Torafugu

We ate fugu and lived to bring you this post!

On my last day in Osaka, I still haven’t had the chance to sample takoyaki, okonomiyaki or oden, some of the dishes unique to Osaka. Determined to try out at least one of these unique dishes, Naoki and I headed out to Dōtonbori.

With so many choices, we reasoned that we would forgo takoyaki, okonomiyaki and oden given these foods are also available in Melbourne, though probably nowhere close to the real thing. Through information gathered at a food guide booth on the street, we decided it was a toss up between crab stick or pufferfish. The choice was clear. We couldn’t care less about crabs, real or manufactured.

Even deciding on a fugu restaurant wasn’t easy given there were so many, which can be identified by huge fugu lanterns or models hanging outside of each of the restaurants. See more pictures of Dōtonbori here, I was advised to stop taking pictures at one point because we spotted some yakuza. Later after dinner, we would leave the restaurant to find a small crowd gathered around a yakuza lying side-down on the street, bleeding from his head. His companions were slapping his thighs in an attempt to keep him awake, presumably while others in the group sought for help. I looked around and saw some tourist types taking pictures of the commotion.

Customers tuck into the steaming bowls of noodles standing by the store counter.

Kinruyu Ramen store was featured in one of the Osaka landmark shots for Jetstar.

This 10-storey high Glico mascot is an icon of Osaka.

We settled on this banquet for 5,000¥ per person, which features torafugu sashimi, and cooking the pufferfish in a nabe.

Fugu ingredients for the nabe

Nestled amongst the Asian vegetables, enoki, shiitake, zucchini, tofu and shiratake are various body parts of the fugu. Lying on the topmost is the skin — which according to my, ahem, Wikipedia research — contains lethal amounts of tetrodotoxin. Below, the less toxic parts like ara, a bony section, and various fleshy parts.

The toxins play an important part in imparting a unique sensation upon tasting. Some chefs prepare the fish so there is a minute amount of poison in the meat, giving a prickling feeling and numbness on the tongue.

Condiments and dipping sauce

Every part of the fish will be dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, this orange purée and diced scallions, which we will soon discover why.

Fugu Sashimi

First on the menu is fugu sashimi, consisting of flesh and skin. I’m unsure of how to embrace the taste, but raw fugu flesh is pretty tasteless — almost like raw squid, though less fishy. Its skin is almost leathery like konnyaku, and tasteless too. I’m guessing that’s where the orange purée and scallions come into play.

I recall a slight tingling and numbing sensation, however I wasn’t sure if that was caused by the toxin, the acidic dipping sauce or the sheer delight from tasting fugu for the first time.

Fugu-chiri

Next up, we dropped the various ingredients into the dashi stock to cook through. First up is the ara, a bony part of the pufferfish. The waitress advised a cooking time of 3 minutes of each of the fugu parts.

Fugu ara

As the title of this blog post suggests, the texture of the cooked flesh of a fugu feels a lot like chicken, maybe more tender and succulent like a poussin or frog’s legs but tasteless.

Random fugu body part

Here is another body part, boneless, and more fish-like in texture. Of all the fish I’ve tasted, this body part reminds me of Orange Roughy.

Fugu so good we had to take a ciggie break.

For the first time in 2, maybe 3, years I’ve lit up another ciggie but this one stank so much I put it out halfway through. Now I remember I only used to smoke menthols.

The pièce de résistance of tonight’s banquet — shirako, or gonads of the pufferfish.

These glistening and quivering mounds of delights, even in its raw state, look unlike the other fleshy parts we had earlier consumed. I was hoping the taste would be otherworldly, and a little less chickeny for a change.

Again, my Wikipedia research tells me, the gonads contain lethal amounts of the toxins. Yummy!

According to our waitress, torafugu are asexual but that still didn’t answer my question of which sex organs are these little white parcels. I am no marine biologist but Wikipedia tells me ovaries.

Waitress advised 3 minutes of cooking for the gonads, rendering the gonads into a muddled mess in the simmering stock, which I could only scoop up with a spoon. Again into the soy sauce mix the gonads go.

On the first taste, fond childhood memories of boiled pig’s brains instantly flooded into my mind. I let the gunk swirl around my tongue a little to savour the taste before I swallowed. The texture was indeed like boiled brains, meaty but also distinctively fishy. The ovaries, those pinkish orange bits hanging off the rounds of scallops, could possibly be a close comparison in terms of taste.

Boiled pufferfish gonads definitely beat its flesh hands down in both the taste and texture departments, in my opinion. This would taste so good, whether on its own, or in the silly orange purée soy sauce mix, or even in caramelised soy sauce and sliced chilli padi.

I miss boiled pig’s brains so much, or perhaps it is my grandmother that I miss and haven’t seen for 2 years. She had prepared all of my meals when I lived at home. Brains are one of the dishes she’d prepare whenever she finds the time to fuss with tweezing the blood capillaries out of the brains.

Zōsui made from fugu-chiri

The final part of the meal is zōsui, or congee, made from the leftover fugu and dashi stock. We had not anticipated this part of the meal and had already finished most of the vegetables. Feeling quite full already, we went ahead eating the congee anyway.

This one tasted so, so good and so familiar — eggy, meaty, fishy, starchy and full of carbs, like a comfort food I would have when feeling ill or on afternoons of special festivals back home.

If left to your own devices, fugu zōsui is one of those dishes you would consume the entire pot of and then end up hating yourself for it. And that we did.

Zōsui

The banquet was definitely worth the 5,000¥. I’ll definitely do this again, but will make it a point to leave some room for the boiled gonads and zōsui.

The order of which the various parts of the pufferfish were served up is clearly well-planned. The sashimi naturally as the entrée for its taste is the most delicate; then comes the main course of the various fleshy parts simmered in stock; the climax of the banquet the boiled gonads; and finally, with the rich and complex-tasting zōsui as the perfect dénouement.

Merchandise at the fugu restaurant

Shinsaibashi-suji

Shinsaibashi is easy to navigate, a little like Melbourne, where the main department stores are in the intersection of the CBD, with smaller shops in the laneways.

Hotel Nikko sits next to the major intersection, facing Sogo and Daimaru. I love the architectural details on the ceilings and pillars of the Daimaru building, but couldn’t take any photographs in the building.

Daimaru, Shinsaibashi

Below, other shops on the main street of Shinsaibashi.

Younger brands, local stores and some twee boutiques sit in the laneways. I wandered off to Minami Horie and found some cool Danish and retro furniture stores, and A.P.C. Unfortunately A.P.C. was out of size 28.

Cyclists in Shinsaibashi ride all over the pedestrian malls, lanes and roads with seemingly disregard for traffic rules.

I wasn’t sure if I had to look out for cyclists when walking on the pedestrian lanes or was it the other way round. Like cyclists in Melbourne, perhaps worse, cyclists ride along the roads with the other vehicles, but at the stop light, they cross the street with the pedestrians too. Some even ride on, cutting through the pedestrians, defying the stop lights. Like this cyclist in the picture demonstrates, there are probably no formal rules for cyclists in Osaka – no helmets required; TXTing and talking on the mobile is OK too.

I wasn’t sure if I had to look out for cyclists when walking on the pedestrian lanes or was it the other way round. Like cyclists in Melbourne, perhaps worse, cyclists ride along the roads with the other vehicles, but at the stop light, they cross the street with the pedestrians too. Some even ride on, cutting through the pedestrians, defying the stop lights. Like this cyclist in the picture demonstrates, there are probably no formal rules for cyclists in Osaka – no helmets required; TXTing and talking on the mobile is OK too.

Away from the main streets are smaller, local stores and restaurants. Suji means laneway.

In the laneways are smaller local shops and and restaurants.

I am in love with the drugstores. I stocked up on lip balms, moisturisers and Chocola® BB.

Tokyu Hands is a haven for DIY enthusiasts and home-makers. I love this totally un-PC curry tiffin, which comes in 5 different skin tones. The 'face' is for curry, the 'middle turban' for rice, and the top container salad and other condiments.

Fun with Engrish

I'm KIVing the orange enamelled kettle from Tokyu Hands. This will be mine if I have enough space in my luggage by the time I reach Nagoya.

Osaka was not spared from the fuglyfying jaws of these Crocs. Tyler Brûlé will have a hissy fit when he sees that Tokyu Hands have Crocs displayed just next to the Monocle-approved Porter luggage.

OMG, see what I found - The Greatest Hits of Boys Town Gang!

Cute car in Shinsaibashi-suji

After wandering around the laneways deciding what to have for lunch, I settled on this restaurant that specialises in unagi. I ordered a 1,000¥ unagi set, that comes with miso soup and pickles, and a pint for 320¥!

Naoki

Before we set off separately for the afternoon, we had tea and cakes at the lobby lounge of Hotel Nikko

Naoki

Food presentation and decoration in Japan’s always fascinating.

Cake selection at the Hotel Nikko lobby

Coffee, tea or Naoki

Petit fours

I had tea and petit fours which consist of a berry tart, butter cake slice, soft meringue filled with creme and berry jam, dark chocolate truffle and a citrus sorbet.

Gateau aux figue

Naoki had siphon coffee, and a fig sponge cake slice.

Dude, I can see your junk.

We had so much to eat in a span of an hour – Japanese breakfast and now, tea and cakes.

A groggy Naoki

With only one full day in Osaka, we didn’t waste time sleeping in.

Naoki has to meet up with a client before noon, then a dental appointment after so I will have a few hours on my own.

Shinsaibashi

The concierge recommended Shinsaibashi Shokudo (Shinsaibashi Eatery) for breakfast. This restaurant specialises in home cooked-style dishes, and has been around for decades.

Shinsaibashi Shokudo

The range of dishes vary throughout the day. Naturally, these selection are typical Japanese dishes for breakfast. The rice, cooked in a special cast iron pot called taki, is known as kama-meshi.

Chicken Hamburg in teriyaki sauce with poached eggs

Grilled fish in teriyaki sauce

Stewed hijiki, abura-age, konnyaku, carrots and peas

The pictures start to get a little blurry because I was starving.

Battered fish in teriyaki sauce

Fresh tofu, topped with grated ginger, scallions and dashi-tsuyu

Battered octopus in a sweet chilli and soy-based sauce

Salmon sashimi

Acerola drink

This is the first time I’ve come across acerola. Its taste is somewhat like a cross between an apple and sour plum.

Hotel Nikko Osaka

We’ll definitely return to Hotel Nikko Osaka if we’re ever back here in Osaka. Service is impeccable, and the hotel sits right in the middle of the shopping strip in Shinsaibashi.

View of Shinsaibashi from Hotel Nikko

The staff offered an upgrade to the “L Floor”, one of the better rooms in this hotel, after they discovered the Internet in the first room we checked in wasn’t working. Sweet. Here are some things we love about Hotel Nikko:

• Right in the middle of the shopping strip, and sits above the Shinsaibashi station. Our elevator heads straight down to the subway.
• Nikko Hotels Group is part of JAL, so excellent service is a given.
• Friendly staff, and they always try their best to assist us. Even if they don’t speak English much, I got what I needed.
• Jawdropping views from the room.
• Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries.
• Colour-coded toothbrushes.
• Toto toilet (warmed seats, bidet for my vajeene and booty shower with variable pressure)
• Free cable internet

Starving and cranky

After our shower, we headed to one of the late night ramen restaurants in the laneways at the recommendation of the concierge.

Chashu Ramen

Kara-age

Gyoza

Yummy