ONLY in JAPAN
Osaka is considered Japan's kitchen and you can see that from the cities over the top both Dhoton-bori shopping street
It's outrageous and packed with restaurants and delicious street foods
Back in Osaka the Dhoton-bori yep now we ate a lot of food here last time
In a previous episode Kevin and I ate until we practically exploded sampling tons of delicious street food on the Dhoton-bori
Osaka is the place to be if you're following your stomach to Japan and we're back for some more food
but we wanted to try something different and Kevin had heard of a place nearby so we left the Dhoton-bori
A short walk away
Japanese food is known for its beauty and presentation like Kaiseki-Ryori (traditional Japanese meal brought in courses)
But we're not here for that, this place is a wacky all canned food themed restaurant
They have dozens of shops around Japan, but of course it all started here in Osaka
It's a lovely place with a view of the Dhoton-bori River
Cans, cans and more cans!
There are over 300 kinds of canned food here, which makes this both insane and totally fun
Customers have to choose what they want to eat and that's no easy task
Here are some of the canned foods available
After Kevin, and I had decided on five cans to try we took them to the counter and ordered our drinks
This place is called Mr.Kanso, and I'd never seen anything like this before
Could one consider this concept the opposite to Japan's gourmet soul? Perhaps
But we're here to see just how good or how bad Japanese canned food tastes
Kampai (Cheers!)
First up was bacon honey mustard in a can
They had me at bacon
This is like big-cut bacon
with a little bit of the honey mustard sauce
Maybe many restaurants are serving this on a plate and we don't even know it
Right now this is the one to beat the bacon because it's the first one. We've had
That's really good. Next up
Takoyaki in a can, my favorite Japanese street food and well to see it in a can it kind of horrified me
But it also got me curious. It looks so good freshly made like this could it compete with the real thing
What makes this even more interesting is it comes in a can but if you eat it at the restaurant? They give you?
Katsuo-bushi (dried bonito shavings)
and the Nori (laver) and the mayonnaise as a set
So it's a total complete package here, so I guess the best way would to eat it like a little bit of mayonnaise
and then grab on
grab on to the takoyaki like this oh
Oh Yeah,
Oh yeah, I'm gonna try one of those yeah, Oh, just like
They need to be heated, but it's really good because it's
Just a ball of dough in a salty soy based sauce with in the middle
That piece of octopus (the Taco)
Mmm. This is good
This is really good
At the plate now is Buri-Daikon (Yellowtail and Japanese Radish) canned amberjack fish with Japanese radish the restaurant will dish it and heat it up for you
The Buri looks great and the Daikon not bad
Which one you going for it, the Daikon or Buri, I'll go for the Daikon all right
Buri - Daikon
Hmm, that's good
It's good! I like that
Slightly fishy taste hmm good texture to it. Yeah, okay?
Yeah, I like Buri too, it looks like a big piece of beef
To be honest are they look like a big piece of beef, but it's fish. It's a meaty fish really meaty mmm
Well, you know some fish is kind of a very loose and flakies
mediator
That looks nice Japanese food and a can isn't so bad after all
Then Mushi-Uni (steamed Sea Urchin) in a can hit the table
It's a seafood with a spiky shell that terrifies some foreign visitors to Japan it usually has a premium price, but in a can
It's quite reasonable
But is it good?
No normally, I like it fresh, I've never had it in a can before yeah
I know I go to Hokkaido every June to eat fresh from the ocean so this is going to be
Tested Kevin goes first like a brave seaman heading into a taste typhoon
Really it was pretty good. It's got that same ocean flavor when you get a fresh serving nicely done
Right
Still to me not good. I'm
Not a big fan of Uni I'll eat Uni
It's not in my top 10. It's not the same as it being fresh.
We're in Hokkaido
so, we can take it. This is pretty good
I'm surprised
Next up is Dashi-Maki, egg and a delicious fish soup stock. It looked like a cut-up omelet in a camp
Something I'd never seen before it's also the top-ranked canned food in the restaurant - Dashi-Maki
This is the number one of the top 10 can here
the most popular the most popular, and it looks weird, I mean who would put an egg in a can
No, this is so weird it's cool
It's so cool. It comes with Ponzu. Oh, yeah. Is it a vinegary sauce yeah?
Something you could dip it in let's let's give it a try
First
Ha yeah, that looks nice. You can see the rolls in there. It's so soft. Yeah wait. I'm just gonna go for it
Good
Mmm
Very soft, tasty, filling and good enough that you want one more I can see why this is the number one item here
Now the verdict
Now we have to decide what the top 5 canned foods add Mr. Kanso
Which one did you like the best Kevin okay? You know what I'm gonna stick with my original choice here
I knew you're gonna say that
I'm gonna go with the bacon as well. I think the Atsu-giri (thick slice) bacon
I have to go with that because it's just it's that good. It goes so well with beer what is it? Yeah?
It's definitely an alcohol
Right
Number two is a little bit in the air
I'm going for the Takoyaki and a close third is the
Dashi-Maki, fourth is the Buti-Daikon and those three are really close together
second, third, fourth and the last of course for me is the Uni because
It's Uni, but it's not bad. It's just it's better if fresh for me. Honestly. Yeah. Yeah it
Can't be fresh
I'm kind of a Takoyaki, aficionado
Who makes talking eating a high-class Takoyaki guy good yeah, I'm gonna take the Dashi-Maki over the Takoyaki
So I'll go - lucky then Takoyaki, but I think taking Uni are kind of tied for me
Oh really, yeah, so but it's still in the bottom now. It's still in the bottom of the unit. Oh, yeah, yeah
Just big guy. There's already so here are our lists
We both agreed that the Atsu-giri bacon and honey mustard sauce was the best and the only argument was between the middle three which were
all very close
Even the sea urchin was not too bad. Although definitely tried in Aomori and Hakodate where the taste and experience is the best
There is a whole world of canned food in Japan with items that you've probably never seen before
Some items are well known and all seemed to taste good enough to make these shelves
That's eating out in Osaka. No matter what's on the menu
It's always crazy fun and worth exploring the city for more and since our stomachs will be empty again Kevin
And I will be back for more food adventures around Japan's kitchen