Kobe is a big stop for many tourists thanks to its gastronomic scene, especially concerning the very prized wagyu – Japanese beef known for its flavour and fat marbling. However, Kobe is also known by locals for a very different style of dining, which is not quite so recognised by foreign tourists. On the complete flip side to the exceptional-grade quality A5 Kobe beef is B-grade gourmet dining which is, in essence, the cheap, fast-food style dining that is much more commonly enjoyed on an everyday basis.

If we take a look back throughout the history of food in Japan, it may surprise some people to learn that traditional Japanese food is based heavily on Buddhist dining, which is heavily vegetarian and sparingly seasoned. It wasn’t until fairly recently, namely in a concentrated period after the second World War that Japanese food expanded hugely thanks to Chinese, Korean, and Western influences. Meat became much more commonly consumed, and thanks to the Korean influence, use of offal and other non-muscle animal parts became more popular, too.

That’s not to say that the dishes we eat in Japan wouldn’t be considered Japanese food. It’s the fascination evolution following trends to suit the tastes of the locals that results in a cuisine distinct from its influences. None are any less delicious than its predecessors, and if there’s ever a chance to try them, we would highly recommend it without a doubt.

B-Grade Gourmet

Bokkake-Suji (ぼっかけスジ) – Konjac and Tendon

Bokkake (ぼっかけ) is a spongey, soft-chewy, cake made of konjac (or in Japanese, konnyaku) that is close to being nutritionally useless because it’s indigestible for humans. This low-calorie, bland ingredient is a popular food for people on diets especially when it is soaked in flavourful sauces. The bokkake is combined with gyusuji (牛スジ) beef tendon, which has a similar tender, jelly-like texture. This combination is popular in Kobe to add inexpensive protein to a dish.

Horumon (ホルモン) Offal

We’ve indulged in offal plenty of times before, especially in the duration of our trip. The origin of the word horumon is unclear – some suspect it’s derived from hormone, Greek for “stimulation” thanks to offal’s association with stamina in Japan. Alternatively, it may have been derived from hourumon (放る物), meaning “discarded goods” in the Kansai dialect. Nonetheless, while previously not often eaten in Japan, it is now eaten throughout the country in many different styles.

Modanyaki (モダン焼き) “Modern” Okonomiyaki

Modanyaki (モダン焼き) is an Osaka-style version of the popular dish okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), which is also known as a savoury pancake or a Japanese pizza. Okonomiyaki, translating directly to “how you like it, fried”, is a mix of vegetables and meat in a batter that is cooked into a pancake on a hotplate and served with a variety of sauces and toppings. Modanyaki is a version which also uses fried yakisoba noodles. It’s the combination of carbohydrate-heavy components that makes this such a cheap, filling, and hearty dish.

Sobameshi (そばめし) Mixed Fried Rice and Noodles

Soba (そば) is a type of buckwheat noodle, but yakisoba or sobayaki (焼きそば) is a dish of stir-fried wheat noodles. Meshi (飯) can mean “rice” or “food”. In Kobe, sobameshi (そばめし) is a dish which stir-fries both rice and noodles together in a savoury Worcestershire-based sauce, and supposedly came about when a patron to a yakisoba restaurant requested his leftover rice from lunch be cooked into his yakisoba fried noodles. It is another example of a carb-heavy dish that has become popular because of how fast, cheap, and filling it is.

Nagata TANKU-Suji (長田TANKU筋)

Nagata TANKU-Suji is a little restaurant in a food alley underground a shopping complex. The area is admittedly not the most savoury location to be, but we didn’t linger too long as we headed straight down for lunch. It’s a fairly small restaurant that fills up quickly during lunch hours, with hotplate griddles between booths for groups. We were seated at the main counter.

The menu has suggestions for the most popular dishes such as beef tendon sobayaki fried noodles (牛スジぼっかけそば焼), or sobayaki wrapped in omelette (オムそば焼). The menu is otherwise divided by dishes, such as sobayaki (そば焼), sobameshi (そばめし), and modanyaki (モダン焼き), and each have options for flavours, toppings, or proteins, such as akashitako octopus (明石タコ), and horumon offal (ホルモン).

The menu of the restaurant is fairly basic, consisting of sobayaki fried noodles, sobameshi fried rice and noodles, okonomiyaki savoury pancakes, and modanyaki with varying toppings and proteins. We opted for the bokkake modanyaki (ぼっかけモダン焼き; ¥910; US$8.80), and a horumon sobameshi (ホルモンそばめし; ¥860; US$8.30). The dishes aren’t cooked at the counter in front of the diners, so don’t expect this experience – instead, it’s cooked in the kitchen and served on the hotplate, which keeps it warm as you eat.

The portions, especially for the price, are gigantic, which was expected for the style of dining. The dishes are flavoured with a sauce similar to okonomiyaki sauce, a fruity, savoury-sweet sauce similar to Worcestershire but thicker in consistency. The sobameshi was well-seasoned, and thanks to the style of cooking where the noodles are chopped up into the rice, it isn’t anything particularly new or revolutionary. The addition of the chewy, fatty pieces of intestines was delightful, resulting in explosions of flavour in the mouth.

The modanyaki on the other hand, had a slightly crispy top and bottom thanks to the pancake being cooked on a griddle. It had tender noodles and little pockets of chewy tendon and konjac pieces, which both added to texture and flavour, as they soaked up the sauce very well. While the modanyaki has more textures, it is overall lighter in flavour, despite the amount of sauce served on top, but not any less delicious than the sobameshi.

The shop also produces a number of sauces that you can also buy to take home. They are the ones that are used for cooking, and include sweet and spicy varieties in case you need to add more to your meals. We recommend adding a little bit of the lemon sauce that they also have, which adds a nice little bit of acid to the rich food. Tasty! We definitely chose unconventional menu items, but there are a huge number of options with topping options that are a little bit more familiar, such as seafood, beef, or pork. Definitely give it a go! This cheap local eat is great for the wallet when travelling.

Akashiyaki (明石焼) Octopus Egg Fritters

Akashiyaki is a round fritter originating from Akashi, a city in the Hyogo Prefecture neighbouring Kobe. It is similar to takoyaki (たこ焼き), a famous Japanese food of round fritters cooked in hotplate moulds that contain pieces of octopus. Takoyaki is actually derived from akashiyaki, despite takoyaki being much more famous, with the difference being that takoyaki contains much more flour, resulting in a pancake-like texture often with a slightly crispy exterior and holding its iconic round shape.

Akashiyaki, on the other hand, is more akin to a tamagoyaki omelette (玉子焼), with an egg-based batter that results in an almost pudding-like egg texture. It is served with a hot broth, though sauce is provided for those who’d like it.

Tachibana (たちばな)

Tachibana is arguably one of the most famous restaurants in Kobe that you can find akashiyaki. It is also, however, a very private restaurant that doesn’t allow its customers to take photographs of anything but the food, likely thanks to its status as a famous local restaurant. Diners are also required to order at least one item per person when dining in. We opted for the 10-piece plate of akashiyaki (¥620; US$6.00), as well as a bowl of tokoroten (ところてん), long strips of agar-based jelly noodles that can either be served savoury with vinegar and mustard or sweet with black sugar syrup (¥380; US$3.70).

The akashiyaki was unsurprisingly very mild in flavour, and when dipped into the dashi broth it’s served with, was akin to a steamed egg custard but with some toasty flavours from the grilling. Unlike the style of takoyaki that everyone is familiar with, which is drenched in mayonnaise, takoyaki sauce, and seaweed, the akashiyaki focused more on the light flavours and the texture of the octopus and the egg, which makes for a very different, but highly delicious eating experience. If you love your eggs, this is a great dish to try in Kobe.

The tokoroten was also very delicious. It was served cold, so it was refreshing, with a familiar jelly texture. Be careful with the mustard – it’s quite strong, and clears the nasal passages with a single bite! Try it with black sugar syrup for a lovely cool, light dessert to finish up your octopus fritters. It’s a great light snack for those who find themselves peckish during the day.

Nikuman (肉まん) Chinese Steamed Pork Buns

Nikuman is no longer a foreign food to many people. It’s the Japanese take on Chinese baozi (包子), fluffy, round, white steamed buns with various fillings. In the case of Japanese nikuman, it’s usually pork mince and cabbage. Kobe is home to one of the three big Chinatowns in Japan (the other two being in Yokohama and Nagasaki), so it’s a popular dish for tourists to seek out when in the city.

Roushouki (老祥記)

Roushouki is located right in the middle of Kobe’s Chinatown area, and arguably the most famous spot in the city for nikuman steamed buns. Expect to queue for the steamed buns, which starts at the door of the restaurant and commences across the road to allow traffic and pedestrians to pass by. Despite the length of the line, you’ll find that it moves quickly, as the buns are pumped out rapidly and many choose to take their order out to eat on the streets where you can enjoy the atmosphere of Chinatown, so you won’t find yourself in line for all that much time.

If dining in, each diner is required to order a minimum of 3 steamed buns at ¥100 (US$1.00) each. They’re not very large compared to a single Chinese baozi, so it’s easy to eat all 3 and still have room to spare. If ordering for takeout, there is also a minimum order of 3 steamed buns, so we ordered for takeout and shared the three between the two of us. This is better on the budget and allows for more room in the tummy to eat other things, but you do miss out on the vinegar and ginger that dine-in customers have access to.

While we enjoyed the steamed buns enough, we weren’t all that impressed with it. At home in New Zealand, there’s no shortage of fresh steamed buns, be it from dim sum restaurants, Chinese snack bars, or even frozen packaged products from the Asian grocery store. We like our buns light, fluffy, and preferably a little sweet. The ones from Roushouki weren’t as fluffy, though it is fairly thin, with a good ratio of skin to meat. However, its filling was overwhelmingly salty, such that we found it a struggle to finish the 3 steamed buns in our order despite them being very small. While we wouldn’t deter anyone from trying them, we would recommend visiting Roushouki with that small note in mind. Each to their own.

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