 |
| Green tea binge ... cake, ice cream and chocolate |
 |
| One-woman one Michelin Star kushiage restaurant. We had to look very hard for it in a warren of back streets. Apparently, that back street had the highest concentration of Michelin Stars in Osaka. It had limited seating, mostly at a counter, and we were lucky we could get in without a prior reservation. We had to wait an hour though -- we just wandered around the area in that time. And ran into a Singaporean couple who came to make a reservation for another day. They told us that they had just eaten at a restaurant so exclusive next door, they had to ring a doorbell for entry. So we promptly got reservations there for another evening. |
 |
| The prettiest salad I've ever seen |
 |
| Kushiage gives new meaning to fried things on sticks |
 |
| Kuromon Market |
 |
| A fishmonger at the market had a sit-down corner so of course we sat down .. with crab, lobster and sea urchin. |
 |
| I went back the next day for a seafood bowl breakfast. And that was after a paper cup of fresh soya milk and a scallop grilled then served on its shell as a plate. |
 |
| Grill-your-own Matsusaka beef. Richer, i.e. more marbled than Kobe beef. We had to make reservations days in advance and toggle our schedule a bit to suit. |
 |
| Garlic rice, and perfunctory grilled vegetables. |
 |
| Beans and rice from the market, eaten under cherry blossoms at Osaka Castle, in my own one-person hanami. The hanamis around me were more elaborate. Some of them had barbecues set up. |
 |
| Green tea and macaroons at the hotel in the afternoon, a quick pick-me-up before heading out again. I was impressed in Melbourne with their McDonalds for having macaroons. Osaka impressed me more. These two came from the 24/7 Lawson chain of convenience stores, and at only 200 yen. And came with a wet wipe for you to clean up after your snack. |
 |
| Not chocolate bars but bath salts |
 |
| I had no idea what this is called, but it's a wafer base, spread with mayo and some other sauce, and topped with a fried egg. There was no way to eat this without making a mess. |
 |
| Strawberry fields forever ... in all sizes, and all sweet. The largest ones were the size of golf balls, and those were priced individually instead of by per punnet. |
 |
| I heard about outrageously expensive melons, would this be really expensive for a melon? |
 |
| Good tea needs a beautiful cup. Enjoying green tea mixed with fresh roasted rice, Kyoto style, at home the morning after I got back. |
 |
| Hanami parties under the trees. These were low tables set out by food vendors. Most groups just brought their own groundsheets. And the preparations were elaborate. It wasn't just bentos and six-packs. Many had a hibachi going. |
 |
| I've heard that hanamis can be raucous affairs. Well, there were groups of students singing and clapping. But they all arranged their footwear neatly before they let go. |
