OSAKA STREET FOOD (JAPAN TRIP 2015)

When we were planning our trip to OSAKA CASTLE, I was immediately concerned about one thing:

No, it's not the weather...
No it's not the crowds...
No it's not the probability of seeing my crush Hiroyuki Sanada...
And NO, it's not even the fact that our flight is later that afternoon!

Going to OSAKA CASTLE, I was deeply thinking about where to eat because I don't know of any restaurants in the vicinity.

OH YES! That's a serious matter for us!!!

I was looking at THE YAPPY BUNCH being out the whole morning and we should have a bite somewhere. And since it's OSAKA CASTLE (not Disneyland), themed restaurants just doesn't fit in the popular tourist site.

Great thing that we pleasantly discovered the food that will comfort and care for us on our full morning walk around the castle.

OSAKA STREET FOOD!

Never mind going to an air-conditioned themed restaurant, THIS is where we'll get our foodie fix for our last day in Japan!

It was actually a long line of stalls that is run by one family.

Now what should we choose?

Raw Chicken Yakiniku!

In an instant, the Chicken skewers were fried to a golden brown.

Egad... I hope they have rice here. OSAKA Chicken Yakiniku just smelled awesome.

Beef and Squid Yakiniku!

Buns!

Takoyaki Balls!

Hotdogs on stick!

There's even corn on the cob too.

We were not really that hungry but since these meat on skewers were so inviting, we thought of getting something for a quick bite. 

This guy reminded me of Yub's brother Allan! He he he he he!

Hmmm....What shall we go for first?

The grilled squid were so fat and plump that it immediately caught my little seafood lover!

The guys gave it a quick grill and brushed it up with their secret soy sauce.

Yum!

I was able to take a bite from it and it was so tasty and tender. No wonder Mati had it again later on.

As for me, I tried the OSAKA Beef Yakiniku since I thought it would be so tender like what my brother had in another OSAKA tour.

I was somehow disappointed that the meat was a bit tough. It was good and juicy yes but I would have to give an extra gnarl to be able to swallow the meat. 

Too bad because my brother was able to eat butter tender beef in another part of OSAKA.

I forgot how much each OSAKA Yakiniku stick is. Here's a Japanese menu for easy reference :P

While looking around, I saw these offerings mounted on one of the stalls.

I was intrigued with the many eggs being fried up on the flat skillet. Plus, the popping sounds were very inviting. 

After I ordered, they got one egg and topped it with some chopped squid. Then, they gave it a generous drizzle of Okonomiyaki  sauce and Japanese mayo.

So simple but seemed ingenious!

"Allan" cut it in half and put the Okonomiyaki on top of each other. And THIS is what I got.

I know these are two same pictures but WOW.

THIS. IS. MY. NEW. FAVORITE!

One bite and I was so in love! It was freakishly good! This type of OSAKA Okonomiyaki had the taste of my favorite Takoyaki ball but it was lighter and did not have any carbs.

What I got was bite upon bites of the soft eggs meshed with the tender squid and made more messy with the sweet/sour combo of the Okonomiyaki Sauce and Japanese Mayo.

Yowza!!!!

I definitely want MORE! This was so awesome!!

As for Andrei, he asked for some ice cream.

Normally we don't give them ice cream in the morning. But we thought, Andrei was on vacation too so he had the right to indulge as well!

For drinks, we got some water and soda from the carts that were located on the side of the stalls.

When we were all energized with the OSAKA STREET FOOD, we had a great morning in OSAKA CASTLE!

After our tour, it was time to eat. In the OSAKA PARK, we saw this stall selling "The best Takoyaki Balls" there is. They said so on a sign

I was interested to get one order but the line was waaaaaay too long. I figured I wouldn't be able to finish one order anyway.

Since we enjoyed very much our quick snack in the OSAKA stalls, we decided to go back there for lunch.

Weather wass starting to act up. Hopefully it wouldn't rain while we were eating. He he he he he he!

Good thing too that there was an available table for us at the side. If you see that rag, it's for people to clean as you go. he he he he he he he!

Time to buy!

Mati was craving for some OSAKA Udon noodles that time and immediately made his choice.

Andrei, what are you licking???

We paid immediately and waited for our order to come out.

As for me, I was sniffing towards these fried Yakisoba noodles.  I would get me one of those!

Remember how I mentioned this is a family owned restaurant? I was not so sure at first but then we figured it out later on. 

I guess that's the Mom who's barking up orders to her children who all look alike. He he he he he he!

Mati's OSAKA Udon in clear soup! I see there is an egg yolk, rice crispies, and fish cake. 

Mati loaded these OSAKA noodles with some chili powder and slurped away. He said it was so good and immediately finished it in New York minute!

As for Andrei he chose to have this very long roasted fried hotdogs on a stick. Now I don't know if he did it on purpose but that hotdog looked weird. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

At this angle it looks like a finger!

Like I drooled over before, I got some OSAKA Yakisoba noodles and topped it with a lot of chili powder.

The noodles were chewy and sweet while the vegetables were still crunchy! Oh yum!!!! I cannot stop myself from devouring the whole package.

YES! THE WHOLE PACKAGE!

The Chinese Adonis was in the mood for some fried chicken and got some OSAKA Karaage in a cup.

We washed down all those delicious food with ice cold gulps of Pepsi Nex Zero! He he he he he!

ERICJAZ FOODIES with the little lords answering our cravings with OSAKA STREET FOOD!

From our table, we could see some tourists arriving at this type of taxi.

This is nice, but with the beauty around OSAKA CASTLE, we'd rather walk!

Done???

Not quite!

Here's our second round of OSAKA STREET FOOD with some squid and chicken!

That Chicken was crazy tender and so tasty!!! It was fried up so well with the special soy sauce!

After that, we got one more!

While the Chinese Adonis and I were raving over our sticks of Chicken Yakiniku, Mati was still savoring his juicy squid!

As for Andrei, he decided to get some OSAKA snow cones.

I'm not sure if his decision for THAT was because of the cute girl "manning" the cart!

Smart move by the family owning this food business near OSAKA CASTLE -- they got the cutest lady of the family to sell the most "unsellable" product that they have. He he he he he he he!

Well it was still pretty cold in OSAKA but there were some people lining up for her snow cones. Never mind of course, that most of them were guys.

I'm sure you know what I mean based on Andrei's happy smile. Tee hee!

And when he got back to our table, Andrei's face is back to normal.

But of course, he could still see his Snow cone Princess close by.

Dessert for me was my favorite Japanese soft served Ice Cream!

When Andrei was finished with his Snow Cone, he played with his favorite pigeons near the OSAKA STREET FOOD stalls.

Come to think of it, he's trying to feed the pigeons his leftover snow cones!

Maybe he didn't really like the snow cone. Now I wonder why he bought it in the first place?

He he he he he he!

We're so glad that for our last day, we were able to help ourselves to OSAKA'S famous street food. You know how you would sometimes justify rotten food with the cheap price? With these food stalls in OSAKA, you'll wonder why it is priced so low when they are all soooo delicious and unforgettable! I certainly hope to get a bite of all of this next time.

I'm sure Andrei wants a glimpse of his Snow-cone Princess too!!!

OSAKA STREET FOOD NEAR OSAKA CASTLE

 1-1, Osaka-jo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka