Of all the places you might visit in Osaka, there is one which is almost certainly on the to-visit list of every visitor to Osaka. Which place you might ask? It is of course Dotonbori. It is definitively one of the most popular tourist destinations in Osaka, Japan and is built upon a canal named the same.
The area runs from Dotonboribashi Bridge, all the way to Nipponbashi Bridge of the Namba district. Of course, historically, the area served a different function to it's present day nightlife and entertainment. It was primarily a theatre district. If you were not informed of this, you would definitely not see any evidence of this history in today's Dotonbori. This is because the area has now been built up with large illuminated signboards, advertising all sorts of nightly entertainment. It is almost like a scene from a movie about a dystopian future, except, the future is now in Dotonbori.
Probably one of the most famous parts of Dotonbori would be the Gilco billboard. It shows a runner crossing the finish line and is considered to be one of the mascots of Osaka, Japan.
Contrary to popular belief, Osaka and Dotonbori in particular, is a major restaurant centre as well as entertainment and nightlife. I guess restaurants and dining can be considered a form of entertainment which can be enjoyed at night time as well, but generally people either go to Dotonbori for the clubs and bars, or flock to the many well known restaurants offering traditional Japanese food.
The restaurant which caught my attention was Kinryu Ramen. Actually it is the most likely one to catch anybody's attention because there are three branches in Dotonburi alone, one at each end of the street, and one in the middle. You can't miss them because they each have a giant three dimensional billboard with dragons on them.
Since it is a ramen joint, I of course ordered the Pork Ramen. It's dainty vegetative ingredients leave me wondering where the taste of meat is. If not for the slices of very tender pork, I would be lead to believe the ramen was for vegetarians.
The likely reasoning behind this muted taste is that the restaurant is open 24 hours a day. This means, the broth is continuously being cooked and then replenished, meaning that depending on whether your soup came from a broth that has been used all day, or not, the taste will change quite considerably. This is a strange inconsistency which could be changed.
To make up for it, a Chashu pork on rice was the second order of the night. This was much much better than the ramen. First, the Pork tasted like it was actually in a broth for 24 hours. Secondly the pork belly, while probably not great for health, was excessively juicy. I do mean that in the best way possible. It sort of just, melts in your mouth, and you yearn for another bit of that pork belly fat.
Underneath the pork, is the semi cooked egg. This is usually mixed with the rice to give a sort of egg fried rice.
I hope I can taste this cuisine someday
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