Osaka Thailand Festival 2015

May is an awesome time of year to be in Japan, it is starting to get hot without being unbearably comfortable and there are a ton of international or cultural events taking place each weekend. In Osaka alone there are a few events and festivals happening every weekend! This weekend on the 23rd and 24th May, the 13th Annual Thai Festival comes to Osaka! If you are a big fan of thai food, I highly recommend it.

It takes place in the Osaka Castle grounds so its a good excuse to enjoy the local sights while also enjoying some foreign food. Unlike other events, there is no entry fee, you can come and go as you please and there is no problem with taking out your food an drinks. Which is a blessing considering that the available seating is ALWAYS full if you don't get there early. Near the event there were a ton of people sitting on the grass and walls happily enjoying a Singha while munching on some Pad Thai.

So you enter the area and are faced with this...!

The layout of the area seemed a bit...bare to be honest. Everything was laid out in a big semi circle with food stands on the right and centre, a stage and culture related goods in the middle, and general thai stores on the left. The remaining space was filled with lines, lines and more lines, like every festival event in Japan...the line for mango ice alone was roughly 60 people long!

There were a variety of drinks available, with 3 local beers and 2 local wines, with a variety of extra cocktails too, thankfully the booze bars had the shortest lines! So stock up on something to drink while you wait for food.

As you can see here the food was reasonably priced! Comparable to local prices for food at Japanese festivals, it doesn't break the bank. Normally international events like this charge WAY more, for example at Octoberfest, they were charging 1200+ for a small selection of sausages, whereas here I can get a big packet of pad thai for 500yen, good stuff! This combined with the open entry meant that this event felt a lot more 'free' than the others which often restrict you.

The food was pretty reasonable, it obviously doesn't compare to a decent thai restaurant but if you want your fix you can definitely get it here. I don't recommend the pad thai as the flavour was lacking but the noodle curry dish above was epic, really really good value for the price. The fried goods such as chicken and spicy pork were really good too. Most of the servers and cooks appeared to be Thai which was a nice bonus!

However, apart from the food and drink, there was a lot going on...events were few and far between with long lulls between performances. The cultural stores too were located too far away from everything else and too small to actually have an impact. The one thing I did get hyped about was the Thai Boxing ring but found out that I had sadly missed the time slot!

I did managed to catch a music performance as well as some Muay Thai fighters doing a traditional dance though.

Overall I would say that the Thai Festival is worth it but don't plan on spending the whole day there, especially if you don't get there early enough for seating. It is best enjoyed as a few hour detour on a day out, due to its location you can go and enjoy the castle grounds or hop on a train to Shinsaibashi or something with a belly full of Thai food and beer!

To find out more information you can visit the official website at http://www.thaifes.com/

No.1 Takoyaki in Osaka!

No.1 Best Takoyaki in Osaka : Naniwa, Nagai

Most countries usually have a few signature dishes that define it's country's cuisine whether it be fish and chips for the UK, pasta and pizza for Italy or curry for India. While some regional variants are available such as Chicago Pizza or Cornish Pasties, Japan has them in ridiculous abundance! If you are a food tourist, you need to add Japan to your list. Every prefecture or sometimes city has more than one local speciality to offer travellers, these are often well known across Japan, compounded by the omiyage and package tour culture here.

I live in Osaka, Kansai and if you ask anyone what food is famous in Osaka you will probably hear "Okonomiyaki, Kushikatsu and...Takoyaki!" To be honest, Kushikatsu has been revealed by surveys to not actually be eaten much by local Osakans but is very popular with tourists but that's a discussion for another day. Today I want to talk about Takoyaki, Takoyaki's literal translation means 'grilled octopus', but its a lot more than that! Takoyaki is made with a special indented pan that is filled an egg and flour based batter with octopus slices and any additional flavourings which could include kimchi, ginger, green onion or any other variations. The pan then moulds the mixture into a ball shape as it is expertly rotated and formed by the chef. Various toppings are available but the most popular combination is Takoyaki sauce and Mayonnaise.

There are a ton of Takoyaki stalls in Japan, it's a popular street snack, according to Tabelog there is a whopping 1130 in Osaka alone! But which is the best one? Each one has their own recipe or cooking technique, I've eaten a lot of damn Takoyaki but I want to share what I, and the majority of Tabelog eaters recommend as the NO.1 place for Takoyaki!

That place is called 浪花や - なにわや、read as 'Naniwaya'. It is a small stall located in Nagai on the Midosuji line, next to Nagai park, for more in depth directions check the end of this post! If you look at the poster below they proudly announce that they are currently the no.2 rated Takoyaki store out of a whopping 1130 stores. However looking further, it was rated no.1 overall for both the cooking/taste and cost performance categories! I'm pretty damn lucky to have this place within a 15min walk from my house and have visited many times.

Naniwa is a small and humble establishment that has been running for 25 years, it offers a small seating space of just 8 seats but I have always managed to grab one as most people order to take away. Inside there is a free iced water machine which is heaven on a hot day. The store is ALWAYS serving someone, I have never seen them not busy or idle, there is a constant flow of custom which explains why they have been around for 25 years! But enough about the place...lets check the menu!

There are four variations available. 

1) Shouyu aka. soy sauce. This is included within the batter so there is no actual topping.

2) Takoyaki Sauce

3) Mayonnaise (Chefs recommendation)

4) Mayonnaise and Takoyaki sauce, my personal favourite.

The prices vary depending on how many you order, ranging from 8 to 24 pieces per order. As you can see it is CHEAP, really really cheap despite the amazing taste and reputation.

Myself and my partner went for options 3 and 4 which you can see below, each order comes with a side of pickles and is served piping hot, sadly my camera didn't capture the steam coming off of them!

Takoyaki is traditionally eaten with these little toothpicks, which may prove to be a little tricky for those without good dexterity! Some Takoyaki can be quite farm or even crunchy on the outside depending on the place but Naniwa's texture is pretty soft and malleable. As you can see it is kind of drooping off my toothpicks and can easily break if you randomly jab at it! 

Fortunately chopsticks are also available if you don't want to fiddle around and just want to tuck in! Much easier and can take advantage of how hot it is! The batter has a nice smooth texture and isn't 'stodgy' like most cheap places, it is satisfying from beginning to end and the pieces of octopus are of good quality. Not rubbery or chewy like cheaper variations, taste satisfaction guaranteed, at Naniwa there are also small pieces of Konyaku to add texture, they aren't really noticeable so don't worry if you aren't a Konyaku fan. I personally love option 4 as the the sauce and mayo blend well with the Katsuobushi dried tuna flakes and smooth texture to create a tangy sweet ball of awesomeness.

If you have never had Takoyaki, you are probably thinking that this sounds really fishy but it isn't at all so give it a try! Its more like a savoury tangy dumpling that happens to have some octopus in it! I highly highly recommend this place because despite the staff being busy they are always friendly, the seating area is clean, plus even with the popularity, the waiting time between order and service is really quick! Definitely No.1 in my eyes.

Where to find Naniwa: It is located about 30m from exit 5 of Nagai park, Nagai is located on the red Midosuji line that connects to Tennoji, Namba, Umeda and so on. It is just around the corner from Mister Donuts so use that as a marker point! 

It is open from 10am to 7:30pm but please note that it is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays! I have attached a few googlemap pictures of my location at the time to help!

Naniwas official website is http://takoyaki-naniwaya.com/top

You can also view their tabelog at http://tabelog.com/osaka/A2704/A270404/27003447/

Next time you are in Osaka, come and try the best Takoyaki that Osaka can offer!