Warning: There Will Be a Lot of “Melt in Your Mouth”
Wagyu? Melted.
Pork cutlet? Melted.
Whatever comes next? Probably melted. 😂
You really can’t go to another country without trying their food. Well—you can, but why would you? 😂
We didn’t go to Japan to eat the same things we eat back home. We’re pretty adventurous when it comes to food, and we’re willing to try whatever looks interesting. We also love those little hole-in-the-wall restaurants—the places that aren’t part of some big chain and don’t necessarily look like much from the outside.
Those are usually the places that end up being the most memorable.
So, we surveyed the area around our hotel and zeroed in on two potential restaurants.
One was a Japanese curry place.
The other was a ramen shop.
Perfect.
One dinner at the curry place. The next dinner at the ramen shop.
Two dinners planned. We were professionals. 😂
Dinner #1: The Curry Place 🍛
For our first dinner, we went with the Japanese curry place.
I ordered the shrimp tempura curry, my husband ordered the cheese curry, and my son ordered the pork cutlet curry.
They prepared everything right in front of us and served it on these simple, oblong plates—rice on one side, the fried protein on top, and that glorious curry sauce poured over everything.
It looked modest.
It looked appetizing.
And then we took our first bites.
Oh. My. Goodness.
That was, without a doubt, the most scrumptious shrimp tempura curry I have ever tasted.
I have absolutely no idea what they put in that curry sauce, but whatever it was, they knew what they were doing. The sauce was rich, flavorful, and just ridiculously good.
And yes…
It melted in my mouth. 😂
You know those boxes of Japanese curry mix you can buy from Asian grocery stores back home?
Yeah.
Those didn’t even come close.
I’m not saying they’re bad. We actually like them. But after eating curry in Japan, we realized that we had been living a lie. 😂
There is just something about eating it fresh, prepared right in front of you, with that crispy shrimp tempura and perfectly cooked rice, that takes it to a completely different level.
We left that little restaurant full, satisfied, and very happy with our dinner.
One dinner down.
One more planned.
Dinner #2: The Ramen Shop 🍜
Right next to the curry place was a ramen shop.
We had actually been eyeing this place from our hotel room window every night. Every time we looked down, it seemed to be full of people.
That got our attention.
If a little restaurant is packed every night, there has to be a reason, right?
So, after watching it for a few nights, we finally decided to give it a try.
And I can’t say it wasn’t full that night either.
There was a wait.
While we waited, the server handed us the menu, which gave us plenty of time to figure out what we wanted.
Both my husband and I decided to go with different types of ramen. Our son, meanwhile, decided to try the karaage chicken and something else that, unfortunately, I can’t remember. 😂
When we finally got to our table, we placed our orders and looked around.
Just like the curry place, it was modest-looking. Nothing fancy. No elaborate décor. Just a small restaurant filled with people enjoying their meals.
And honestly?
That’s exactly what we wanted.
The place was packed, so we knew we were probably in for a treat.
Then our food came out.
The server brought us two large, heaping bowls of ramen, along with our son’s orders.
And boy, were those bowls good!
The ramen itself was delicious, but the pork belly toppings on mine…
Yep.
Melt. In. Your. Mouth.
I had my husband try a piece of the pork belly and some of the ramen I ordered.
He said it was tasty.
For a Midwesterner, that’s saying a lot. 😂 Trust me.
Then there was our son.
He decided the karaage chicken was the best thing ever and that chicken nuggets didn’t even stand a chance.
He ranked that chicken way, WAY up there.
And when I tasted a piece, I understood why.
Those things are the bomb!
Crispy breading on the outside, but somehow the chicken inside was still so tender and juicy.
How do they DO that?!?!
Seriously.
I’m still trying to figure it out.
So, dinner #2 was another success.
We walked back to our hotel room with full bellies and big smiles on our faces.
Two dinners.
Two wins.
And apparently, we had discovered that when it comes to Japanese food, “melt in your mouth” was becoming less of a description and more of a recurring theme. 😂
A Few More Food Adventures
During one of our walks around the hotel, we discovered a Mister Donut shop.
Now, I know Mister Donut is a chain. But here’s the thing: we don’t have Mister Donut where we live, and Japanese Mister Donut has something that immediately caught our attention—mochi donuts.
So, naturally, we went in.
Because when you’re in Japan and you see something you don’t normally get back home, you try it!
We grabbed ourselves some donuts, and they did not disappoint.
The mochi donuts were chewy, soft, and just plain fun to eat. My son absolutely loved them.
Of course, he immediately wanted to know if we could get them at home.
Sorry, bud.
Not where we live. 😂
The Cheesecake Everyone Was Lining Up For
While we were wandering around Dotonbori, we came across Rikuro Ojisan’s Cheesecake.
And there was a line.
A pretty good one.
Now, when you see a bunch of people lining up for food, you have two choices: keep walking or find out what all the fuss is about.
We are foodies.
We investigated. 😂
Rikuro Ojisan’s is known for its incredibly fluffy cheesecake, so naturally, we had to try one.
Off to the hotel we went with our cheesecake.
And yes, it was good!
But it was also very different from the cheesecake we’re used to back home. It was light, airy, and almost more like a soft, fluffy dessert than the dense cheesecake we’re familiar with.
Would I eat it every day?
Probably not.
But was it unusual enough that I’m glad we tried it?
Absolutely.
And that’s really what our food adventures in Japan were all about—trying things we wouldn’t normally have at home.
Well… Wagyu!
We spent two days in Dotonbori, so naturally, one of those days had to include dinner there.
We found a teppanyaki restaurant that also served wagyu.
Well… wagyu!
We don’t normally have that at home, so how could we not try it?
The wagyu came thinly sliced, and we cooked it ourselves on the grill right in front of us. They told us when each piece was ready, so we sat there grilling our food, waiting for everything to cook.
There were other proteins to put on the grill too, but let’s be honest.
The wagyu was the highlight of the evening.
Those were some of the juiciest, most flavorful pieces of beef we had ever eaten.
And yes.
You already know where I’m going with this.
Melt. In. Your. Mouth. 😂
At this point, I’m starting to think Japan was personally trying to make sure I used that phrase as many times as humanly possible.
Lunch Near Osaka Castle
One of our lunches was near Osaka Castle.
By this point, we had learned something very useful about eating in Japan: some restaurants have pictures or incredibly realistic food models of the dishes right outside or near the menu.
And honestly?
I loved this.
You can look at the food before you order it instead of standing there trying to figure out what you’ve just read.
While we waited, we looked over the food models and decided what we wanted.
I settled on the pork katsudon—a deep-fried pork cutlet served over rice with eggs on top.
My son ordered the chicken teriyaki, which he enjoyed.
As for my husband…
I honestly don’t remember what he ordered.
I was too engrossed in—and completely satisfied with—my katsudon. 😂
That pork cutlet was crispy on the outside, tender inside, and paired perfectly with the rice and egg.
Another meal.
Another success.
At this point, we were beginning to realize something about traveling in Japan:
We really, really liked eating our way through this country.
So, What Should You Try?
I don’t want to bore you with a list of every single food we tried and liked. We’d be here forever. 😂
Our stomachs have limits, after all.
So I’ll leave you with this:
Try as many things as you can that you can’t find back home.
We honestly couldn’t try every single thing we wanted to try. There was only so much food we could eat in one trip!
But if you have the chance, go for it.
Try those Japanese soufflé pancakes.
Try the sushi Japan is known for.
Try the matcha teas.
Try that burnt Basque cheesecake.
Try those daifukus.
If it’s something you’ve never had before and you probably can’t find it back home, try it.
Because when you have the chance to experience something like that, you should take it.
Those are the stories you get to tell your family and friends when you come home.
You don’t want to come back from Japan and tell everyone that you tried their chicken nuggets and explain how they’re different. 😂
You want to tell them about the food.
You want to tell them about the things you had never tasted before.
You want to tell them about the little restaurant you found while wandering around.
You want to tell them about the food that surprised you.
You want to say, “Oh my gosh, you have to try this!”
Because that’s part of what makes traveling so much fun.
You get to step outside what you know, try something completely different, and come home with a story.
And sometimes…
it melts in your mouth. 😂
