551 Horai

551 Horai is a popular place for butaman, which is a steamed bun filled with pork.  We went to the location in Namba.  There’s a lot of other shops and places to eat in the area, as you can see from the picture.

551 Horai in Namba

I’m really impressed with how the Japanese display their food. Everything there looks so neat and tidy (including clothing). They have an actual restaurant upstairs too if you want to dine in. They serve a variety of dishes (other than buns).

Butaman display

Other dishes at their restaurant

Each bun costs ¥170 and if you get it for take out, they give you a small packet of mustard to go with your bun, which provides another pop of flavour.  The bun just by itself is already really good though.  It was firm and not soggy at all.  The pork filling was savoury and it was an adequate amount.  The meat to bun ratio was perfect.  Sorry, I guess I got too caught up in eating the bun that I didn’t take a picture of the inside!  It was really tasty and the best steamed bun that I’ve had! 🙂

Nice packaging!

Butaman

They also sell these at KIX airport — in fact, we bought these again there on our way home!  Too bad we’re not allowed to bring meat items into Canada.  Otherwise, we would’ve bought more for friends and family to try back home.  Anyways, if you’re in the area I would highly recommend grabbing a bun or two to share (or not share) 😉

Address:
〒542-0076 3-6-3 Namba Chuo-ku Osaka

Japan Adventures: Hakata Ippudo Ramen

Ippudo Ramen was on our itinerary and one of our targets for food. DC was able to try it when she went to Tokyo several years ago so she highly recommended it and said that we definitely could not miss it on this trip! We went to the location near Shinsaibashi in the Namba district. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long since we arrived around 2pm but I imagine the line-ups can get quite long during peak hours.

Hakata Ippudo Namba Storefront

Ippudo only has 3 ramen flavours to choose from: Shiromaru Classic (白丸元味), Akamaru Modern (赤丸新味), and Ippudo Karaka (一風堂からか麺). The Shiromaru is the light coloured, original tonkotsu broth, the Akamaru is flavoured with spicy miso paste, and the Karaka is miso-flavoured with spicy minced meat, chili bean paste, and sweet soy bean paste. Everything looked so yummy!!! 😀

Shiromaru Classic (¥790), Akamaru Modern (¥850), Karaka (¥890)

Like other ramen places, you can order kae-dama (extra noodles) for an extra ¥130 and you can have as many kae-dama as you want (the man sitting beside us had 3! :O ). That’s how yummy it was!! (Or maybe he was just really hungry)

Akamaru Modern

I ordered the Akamaru Modern Combo so it came with aji-tama (egg) and gyoza. The ramen came out piping hot, as it should be. The broth was incredible and oh so satisfying. 🙂 It was rich, slightly creamy, and packed full of flavour without being too oily or making you feel sick after. It was very comforting and maybe the best ramen broth I’ve had. It had just the right amount of spiciness and the pork slices were actually tender!

Yaaaass egg

Oh man… The egg was amazing. Perfectly cooked with a runny center 😀 .

Gyoza

The Gyoza were delicious too. Crisp, hot, and not too oily.

Shiromaru Classic

DC got the Shiromaru Classic. It definitely looked more simple and toned-down compared to the Akamaru but it was also superb. This one had more of a creamy texture and taste. The noodles were cooked well and we loved their thin texture.

Garlic Presser!

If you want fresh garlic, just ask for it! They provide you with a bin filled with whole garlic as well as a garlic presser. Before you add the garlic, I suggest eating half of your ramen first so that you can experience slightly different tastes. They provide pitchers of cold tea too which was refreshing while eating the hot ramen.

Vanilla Ice Cream coated with Chocolate & Nuts

At the time, they were having a promo where you can order an ice cream bar for ¥100 so we got that too. We didn’t realize it until I finished the ice cream that it was actually like a lottery and you could win a free bowl of ramen or gyoza!

はずれ… Miss!

Unfortunately, it said hazure (はずれ), which translates into failure or miss. We didn’t win… Too bad! (But we were all stuffed anyways)

The service here was great! Our server was extremely friendly despite the limited English. I was able to communicate a bit with my broken Japanese so that was fun too. I must say, I prefer the human interaction here instead of purchasing from a vending machine. After our meal, we went out to take pictures and the server even went out to take a picture of all of us.  So nice of him!

Next time I visit Japan, Ippudo will again be on my list and I’d love to try the Ippudo Karaka ramen when I go back!

Japan Adventures: Getting Around in Osaka

Hey guys, it’s been a while since I last posted something but I’m slowly trying to catch up with all my pending posts.. please be patient! And I know this is technically not a travel blog but DC thought it would be a good idea to post some pictures and share our experience traveling with our family in Japan this summer. Of course, there will be lots on the food we ate and some tips that may be helpful to know if you’re ever planning on making a trip to Osaka, Japan. 🙂  (DC and I wrote the content together — thanks for the help!)

Getting Around

Kansai Railway Map

As you can see from the multiple railways, travelling in Japan can be quite intimidating… Not only do they have an extensive railway network, but they also have different railway companies so you may need to purchase different tickets depending on which one you ride.  

During our trip to Osaka, we just purchased the Kansai One Pass for foreign visitors.  This pass is valid for all railway networks including JR and bus in the Kansai region.  There is no discount but the time you save and the convenience (just tap in and tap out) are well worth it.  Usually, the 1 or 2 day passes will cost more if you won’t be traveling a lot; the Kansai One Pass should be enough for your average travel needs.

Kansai One Pass (¥3000)

The Kansai One Pass costs ¥3000 which includes a ¥500 deposit that you can get back.  The only caveat is that if you have over ¥500 remaining, they will deduct a service charge of ¥220 when you return the pass to get the deposit back.  From KIX to Osaka, it already costs ¥920 one way.  If you plan to go to Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, the ¥2500 is not enough and most likely, you’ll have to add more.  We suggest that when you are nearing the end of your trip, plan it so that you have ¥920 or less.  If you have less than that, you can go to the Namba ticket office and just add the difference to make it exactly ¥920.  That way, when you tap out at KIX, the balance will be 0.  And when you return your pass at the JR Ticket Office, they will give you back the full ¥500 deposit.

From KIX, we just took the regular Airport Express to Nankai-Namba which is the last stop.  This train is not reserved and it will take 50 minutes.  Trains are fairly frequent so I don’t see the need to go for the more expensive and reserved Rapit Express train.

Between Namba and Nippombashi, there is this stretch of underground strip mall called the Namba Walk with shops and restaurants.  If it is raining, this is definitely a good place to walk.  It will have a “Nan Nan Walk” sign.  

Going back to KIX, you can take a taxi to Nankai-Namba.  The taxi costs around ¥680 for 2 km.  We were staying near the Bunraku Theater and it only cost us ¥680.  For the four of us plus our luggages, it was definitely worth it.