For an all-rounded experience of authentic Japanese cuisine, there is no better place to visit than Osaka, fondly known as “The Nation’s Kitchen”. The vibrant, bustling city is known to be the place for foodies to fill their bottomless pits, and you can easily find something to eat at every corner of this gastronomic paradise.
While there are plenty of options that you can stuff your faces silly with, one popular street snack that is a must-try here is takoyaki. For the uninitiated, takoyaki refers to a spherical Japanese appetiser that is made from a wheat flour-based batter that gets its shape from the unique moulded pan it’s cooked in. It usually comes stuffed with ingredients such as diced octopus, but these days, you can also get fillings such as tempura scraps, ham and shrimp.
Dotonbori is a great place to head to if you’re keen to try some authentic takoyaki. However, the streets here are lined with multiple stalls that sell the same thing, so which stall truly has the best takoyaki? Like the true blue Singaporeans we were, we decided to find the Takoyaki stall with the longest queue. Alas, this led us to Takoyaki Juhachiba, which had a snaking long queue that stretched on for about half an hour.