Restaurants
Naniwa-Taro's Dancing Delights
Take a look at this quick little movie I shot a few weeks ago at a food court in T&T Supermarket. Anyone care to guess what the hell this spread of fluttering deliciousness might be? Common... Anyone? I'll give you a hint... it's edible (yes, this is actually food) and is most commonly referred to by Westerners as the "Japanese Pizza". Give up?
Alright, well here's what you need to know... Firstly, what are we looking at here? And what were those dancing little flakes in the video? Well this, my friends, is an eclectic little Japanese fast food dish called Okonomiyaki made by the good people at Naniwa-Taro. To keep things simple, the name itself can be disected into two parts... Okonomi; roughly translated as "what you want", and Yaki; meaning "grilled" or "cooked". So essentially yes, it's kind of like a Japanese pizza... you choose the toppings and they'll cook it up for ya. But let's just go over the differences (there are many) just so you know what you're in for...
Oh, and those dancing like flakes? They're a Japanese food staple known as Bonito flakes. They dance like that because they're thinner than paper and react to the heat of the food underneath. Some find it creepy, others (like myself) find it magical.
So really, the batter that makes up the "dough" of the "pizza" is mostly flour, eggs, and water, which is really more akin to an omelette than a pizza if you think about it. Mixed into this are green onions and cabbage, along with a meat of your choice (usually pork or bacon... or both), plus octopus, shrimp, shredded yam, and a whole bunch of other ingredients of your choice. This is all then fried up on a giant breakfast style flat grill and finished off with a sweet soy based bbq sauce and a healthy drizzling of sweet mayo. Can you feel your arteries clogging up already? I sure did after this meal... but trust me, it's so worth it. Just the way they do it in Japan, and sinfully delicious.
Another type of Okonomiyaki that is very popular in Hiroshima is called, you guessed it... Hiroshimayaki (pictured above). The ingredients in this dish are mostly the same, except in this case everything is constructed in layers rather than mixed all together, and udon noodles are thrown in liberally. Personally, I prefer this dish over the original Okonomiyaki because it's a little less heavy. Now, this isn't to say that Hiroshimayaki isn't a marathon of a meal in iself with a whole bunch of interesting flavours attacking your taste buds (in a good way)... it's just slightly more manageable if you don't have the option of falling right to sleep after eating.
Another dish definitely worth mentioning is their Takoyaki. Here's another favorite that rekindled my gastronomical memory of Japan. What we have here are small pieces of octopus covered in batter similar to that of Okonomiyaki and cooked in a tray of small hemispheric cast iron cups to make dumplings. These are then covered, like Okonomiyaki, with bbq sauce and some sweet mayo.
This is one of those Japanese fast food staples that many Westerners just don't really understand until they try it, and even then, many still don't get it. One contributing factor might be the fact that you're supposed to eat these little balls of battery goodness while they're still piping hot. The site of this is quite hilarious... people popping entire dumplings into their mouths as they fan the steam that's released as they bite into them, only to go right back for more. It's surprisingly tasty and fun. Really. I don't quite know how else to explain it other than encourage you to give it a try.
Also worth mentioning is the location. You can find Naniwa-Taro (oddly enough) in the foodcourt at the T&T Supermarket in Scarborough at Steeles Avenue East and Middlefield Road. Prices are amazingly reasonable, from smaller snack items around $3, to full plates like the Okonomiyaki at around $6. This might be one of the only reviews I ever write about a food stand in a supermarket's food court, but don't let the location fool you. This fast food is worth the commute. Just try to schedule some time for a nap after you eat.
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Taro's in J-Town makes good takoyaki too! i'm thinkin' an octopus-dumpling x-mas pilgrimage is in order since the 25th hasn't even arrived yet and i'm already all turkeyed out!!!
Thanks for the post Paul!