Osaka is recognised by many as a city of eats. It is known to the Japanese as the nation’s kitchen, and comes with a famous saying kuidaore (食い倒れ), meaning to “to eat yourself to bankruptcy”, or “eat until you drop”, which is certainly a possibility. It’s deemed by food critics – including François Simon, who is speculated to be the inspiration for Anton Ego, the food critic of the Pixar movie Ratatouille – to be the food capital of the world. That’s certainly debatable, as we’ve visited so many cities whose cuisine has impressed over and over again, but there’s doubt that Osaka has exceptionally delicious food.

Osaka is also home to one of Asia’s major trading ports, especially since the country opened back up to trade in 1868. Because of that, the cuisine sees major influences from other countries, especially Korea and China, so its local food is diverse. This post focuses on snack foods, street eats, and sweet treats and you can check out our upcoming post on local Osaka dishes soon.

Butaman (豚まん) Steamed Pork Buns

Nikuman (肉まん, “meat buns”) steamed pork buns, or butaman (豚まん, “pork buns”) as it’s known in the Kansai region, have strong roots in the Chinese baozi (包子) steamed buns. Steamed buns are a popular snack all over the country with convenience stores often displaying a cabinet at its counter with an array of colourful buns of different fillings such as sweetened red bean, black sesame, or even fusion ingredients such as cheese or pizza. In Japan, convenience store steamed buns are roughly the size of the palm of a hand, these small buns are perfect as a snack between meals, and best consumed steamy hot on cold winter days.

Futami no Butaman (二見の豚まん)

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Only a few metres from exit E5 of Namba Station is Futami no Butaman (二見の豚まん), a specialty store producing only steamed pork buns. These can be eaten hot and fresh, or are often purchased as souvenirs by Japanese tourists to take back with them to their hometowns. As of writing this post, one steamed bun is ¥210 (US$1.90).

Futami steamed buns are huge, with thick, fluffy bread and plenty of filling. The dough smells a little bit like Chinese cooking wine, acting as a perfect vessel to soak up the juices from the pork filling inside. The pork is a little bit sweet thanks to the cabbage and otherwise perfectly seasoned. One steamed bun is easily a small meal, or also a delicious snack.

551 Horai

Unlike Futami, who only operates out of one store, 551 Horai definitely has a monopoly on Chinese food in Japan as a chain that you can find all over the country, though mostly in train stations and department store basements. It was established in 1945 in the Namba area of Osaka, with horai meaning “paradise”, and the 551 an addition to make the name more memorable. 551 Horai prides itself on its fresh food, producing only enough to sell out during the day, so you can guarantee that you’re getting a good quality product.

Unlike Futami, 551 Horai also offers a range of other Chinese dishes including dim sum dishes like dumplings, and meals like rice and noodles, at least in the sit-down restaurants in Osaka. One of their butaman is ¥190 (US$1.75) as of the time of our visit. We found it is a little smaller than the Futami, with a thinner layer of dough and a little more filling.

We found the filling to be gluey, like they had used starch, and while starch is often used to bind the filling together we personally felt that it affected the texture. While many seem to disagree, personally prefer the Futami. If you’re in Osaka, you may as well try them both and decide for yourself.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake seems like an unlikely must-eat in Japan but in the last few years there has been the rise of Japanese-style cheesecakes which has become popular especially amongst the Asian circles. Japan likes their food light, so it’s no surprise that the cotton cheesecake, also known as the soufflé cheesecake, which is an airy, fluffy, jiggly, sponge-like baked cheesecake without a crust, became a hit. The other, less popular but equally delicious, is a tart with a melty, custardy filling, usually best served warm.

Rikuro Oji-san Uncle Rikuro (りくろーおじさん)

A number of soufflé cheesecake shops have gained popularity in Japan and the one that hails from Osaka is Uncle Rikuro. Unlike its international competitor Uncle Tetsu, Uncle Rikuro’s cheesecake comes with a ring of raisins cooked onto the base. One cheesecake only goes for ¥725 (US$6.60), and you’ll often find queues forming outside the stores as punters await a fresh batch of cheesecake straight from the oven. When a new tray is pulled from the oven, the staff will ring a bell indicating a new batch, and stamp each cheesecake carefully with the happy, lovable face of Uncle Rikuro, before packaging it up carefully and selling it.

The Namba store had seats for us to eat it instore. Plastic knives were available at ¥10 (US$0.10) each. We were lucky in that there was no queue as we pulled up, watching them package a cheesecake right as they pulled a batch from the oven, and they provided us a plate to move the cheesecake onto.

It’s fluffy and melts in the mouth, and the raisins add a nice burst of flavour and sweetness. Call us picky, but we aren’t as impressed with soufflé cheesecakes as everyone else seems to be, as the lightness and the fact that it’s barely sweet makes the cheesecake almost bland in flavour. It almost completely has no cream cheese or dairy flavour whatsoever, perhaps because it’s hot. We found that eating soufflé cheesecakes cold, such as overnight, provides a better flavour, and straight from the oven an ideal fluffy texture, so perhaps it would have been fine if we hadn’t eaten it straight away. This kind of cheesecake is better suited for people who don’t like the thick, heavy richness of a traditional cheesecake, and for those who have never had a soufflé cheesecake before. Otherwise, and in all honesty, if you’ve had one soufflé cheesecake, you’ve tried them all.

Pablo Cheese Tart

Pablo Cheese Tart, which originated in Osaka, combines the best of both cheesecakes and egg tarts. Their melty cheese tart consists of a flaky crust base and a cream cheese custard filling which stays soft and custardy after baking. There are often seasonal flavours such as strawberry or purple sweet potato, and it comes in mini individual tarts or larger sharing pies. You can find these stores all over Japan.

We bought ourselves a slice of the original cheese tart for ¥200 (US$1.80). It’s delicious, with a light, cream cheese flavour, tender and melty with some sweetness from the fruit glaze on top. We also tried a mini lemon cheese tart for ¥280 (US$2.55), which used a shortcrust pastry base instead of a flaky crust like the larger Pablo cheese tart. It was also delicious, but was lacking in the cheese filling itself as the size increased the ratio of shortcrust shell and the fruit topping. However, it’s still tasty, and we would have tried all of the seasonal toppings if we had had the capacity. The smoothie at ¥600 (US$5.50) was a little icy, and tasted like the fruit glaze. Perhaps not the most recommended item, but still delicious nonetheless.

Takoyaki Octopus Fritters (たこ焼き)

Honestly, unless you’re allergic or intolerant to seafood, gluten, or eggs, takoyaki (たこ焼き) is a must-eat food in Japan. There are many variations throughout the country, such as the akashikyaki (明石焼き) in Kobe, or the many upgraded toppings of modern-day versions, but a basic takoyaki consists of a batter made of flour, eggs, dashi stock (a stock made from seafood, seaweed, and/or mushrooms), and chopped octopus, and cooked on a specially-shaped griddle to form crispy balls filled with molten-hot, melty batter. Other ingredients may include benishouga (ginger pickled in plum vinegar), and spring onions. Toppings can include anything from a special sweet-savoury brown sauce, mayonnaise, aonori seaweed flakes, spring onions, bonito fish flakes, or just plain.

Takoyaki Umai-Ya (うまい屋)

There are countless takoyaki stores and stands throughout Japan, so honestly it’s unfair for us to say that any one will be better than another. We stopped off at Takoyaki Umai-Ya, as it’s famous for its takoyaki, and we were in the area checking out the Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street. It’s located about 10-15 minutes’ walk east of Umeda Station, or just past the south exit of Tenjinbashisuji 6-Chome Station. This store features an indoor dine-in area and also sells things like drinks, but the star of the show, of course, is its takoyaki octopus fritters.

The smallest portion of takoyaki is 8 pieces, and you can order them in multiples of 4 after that. At our time of visit they were ¥400 (US$3.65) for 8, though the price has increased slightly since. You can get them either plain or dressed, but that’s it – no fancy toppings for the flavour and texture to hide under, just simple takoyaki, and they sure delivered.

We’re used to eating takoyaki that has eventually steamed itself into a soft mush, but these aren’t like that all. The outside is lightly crispy and the inside is flavourful, tender, and piping hot (make sure to blow it!), with delightfully tender pieces of octopus and a delicious fragrance from the pickled ginger that made the takoyaki outstanding. The sauce is a typical sweet-savoury, thick brown sauce, but with how light they brush it on it adds flavour without being overwhelming. The takoyaki is delicious both with and without, and while we haven’t tried many takoyaki in Japan, it’s an absolute must-try if you’re passing by.

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