pickled. It's quite spicy, but when you want to change the flavor of the Ramen, you can add it in the soup. Also it's nice to eat with Rice, and it's all you can eat:)

And when you order Ramen, you need to choose 2things, the noodle from 2 different shape of the noodle, and how thick you want your soup to be from light to super rich!


wavy one OR straight one.

More information about their special ingredient they use, please have a look their website.

http://www.zundouya.com/en/06.html

Please don't worry they have an English menu.
 

If you need a dessert, you can find a famous cheese tarte shop " PABLO" on the corner as well!

We have a map of our restaurante recommendation at Osaka Hana Hostel, so please feel free to ask us!

Zundoya  Shinsaibashi shop
Address: 5-7, 1chome Shinsaibashi suji, Chuo-ku Osaka
TEL: 06-6245-0883
Open 24hours
http://www.zundouya.com/en/

Willer express cafe

I went to one coffee shop which is owned by Willer Express bus the other day.

Willer express bus is a famous bus company, they have many variety of buses!
I had no idea they have their own coffee shop in Osaka!

They have morning, lunch, coffee, sweets, and alcohol!
Alcohol is served only after 5 pm though...
They have outside seats which were pretty nice in a sunny day!
This is inside.

If you have time to wait for the bus, you can have coffee or something, it's really good place!

Willer express cafe
050-5823-9991
It's in sky building, although sky building is huge so you might have to ask somebody!

Enjoy your time there!

Osaka Soul food - Kushi-katsu!

Have you ever tried Kushi-katsu?
That is one of the Osaka Soul food, as same as Okonomi-yaki (Japanese pancake)and Tako-yaki (octopus ball).

Maybe you have heard "Ton-katsu"  which is deep fried pork cutlet.

Tonkatsu

So what is the different between Ton-katsu and Kushi-katsu?

Kushi means Skewers, so in English it is

“deep-fried breaded meat or vegetables on skewers” 

 

Each one is small portion so you can enjoy different Kushi-katsu (vegetables, shrimp, meat etc) for reasonable price. (100yen ～400yen each)

When you eat, you dip them in the sause pot. You share the sauce with others, so you are NOT allowed to dip in the pot twice!

The name of the dish is "Kushi-katsu", but if you order "Kushi-katsu" in a restaurant, you will get deep fried breaded beef in Osaka.
In Tokyo, it's made by pork with onion or spring onion.
In Nagoya, they put sweet miso sauce on the top. Each region has different style!

If you go to Shin-sekai(新世界) in Osaka, there are many Kushi katsu restaurants.
Normally you eat at the counter and chef cooked in front of you and serve them straight away.
It is so good and I just love to eat there!!!



Me and my friends at "Tengu" Kushikatsu restaurant.

On April, there is New Style Kushi-katsu shop opened at Shinsaibashi shopping street!!



The name of the restaurant is "Daruma"

"Daruma" has many branch in Osaka, but this one is very special!

You will be seated at a table, not a counter...

Then you order with the touch panel!! (some sushi train restaurant has this system)



English, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese is available!

  

Then small train will bring kushikatsu to your table!!

After you take all kushikatsu, you press the red button, then a train leaves.



They have a heated plate on the table to keep them hot.

You will get a bawl of cabbage for free (you can ask more if you want).

It helps your digestion also used as a spoon to take more sause on your dish(because you can't dip them in the sause pot twice!). 

 

If you find Kushikatsu restaurant, please try it.
It could be lunch, dinner and even snack!
Some shop has English menu, so you know exactly what you want to order.

Daruma Shinsaibashi branch

Operation hour : 11:00〜22:30

Address:1-5-17 Shinsaibashi suji, Chuo-ku, Osaka

 I hope you enjoy it !!!

Sold 1,500 cheese cake a day!! PABLO

Happy New Year! This is Masae from Osaka Hana Hostel.

We have many many guests come back from outside holding this bag in their hand.

It is a bag of famous cheese cake(tarte) shop called "PABLO".

The concept of this shop is
"To start revolution and movement in like Pablo Picasso did as an artist".

They have a various items, but the most popular one is
Fresh Baked Cheese Tarte.
A whole cheese tarte is 680yen, I think it's quite reasonable and of course it taste very good!

2type of cheese tarte they have
You can choose "Rare"or "Medium"
↑ This is Medium.
 

They make a fresh cheese terte everyday

I always wonder why they are so popular (of course because it's tasty), so I asked some guests why you bought them.

They said because this shop is on their guide books,
and some guests told me because they saw a long queue in front of the shop, so they wonder what it is and lined up as well.

I passed by the shop last night.... and WOW!!!




Can you see people line up in front of the shop?

Yes!! They are very popular!!!

The shop is located at Shinsaibashi Shopping Street,
and takes about 7-8minutes from Osaka Hana Hostel on foot.

●Shinsaibashi shop :
　2-8-1 Shinsaibashi-suji, Chuo-ku, Osaka
　Open 10:00- 23:00

Another Shop in Umeda (1station away from J-hoppers Osaka)
●Umeda shop : Whity Umeda North mall 1
　Open 10:00- 21:00

Please check this shop and try popular cheese tarte in Osaka!!

Garb Weekｓ

Garb Weeks

I went to one really nice cafe which is called Garb Weeks yesterday.

It locates in Nakanoshima, near Yodoyabashi station!

Now they have a Nakanoshima festival, pretty crowded but it was so much fun!

Finally we got the cafe, it was in the Nakanoshima park, they have some outdoor seatings and it was pretty nice!

I ordered hamburger stake lunch and a cocktail.

I had a wonderful time with my girls!

Yodobashi station of subway Midosuji line walk 4 minutes

 lunch 11:30-15:00(LO)

dinner 17:30-22:30(LO)

06-6226-0181

Garb Weeks

Cozy bar in shinsaibashi

1F 10-1-2 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Hachiman-suji

Osaka 541-0053

Phone: 81 6 6213 6788



Hours:

Mon, Wed-Sat 9pm

Tue 9pm-Close

Sun Close


This stylish martini bar is the first of its kind in Osaka and houses an atmosphere here that can only be described as a little more mature than the regular bars in the area. It is a great place to come for a quiet, midweek drink or as either a starting or finishing point to you weekend binge. Saturdays are normally intensely busy, so you want to be able to sit and relax be sure to get there early. Sundays are also a full house affair, though has the added draw of live music.

the stuff were so friendly. It didn't take long before with a drink in hand, me and my friends felt relaxed and part of the friendly but non-invasive atmosphere. The drinks are tasty and cheap, and for only 500 Yen you can feel free to try everything on the menu.

I definitely recommend it!

A new and fun restaurant in Osaka

Recently we have noticed a new restaurant in the neighborhood of J-Hoppers Osaka. It's a restaurant of Tsukemen, it means cold noodles that you pour yourself in a bowl of soup and vegetables and meat, in opposition with ramen where you receive the noodles hot and poured in the bowl of soup yet. The soup of Tsukemen can also be cold, and the noodles served with icicle in summer. This is a meal I'm always happy to rediscover each year, as it makes me feel that summer has come.
But this new restaurant has something special : you have to eat your tsukemen in a very particular way ... First you receive the noodles (hot or cold) and the hot soup with pork meat and some vegetables (and eggs in option). Then you add minced onion to the soup, mix, and eat as usual. Once you've had a third of it, you're asked to press half of a lemon on it. Then you can start enjoying a new taste ! Another third of noodles later, it's time to try with a supplement of spices ... Take care to don't use to much ! Finally when you're done with the noodles, you generally still have some soup left. At this point, if it surely got cold. You could then just leave it but it would be a waste.

Then they simply thought about warming it up once again, in a funny way ... First you can dilute a little the soup to make it easier to drink, with hot dashi (kind of clear soup), then you receive a burning stone which is to be put in the soup. The stone is *very* hot and your soup will be soon bubbling furiously. Few seconds are enough to have it properly heated. Then take out the stone (still hot, take care !) and enjoy your soup till the last drop ... :-)

The restaurant's name : Tsukemen Misawa, open from 11:30 to 14:30 and from 17:00 to 24:00, open everyday, google map, around 800 yen.