FLAMETHROWER Sushi Chef & "Wrapped Sushi" in Osaka Japan

Hey guys, it's Mike Chen. Before getting to today's video, a little Japanese snack time with the sponsor of this video, Tokyo Treat and Sakura Co. This is such a beautiful box this month, by the way. Tokyo Treat theme for this month is snacking New Year. By the way, Happy New Year, everybody. If you don't know already, Sakura Co. and Tokyo Treat are subscription Japanese snack boxes that are sourced exclusively in Japan and delivered to your door anywhere in the world. And with Tokyo Treat, you'll get up to 20 of the latest, most exclusive, limited edition seasonal snacks. And like I said, they're all only available in Japan and a lot of these are only available for a limited time. It's just a very fun box of snacks. This looks really cool. This is some sort of potato chips. I definitely see nori. Nori potato chips with a huge potato flavor. That is delicious. And next, a box that contains more artisanal, traditional, authentic Japanese snacks. Sakura Co. and this month's theme is New Year's Nagara. And Nagara, if you don't know, is in the west coast of Japan. They're known for their onsen, their rice products, their mochi. In this box, there's strawberry cream crepe. Super cute little rabbit candies because, of course, we are approaching the year of the rabbit. A little rabbit marshmallows. This is so adorable. I don't even know how to eat this. Black bean hojicha tea. Such a nice roasted flavor. And, of course, every Sakura Co. box, you'll get a tableware item. And this month's is a Sakura Co. sake cup. And with both of these boxes, as soon as you open it, you'll get a booklet explaining what each of the snack items are. There's really fun interesting facts about Japan, facts about where the snacks are from, interesting cultural bits. So you're not just feeding here, you're also feeding here. And like I said, Sakura Co. up to 20 of the most traditional, authentic Japanese snacks. And they work with a lot of local Japanese snack makers, some of which have been making snacks for over a hundred years. And their mission statement is to promote traditional Japanese culture through the medium of snacking. Which, this is really just the best way to do it. Use my promo code, Mikey, to get five dollars off your first Sakura Co. box or your first Tokyo Treat box. And if you subscribe before January 31st, 2023, you get a chance to win free tickets to Japan. I said this many times, getting these boxes every single month is one of my biggest highlights of the month. If you can't get to Japan and you love snacks, this is the next best thing. All right, I'm gonna continue snacking and enjoy the video. Nara is known for fresh, super soft mochi. This thing is piping hot. It's so soft and chewy with delicious red bean inside. I think I'm gonna feed myself first before feeding them. I felt too bad. Can't walk by all these cute veins without some food. As soon as they know you have food, they're gonna come swarm you. Feel free to enter resting place free of charge. That's nice. I think that's the place I'm looking for. Kakinoha Sushi. It's basically sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves. And the persimmon, what it does, is it keeps the meat from spoiling. And plus, gives it such a beautiful aroma. And it's fermented for a few days as well. Also, the Miwa Somen. This is really thin, supposedly very thin, chewy ramen noodles in a very clear, light broth. The noodles are supposed to be thin as thread. And this broth looks so clear and inviting. Also, we've got some tempura too. Tempura is just okay. That Somen is nice. Kind of reminds me of a Chinese dish called Long Xiu Mian, or dragon beard noodles. Just super thin noodles. It still has a nice texture, soaking in this dashi. And that's all it is. Little light dashi. Little scallion, shiitake mushroom. It's so light, but at the same time extremely comforting. Feels really good in my stomach. And this is the persimmon leaf. Make sure you do not eat the leaf itself. But here is the sushi. This one looks like a mackerel. And it's just been wrapped up and pressed and sitting in this leaf for a couple of days. First of all, you smell the vinegar rice. You smell the nice aroma from the persimmon leaf. It's a lot of rice for the amount of fish you're getting. You definitely taste the fermented very good rice really well. There's a deeper aroma to the sushi. The fish is good, but the rice definitely overwhelms the flavor of that sushi. I don't know whether that's supposed to be intentional or not. That's definitely what I'm getting. They don't really give you a dipping sauce. I don't think you dip it in anything. Just eat it as is. So there's a piece of mackerel. I also get a piece of salmon. I like the salmon piece way more. Much more of aroma from the lotus leaf. I really like the Somen. I love the texture of super thin noodles. I think the sushi is good. But probably for me like once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. This restaurant is definitely an institution. One of the ones really known for this type of food here in Nara City. Every single seat has a view. So just looking out at the natural beauty of Nara. Slurp on some noodles. Eat some sushi. Go feed some deer. Also, there's another one that comes with eel and rice. I think this is also a lotus leaf. The eel is soft. The rice is delicious. The vinegary. Also, much more of a umami flavor. Grape and Hokkaido milk ice cream. So good. This is such a good combo. Super fruity and super milky. Had to cut the Nara trip early. So here in Osaka now, I was only planning to spend half a day in Nara. Because the only time I have on my trip to eat at this place right here, right here, is right now. So this gentleman runs one of the most happening izakayas in Osaka. And he cooks everything with his bare hands in a blowtorch. So everybody just stands around their tables drinking. Unfortunately, got here a little late. Or a lot late. The tuna cheek, which is what he's known for, and that's one he cooks with his bare hand and blowtorch. That sold out. So got some fatty tuna. Fatty tuna course menu comes with fresh scallions, scallops, fresh crab. That's really good. Sweet scallops, a little soy sauce underneath. Crab meat is sweet as well. Nice garlicky flavor from the scallions. Got here about four hours after he opened. Sold out already. I would suggest if you want the flaming tuna, show up as soon as he opens. So Toyo-san is the owner of this place. I think he was on Netflix. That's how this place got to be super well-known. It's really lively. Tons of people here. I'm only in this region for another one and a half days, so hopefully get to taste this tuna before I leave. So usually you get the fatty tuna platter. It comes with a torch tuna cheeks. Also comes with uni. Now there's only the crust, sushi, and fatty tuna. Which are? Both of which are really delicious. But if you are here where they have everything available, it's about 2,000 yen for the whole set. That's very much worth it with the uni and the tuna and the sashimi. That's a really good deal. I know you will. That might be the funnest person I've ever met. Just walking around, ran into this. Too many machines. This is like Korean food. Looks like some kimbap, some rice cakes. That looks like some congee. And this one, gyoza. So you could just literally come out of the train station, get some frozen dumplings, frozen kimbap, chicken soup, and that will be your dinner. I will get some, but I'm not staying in Osaka right now, and I'm in a microwave. No microwave. I've been looking all over Japan for this. This doesn't exist much anymore. You can't really find the cremia cone, but I found it here. This thing has way more milk content than any other cone. And also, the cone itself, almost like a wafer crepe, instead of a typical cone. And the swirls, if you notice, are vertical. It's so soft and milky. I miss this so much. Like I said, it used to be all over Japan, but for some reason, Osaka is the only place I can find this. It was not easy to find either. So, I know I'm in Osaka, and I should be having local Osaka cuisine, but I've been wanting to come to this pizza place for so long. Pizzas in Japan are amazing, and this place, I'd say, is the best place in Osaka to grab a Neapolitan slice. Pizza came out in less than 10 minutes, and that's with orders in front of me. I'm about to speed it up by looking at the oven. This place definitely makes pretty authentic Neapolitan pizzas. The crust is super thin, nice char on the back of the crust. I got one with basil, crushed tomatoes, and anchovies. Pizza. This is about as authentic as they come when it comes to Neapolitan pies. Super airy crust. A little salt pretty much melts in your mouth. And you get that beautiful slight bitterness from the char. Tomato, deliciously sweet. Mozzarella is perfect. Basil creates a beautiful aroma. The garlic, it's heavenly. I love anchovies on my pizza for a little mommy kick. It's utter Neapolitan perfection. Everything about this. The crust, the sauce, the cheese, the basil. It's beautiful. It's sweet and savory. This is exactly what I'm craving right now. So, I know Osaka has a lot of food places, but if you ever want a pizza here, this is the place. Also, don't be afraid to get a whole pizza by yourself. It's so light. You're gonna absolutely inhale it. Last meal before leaving Osaka. It's gotta be okonomiyaki and yakisoba and takoyaki at the same time. All three things are very, very popular here in Osaka. Takoyaki especially. Some of the best you'll find in Japan is here. This one, freshly made, all gooey. With the octopus inside. Delicious sauce on the outside. Piping hot. So fluffy and airy. Little mayonnaise on top as well. Bite into it slowly. The octopus just turned into this whole ball. It's just so gooey and yummy. Little mayo brings the creaminess. Again, it's hot, so be careful, but this is gonna warm your heart right up. It's one of my favorite things to eat here in Osaka. Also, how to get the yakisoba again. It's not often you find a really good yakisoba place. Also, how to get yakisoba again. This dish just tastes way different in Japan. It's way more worcestershire-er. The noodles are chewier. There's pork, there's squid, there's shrimp. So tender. In addition to a little char on all the ingredients. Also, I got a nigiyaki, which is a little different than a traditional okonomiyaki. On each side, there's two very thin layers of crepe. Inside, a lot of scallions. Look how beautiful this is. And of course, mayo and takoyaki sauce on top. Sprouts, scallions, meat. Either side, perfectly thin crepe of a pancake. This is for those of you who don't want a really doughy okonomiyaki. I love this so much. This place is absolutely knocked out of the park. The crepe is chewy, just soaked with sauce. The sprouts, the onions are crunchy. The meat is tender. This whole thing is way lighter than a regular okonomiyaki. This whole thing is just cooked to utter perfection. Anything you want cooked on a teppan, by coming to one of these places, you're really gonna get some really good comfort food. And you're gonna get a lot of it. Okonomiyaki is gonna fill you up. In Osaka, one of the best cities in this country to have these dishes. And this place does it so well. So today, I kind of had to cut the day between Nara and Osaka, so I didn't really get a chance to eat at all the places I wanted to go to here. Osaka is such an amazing food city. There's so much more to explore. So, until next time. And of course, all the places I went to are listed down below for you guys. Thank you all so much for watching. Until we eat again, see you later. The next day. Today, back again at Toyosan's Izakaya. Finally, got some of the fish cheeks coming. Just saw him cooking it. It's a spectacle. First of all, he's got so much energy. Secondly, he's using his bare hands to cook the fish cheek. No wonder this place is always packed. Lying on the door every single day. Well, it's not really a door, but there's a lot. So the tuna cheeks are served with some scallions. Some bites, I'm getting nice crunchy cartilage. Some bites are fatty. Some bites are lean. Every bite, tender, smoky, good crunch and garlicky flavor from the scallions. You can definitely tell that Toyosan had a hand in this. They make it taste so good.