Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Travel log: Osaka, Japan day 1. Part 2.

Osaka day 1 - part 2.

After the Yakiniku meal, the first place I simply must head to is towards my grilled crab place. Several years back when I came to Osaka, the grilled crab leg was the singular highlight of my stay. It would be a sin to pass it up! 

Before that, it took us a few turns to get to the right lane...had to find this lane that leads to the temple first...



My man was amused by all the huge cartoon like ornament depicting the food that was being sold, from cute puffer fish to octopus etc. despite the wide array of food options, I didn't stop till I hit my destination. Good thing the store remained where it was and so I could find it, though the shops opposite has a drastic change to the current tatsuya.there are also now Starbucks which was currently non existent back then.





The crab legs were as good as before, soooo freaking sweet. It is alittle tricky to eat while standing since the flesh is kinda hard to pick out with chopsticks with one hand. Took a little balancing but it was worth the hassle. Completely. I still rem taking my elder brother and sister in law here previously and we love it so much that we pack a whole lot back to my room since my hotel was nearby. Was staying in cross hotel back then. Lovely hotel by the way and though much smaller than ritz, for for a solo occupant, it worked out perfectly and a good size. Still rem they had great bathroom.

Any case back to Dotonburi, the street wasn't as packed as I last remembered, and despite filling up quickly, I bought a pack of 6 octopus balls for my man to try since he had never eaten tako balls all his life. As expected, I knew he didn't like it as it's too much of a flour dough for him. 



Next thing I knew I spotted Mizuno which is another crazy popular okonomiyaki place. Everyone seems to eat there tourists and locals alike. I didn't bother since we are stuffed. Next trip perhaps!?




After having a good look, we decided to grab the subway back. The Osaka metro subway station was a nightmare. We wanted to go to Harbs and ended up in the wrong building. Thankfully this girl knew where it was and gave me directions to the hankyu mall which was on the opposite end of where we were. My man really wanted Harbs ( I should not have got him addicted to it back in Tokyo as Harbs is my fav haunt) so off we go....

It wasn't easy to find honestly and even the aunties working there didn't know where is Harbs but a young chap overheard our conversation and volunteered the directions. Amen! 


We had our usual mix fruit cake since the other one I wanted was sold out. I'm in japan too early and so the seasonal queen of strawberry shortcake isn't available yet. Darn. I miss that...the fresh cream still lingers in my mind after all these years....

The Harbs here is either offering a smaller menu or they had taken out my fav "wedding tea" which I had in Tokyo branch. So we settled for flora herbs tea instead. Once our sweet tooth was satisfied...it was a long walk back to the room....but hey, it was a satisfying first night in japan. Gotto sleep early for Kyoto tomorrow! 




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