Japan Food: Chitose Okonomiyaki Restaurant

In a former post I mentioned how I’ll be forever thankful for Korean John for taking Alex and myself to what has become my favourite restaurant in the world – Chitose Okonomiyaki.

Chitose Okonomiyaki

tastes way better than it looks ;)

 

Chitose Okonomiyaki is a smallish restaurant located in the back alleys of Shinimamiya, Osaka. It’s solely run by a great man called Hideki. His restaurant has been family owned for generations and was handed down to him by his parents when they retired.

Ok so for the uninitiated, what is Okonomiyaki? It’s often referred to as a Japanese savoury pancake (or pizza), personally I think it’s a little more accurate to call it a Japanese version of an omelette. It’s basically shredded cabbage mixed with egg, flour, green onions, your choice of beef/bacon/shrimp/squid, topped with okonomiyaki sauce and seaweed & benito flakes. It’s cooked (and served) on a hot plate in front of you. Sometimes noodles are included in the mix as well. Also Hideki does a version with cheese that is pretty awesome as well, but very filling.

Okonomiyaki in progress

Hideki’s okonomiyaki is by far the best I’ve tasted. After my first visit with Alex in 2011 it was only a matter of 1 or 2 days before we were back again and by the end of the trip we had eaten there 4 times. Each time Amanda and I return to Japan we tend to eat there at least twice a week. Hideki cooks some amazing side dishes that you must try, my picks are: Squid with butter, pan fried oysters and shrimp cooked in egg. Amanda and I have worked out that if we order one mixed okonomiyaki (shrimp, squid & bacon) and one or maybe two side dishes we get a huge feed.

As for prices, a mixed okonomiyaki is 750 yen, side dishes are about 350 yen. A large bottle of beer is 500. This is a super cheap meal, you’ll be hard pressed to find such a great feed for so little yen anywhere else in Japan. 

Prawns (shrimp with eggs)

Shrimp with egg

Fried Oysters

Hideki

Squid with butter

Hideki himself is a great guy. His English is very good (he does have English menus), he is very funny and very generous. He has often given us a free beer, umeshu (plum wine) or side dish and typically tends to round down our bill. This often ends with us trying to force extra cash on him. He was so generous with Alex and I that on our last day in Japan we stuck our head inside his door, threw a 2000 yen note at him then turned and ran. Running away probably wasn’t a great idea as when I rounded the next corner I almost knocked a cop off his bicycle. I still wonder what the cop thought of two white boys sprinting away from a small restaurant in a non-tourist area in Osaka. 

The restaurant itself is a little small by western standards, it has two small ‘hot-plate’ tables that can fit 4-5 people and a counter that seats another 4. Sometimes we’ve gone to eat there to find the restaurant completely full with locals, this is no problems as most people are in and out fairly quickly. 

Fun times at Chitose

We’ve had some great nights at Chitose, the most recent when Amanda and I crashed a birthday party on our last trip. We stepped inside to take the two spare seats at the counter to be greated with a massive round of applause and cheers. I’m still puzzled as to whether Hideki had mentioned us the party or whether they were just drunk enough that two whiteys entering the restaurant was the best thing to happen all night. In true Japanese fashion we quickly made friends with the group and were topping up each other’s beers. Unfortunately the birthday boy got so drunk he lost the use of his legs, this was quite funny at the time until we found out later he was sick enough the next day they put him in hospital. (Yes he’s fine now). If you want to really see Japan and not eat with a bunch of fellow tourists here is a great place to do it. 

And just in case you’ve tried okonomiyaki elsewhere in the world (like Australia) you absolutely have to try it again here. Since first eating at Chitose I’ve tried to find comparable okonomiyaki in and out of Japan and have failed miserably. Some are hardly even recognisable as okonomiyaki, case and point Mizu Restaurant in New Farm, Brisbane – it was more like a McDonald’s hash brown.

To sum up, great food, great chef, great customers, great fun… if you aren’t staying in the area, make the effort to eat here. Combine it with an afternoon/evening walking around Shinsekai and Dobutsuenmae areas. And please say Konnichiwa to Hideki for me!

Here is the Chitose website complete with a Engrish menu and a map. The easiest way to find Chitose is to find the start of the Dobutsuenmae shopping street, then take the 3rd alley on the right. 

NB. Chitose is closed on Wednesdays.