rainy foodie tuesday in osaka

It's Girl's Day today, Satoshi is off so we're out and about, but I wanted to tell you about my foodie adventure the other day.

Tuesday was rainy and cold.

I had planned to check out the blossoms in Kyoto with Tamakikat later on in the week, but Mother Nature apparently has plans of her own for the rest of the week (snow/rain).

So instead, we met up for lunch in Osaka after my French class.

The building that was once called ACTY Osaka, has been transformed into the South Gate Building (SGB).

In a couple of months another shopping area called the North Gate Building will open above the JR Osaka station.

Since my class was near the SGB, I suggested we meet up there and check out the newly opened restaurants.

The one that really appealed to us on this day was Tian Bing Feng. They are apparently known for their xiao long bao and collagen sweets (which I think means gelatin sweets).

We didn't choose the xiao long bao instead opting for the tenshin set...1200 yen (about US$12) each, this had an assortment of steamed items, a salad, choice of starch & jin dui (or as it is called in Japan, goma dango).

I chose the fried rice which came with soup while Tamakikat went for the rice porridge.

The food came out pretty quick and was delicious. It looked like a lot of food but we ate everything pretty easily.

After lunch, we decided to check out some place for something sweet and ended up going to the Comme Ca Cafe, which we've been to before. (UPDATE: this cafe is now closed as of 11/2011)

Their fruit tarts are very generously laden with fresh fruit and today what appealed to us were the berry tarts.

Tamakikat chose the berry tart with a cream cheese filling and I chose the berry chocolat, which had a chocolat bavarois cream inside.

We also both had cappuccinos...total 1400 yen (about US$14) each.

After chatting, we went to the train station and along the way, I spotted this ka-melon pan (kame (turtle)+ melon pan), so I bought some for us to take home...170 yen (about US$1.70) each.

This was buttery and delicious.

Despite the weather it was a great day, lots of chatting and lots of food.

Thanks for a great day Tamakikat! Happy Girl's Day to all the girls!

Tian Bing Feng
South Gate Building 16F
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6347.0278