Japan III: Gone Fishing in the City

- September 29, 2014

How could one week go by without visiting the market? Even on vacation in Japan we did no break this routine. LOL. Kuromon-Ichiba Market is one of the must-see places near our hotel. Dubbed as "Osaka's Kitchen" its just a short walk away. We were all very excited at the prospect of fresh seafood! Along the way there we passed by many restaurants that no doubt get their fresh ingredients from the market. An old man was also walking in the same direction and he made small talk with us in broken Mandarin.

Ojiisan: Going to the market?

Moi: Yeah.

Ojiisan: The seafood is very nice. But expensive!

Expensive coming from a local! Yikes. But anyway, we were prepared to gorge. The market looked like the shopping arcades of Shinshaibashi-Suji but with a difference in decoration. Giant seafood replicas were suspended from ceiling. The place was orderly, clean, dry and odourless, unlike the markets in Malaysia. Upon arrival at the market, SK immediately went for grilled scallops with sweet sauce. At another junction, we spotted fugu (pufferfish) in tanks and we immediately went for a plate of tessa, thinly sliced sashimi. Truth be told, I wasn't impressed. Kinda bland and chewy. No risk of tetrodotoxin poisoning cause the fish are can now be reared poison-free. The stall also sold blanched sea eel served with miso and plum sauce. Once blanched, the meat springs up like white blossoms. Pleasing to the eye. Further down the road, SK appeared with a big box of raw scallops. Think we downed twenty pieces in total. So sweet and succulent! Our main destination was a shop called Sanpei. It sold seafood and had a dedicated dining area. In our first sitting, we ate sea urchin, chutoro and hamachi. Excellent.

Continuing down, we found shops selling kitchenware. From pots and pans to ceramic knives. And strangely, we spent a lot of time at a second-hand kimono shop where SK bought a yukata and my mother played dress up. On the way back to the hotel, we made ANOTHER stop at Sanpei for more chutoro, oyster and geoduck sashimi, something that KH promised me for years! It was so yummy. Loved the crispy texture and the sweet taste. Think our raw breakfast cost us around MYR300.

In the afternoon, we met up with The Tribe for lunch. Had a difficult time finding a place to eat until a kind woman pointed us in the right direction.

Obasan: What are you looking for?

Moi: A place to have lunch.

Obasan: Reasonable price?

Moi: Hai!

We actually went round in circles, missing the food area by just one junction. They gave us an octagonal table for the eight of us, with a faux hearth (irori) in the middle, complete with the traditional jizaikagi in the shape of a fish. Ordered some noodles and rice, but the kids were a little fickle that afternoon. They didn't eat much, but they later baham-ed the Moz Burger that SK bought. For department store shopping, we have Takashimaya a miss and went to 0101 instead. Still quite posh, but we did manage to buy some stuff.

Next up, SK went crazy at Muji. Huge selection at Muji Tower, but I did not buy anything. In the end, we stopped for tea at Muji Cafe. On the way back, we brought The Tribe to Shinshaibashi-Suji for some shopping. In the evening we did some last minute shopping at Takashimaya's supermarket where SK sapu Kobe beef while BIL sapu peaches (super sweet and juicy). To appease BIL's flagging appetite, we went Italian that night-- Milkhall at Nanbasennichimae. Pizzas and pastas were a crowd-pleaser among the tribe.

Walked back to the hotel and stopped at Toraya to buy some Japanese cloth. They only display the samples. When you want something, they cut a small piece of the cloth and send it to the warehouse via a pneumatic tube messaging system. The required length of cloth then magically appears on the counter. Haha. On the last night in Osaka, we had a farewell party with unagi, nigiri sushi, sake and yummy caramelized sweet potato fries from 551 Horai. Had to pack our bags that night as our flight was at 11:00 am the next morning...