Gyoza no Osho, Namba

Tucked in behind Namba Hips Pachinko Parlour to the left is an unassuming branch of the Japanese gyoza chain store "Osho." Osho is incredibly cheap, and does a variety of Chinese dishes, including a great mapo dofu, sweet and sour pork, fried rice, and massive set menu items. They vary a fair bit from store to store, some of them lay on the chili nice and thick, some places verge on bland, but they always have chili oil amongst their sides if the dish needs spicing up.



The staff were two pretty young Japanese girls, and they were very helpful and efficient when we placed our order and paid. We now have a "pointo cado" for this Gyoza no Osho. How nice. The sides included pepper, salt, shoyu, gyoza sauce, chili oil and chili sauce. The main ply of their trade is gyoza, so the sides are geared toward making your own gyoza sauce in the wide flat little bowls that they have under a little dust cover to the side. The atmosphere was clean, the lighting was soft, but the music was ridiculous, frantic, keyboard instrumental music.

I have tried the Osho "stamina" ramen on a previous occasion at the Tennoji branch of Osho, and it had a lot of tomato, cabbage and carrots in it, and I didn't really rate it that highly, so when I ordered the Kotteri Ramen, I didn't expect anything amazing. And rightly so. It was an unusal ramen, at best. The broth was so thick it was almost like sauce rather than soup. It was flavoursome, savory, but a bit oily and the body was bordering on unpleasantly viscous. I didn't end up finishing the broth, which is unheard of for me.



The toppings were very ordinary too. The sliced pork came from a packet, the preserved bamboo shoots were a bit tough, but the long onion tops were fresh, and it came with a nice big dollop of chili/garlic paste on top. What was extraordinary though, was that the noodles were either hand made, or failing that, very, very good packet ramen noodles. They had a perfect texture and remained tender, yet al dente until the last bite.



These gyoza were incredible, the dough was fine, and the bases crispy. Better than I have had at other Gyoza no Osho. For ¥500, you'd be hard pressed to find better ramen. So, the verdict is: go for the ramen, but stay for the gyoza.

Broth - 2.5/5
Toppings - 2/5
Noodles - 4/5
Atmosphere - 2/5
Service - 3.5/5

Nishi Tanabe Ramen Joint

Unfortunately I can not read the sign for this ramen place, so I will just have to tell you that it is next to Gyoza no Osho and the 7/11 near the North West exit of Nishi Tanabe Station on the Mido-Suji Subway line.

It looks like this:



When we first arrived we were served by a positively surly young lass, who took one look at us and produced an English menu. It was efficient of her, but unnecessary as I could read the hiragana menu. Either way, I ordered a Chaashuu men and took in the atmosphere.

The music was slightly grating, sentimental Japanese pop, but the general ambience of the place was quite high class for a ramen joint. Clean surfaces, clean kitchen, and beautiful wooden surroundings. If the music hadn't been quite so intrusive it would have been more pleasant, but all in all, I thought it was quite a nice ramen store.




Tom ordered the miso ramen, which looked like this. It wasn't as piping hot as some ramen's I have tried, and the miso broth was very mellow. I quite enjoyed the taste of his that I had.



The toppings included long onion tops, sesame seeds, bean shoots, a square of nori and a generous amount of sliced roast pork. The pork was moist and salty, rather than sweet, which was a departure from previous ramen's I have enjoyed in a similar style.

My broth was hearty but not at all oily. It had a strong salty flavour and a good body to it. It seemed quite rich but not fatty.

The noodles were mass produced. I was a little disappointed, but they seemed to be the expensive sort of mass produced noodles, so I will rate them accordingly. They were firm to the tooth and completely acceptable, but not like some of the amazing, heavenly ramen store produced noodles I've been lucky enough to enjoy.

Among the sides were salt, soy, gyoza sauce, salad oil, white pepper, mixed spice (I love this stuff), chili paste and crushed garlic. I had a little garlic in mine, because I've had a cold recently. They also sold onigiri, and three plates of onigiri moved through the store when I was there, so I believe the onigiri may be rather good.

As we were leaving, the chef took our money and beamed at us, and my opinion of the service was instantaneously improved ten-fold. The surly teenager was slurping down her lunch noodles in the corner. You can't write off a whole place on the rudeness of one staff member.



Broth - 4/5
Toppings - 3.5/5
Noodles - 3/5
Atmosphere - 2/5
Service - 3/5

A Ma and Pa Ramen Place

The next ramen adventure was in Tezukayama, near where we live. There is a tram line that heads south to Sumiyoshi Taisha. North of where the tram line goes over the Nankai Koya line, the tram leaves the road - when heading south, the road veers off to the left, the tram veers off to the right. About 20 metres south of the Y shaped intersection, you will find this little ramen place.



We parted the red, head high, curtains that sit outside most ramen stores, and came face to face with two kindly, elderly Osakans.

"Okiniii!"

It felt a bit like going to grandma and grandpa's for a ramen. The decor was a little drab, but this is a Chinese food joint in Osaka near a train-line, so it's not going to be the Ritz Carlton.

We took off our shoes and sat facing each other on a raised platform. The little red cushions were comfortable enough, but for people who don't spend much time sitting on the floor, this is tough stuff on the lower back. The TV behind me was a little too loud, but that's OK. I think Ma and Pa might be a little deaf, and if not Ma and Pa, the clientele seemed to be all over 70, so it was probably for their benefit too.

The menu was pictureless, and full of kanji (beyond my reading ability) and so I struggled through the katakana/hiragana options and we settled on ordering a kimchi ramen. For no better reason than because I can read "キムチ."



The broth was a Tokyo style, soy broth, but made with Osakan light soy sauce, so the colour was lighter than many of the ramens I have enjoyed in Eastern Japan. The toppings included bean shoots, preserved bamboo shoots, green onion tops, three slices of roasted pork back and, of course, kimuchi.

The noodles were a bit Maggi, two minute noodles, but really, for ¥550 it was more than passable. I don't expect gourmet noodles for ¥550. I do when I'm paying ¥800-900 yen for a bowl of noodles, but this was more than acceptable. I looked around and saw that they do a variety of Japanese and Chinese dishes including gyoza, fried chicken bento, and other bigger soups.



The sides were fairly stock standard. Salt, soy, gyoza sauce, salad oil, and white pepper, but I was particularly taken by the Szechwan sauce that they had on the side that tasted of "Flower Pepper" - I would like to know where I could buy some of that stuff.

Ma and Pa were both very nice to us, and smiled a lot, but didn't fawn over us. Pa supplied the requisite "gruffness" where as Ma supplied the homely vibe. I would come again because it didn't leave me feeling like I'd been smacked in the head with a ramen overdose. It filled my belly, and left me content.

Broth - 2.5/5
Toppings - 3/5
Noodles - 2/5
Atmosphere - 3/5
Service - 4/5

Sisen Ramen

On the road that runs up the left hand side of the Namba City building, on the left hand side of the street, under the expressway, you may come across this lovely little Chinese style ramen joint. The sign says Sisen Ramen in English, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding it.

The atmosphere is relaxing, with wooden panels, soft lighting, and what appears to be Chinese film score music being softly piped through the place. The service is loud, but not particularly friendly - though it has varied from visit to visit, this being my third visit, or maybe fourth. We are handed an oshibori (moistened towelette) and a glass of water.



We order the number one recommendation on the menu, the Tenten-men. This is not technically a ramen, but I'm not here to split hairs. I'm here to eat noodles in broth. The sides include chili oil, pickled gourd strips, roast garlic chips, soy sauce, salad oil, shichimi (Japanese 7 spice mix), salt, pepper, crushed fresh chili, crushed garlic, and S+B brand season all.

The broth in today's noodles is slightly oily compared to other visits, but it is still richly flavoured. It is a little spicy, but the dominant flavour is sesame. The sesame nuttiness is extremely appetising. The toppings include bok-choy, bean shoots, green onion tops, sesame seeds, and the all important roast pork, which comes in moist, sweet chunks, rather than the usual slices. This is some of the best pork that has ever passed my lips. Beautiful, tender stuff. It begs description. The vegetables match well with the flavour of the broth, and the entire flavour sensation dances between sweet, hot, spicy, and richness in a very pleasing way.

The broth is very hot, even for a ramen, and almost scalds me when I am slurping my noodles. The noodles are pretty good, but nothing much to write home about. On the side sits a little frosty lychee, which refreshes me greatly afterwards, and I dab my fingers and mouth with a knapkin. It was just a little too oily today. Pity, I've had it on other days and it's been magnificent, but today is the day we do the write up, so unfortunately I won't be rating it as highly as I would have on other visits.



A very Chinese styled ramen place, but well worth visiting. I left full and satisfied.

Broth - 3.5/5
Toppings - 4/5
Noodles - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Service - 2.5/5

Huka-huka Ramen

Recommended to us by our friend Joe.



As you walk north of Showacho Station on the right hand side of the road, you will come across this rustic little ramen joint. The decor is clean, but cluttered. However, in the world of ramen, it is a positively light and airy restaurant, as most ramen joints resemble damp cupboards - a bit more wabi than sabi, so to coin a phrase.

We were served by a lovely, earnest young chap, who recommended the Tonkotsu Chaashuu men (Tonkotsu describes the broth, Chaashuu is roasted pork, and men - well, that's noodles). We asked for garlic and a mixture of the sliced loin and the chunks of belly pork. The sides included gyoza sauce, chili oil, pepper, sesame seeds, fermented long onions with garlic chips and dried chilis, kimchi flavoured beanshoots, and pickled ginger.

The broth was rich, cloudy in the Tonkotsu style, but not oily. Toppings included garlic, long onion tops, sesame, black fungus strips, two types of pork, and sesame seeds. The meat was fantastic! Tender, rich, moist and crumbly. Not too sweet either - it was as we say 'chodo' - just right.

Unfortunately, when I slurped down the noodles, I realised that these were cheap packet noodles. The texture was barely passable. For such a superb broth, great meat, the noodles were a real disappointment.

I left feeling as full as a goog, but I really wish they'd used better noodles.



Broth - 4/5
Toppings - 4.5/5
Noodles - 2/5
Atmosphere - 3/5
Service - 3.5/5

What is ramen?

Irashaimase!

Buy a ticket at the machine in the front of the shop. A glass of water is plonked in front of you by a burly man behind the counter. The menu will generally have three or four broth types available, with varying toppings. Give the burly man your ticket, break some waribari (disposable wooden chopsticks) in half and rub them together a little to get rid of the splinters. Not very much time elapses before a huge bowl of steaming soup is deposited in front of you.

Welcome to your first ramen.

Noodles in broth sounds so unremarkable, but in essence, that is all there is to a ramen.

The broth is made with pork, salt, soy sauce, kimchi, garlic, tomato(!), miso, or sesame seeds.

The noodles are made from flour and water.

Usually, two or more slices of pork float in the top of the soup. Sometimes you get half a boiled egg or a tea egg in it. Green long onion tops, bamboo shoots, and squares of nori are also used as a topping. Stamina ramen has a lot of vegtables in it. Some ramens come with cabbage in them. Some come with a little slice of kamaboko (that weird, spongy, white, fish stuff with the pink edge that you get in udon and ramen), There are no hard and fast rules.

Common sides include chili oil, soy, pickled gourd strips, crushed garlic, chili flakes, pepper, and sesame seeds.

There will be a big spoon hanging out the side of the bowl. Pick it up, taste the broth, pick up some of the noodles and slurp them down. Ramen is magical food. Enjoy. Pick up the bowl and drink it down to the last drop.

My Ramen Diary

I love ramen.

It's a deeply satisfying kind of meal, you can eat it on the run, it is usually served by burly men with a beautiful machismo that I appreciate. You can be as noisy as hell when you're eating it (some people even encourage slurping to get the piping hot broth and noodles in whilst they're still firm).

I love udon, I love soba, but if I had to choose one type of noodle to eat for the rest of my life, it would be a hot bowl of ramen, every time.