foodie saturday in namba

Yesterday, after Satoshi's German class, we finally got to meet up with Kirk of mmm-yoso and "the Missus".

Rewind to June, when I was planning to go back to Hawaii for the summer, I emailed Kirk to see if he would be there at the same time.

He replied that they were instead thinking of visiting Japan in the Fall...whoo!

Fast forward to last week Monday...we had plans to meet up but Typhoon Vongfong had other intentions.

And so yesterday, we finally got a chance to meet up.

Having read Kirk's blog for many years and then meeting up in person, it wasn't like we were meeting for the first time, there weren't many silent moments, just lots of conversation and lots of laughter.

At first we had planned to check out a cheesecake cafe, but the line was krazy, so instead we sat along the Dotombori river with coffees and chatted for awhile.

Then as the sun started to set, we decided to eat something and found ourselves at Kushikatsu Gokakuya.

The name "kushikatsu" are fried foods on a stick, "gokakuya"..."gokaku" means to pass an exam and "ya" is shop. This shop is kind of like a lucky place for students studying for exams.

They even have a stick called "gokaku kushi" which has a piece of beef, pork and chicken　and is supposedly good luck...which I found out about afterwards while researching for this post.

As I read off most of the menu for Kirk and the Missus to choose from, Satoshi was in-charge of yelling our order to the cooks.

We started off with enoki wrapped with bacon, quail eggs, red ginger, horumon (pork innards), tan (tongue) and "big" kushikatsu, some karaage (fried chicken), pickled cucumber, and wasabi tako (octopus).

The missus loved the sauce...

Gokakuya's sauce is their own special blend, a little sweet and tangy. The panko they use to bread the different food items is fine and gives the outer coating its crunch and keeps things light when fried.

In Osaka, remember when eating kushikatsu...no double dipping!

Next up, "big" shrimp & whale....

um, we all decided that we tried whale and can now cross it off our bucket lists...(if you are curious, it tastes like the "dark part" of a fish).

Last up, fried chicken skins so light and crisp, addicting!

We had a great time, I hope Kirk and the missus enjoyed themselves and had enough to eat.

I hope they come back to Japan soon! (I can't believe with all the travelling they have done that this was their first trip to Japan!)

Oh, and they were so nice to bring us these gourmet salts that are made in San Diego, by Salt Farm. We'll have to try them soon.

It was so nice to meet up, lots of eating, lots of talking...Thank you Kirk and the Missus!

Kushikatsu Gokakuya (Sennichi-mae Honten)
1-7-5 Dotombori
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6214.4194
Hours: Mondays-Fridays 15:00-23:00
Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays 11:00-23:00