August 02, 2009
味万 - 心齋橋本店
We only had half a day in Osaka before our flight home in the late afternoon, and most of that time was reserved for shopping. The shopping arcades of Shinsaibashi, filled with real-life household shops, was more our speed, compared to the exclusive boutiques that line Mido-suji avenue the next street over. Even better, the main Akachan Honpo shop is right at the head of the shopping street, where we could get our fill of made-in-Japan baby-stuff in one stop.
All that didn't leave much time for lunch. No time for leisurely multi-course menus here. On the other hand, I was hoping for an authentic Japanese-style meal for our last one in-country, rather than settle for some chain fast-food. While the wife went through both buildings and all eight stories of Akachan, I had time to scout ahead a little bit. There are a zillion eateries lining the Shinsaibashi arcade. But this particular shop seemed like it's been around for a while, it was filled with locals, and featured udon which the wife likes. So when she checked out of Akachan I was right there to help carry the bags and lead us to the restaurant. We'd taken a look at the plastic food outside to get a rough idea of what's available, and we didn't wast time, just pointed to the highlighted specialties on the menu. Tanooki udon with shrimp-tempura sushi for me. A hearty beef and mushroom curry udon for her.
A few puffs and I was slurping away at my soup-udon. But the thick curry sauce in the wife's curry udon retains heat longer, so she had to wait patiently before getting started on her lunch. While she was waiting for her udon to cool off she could mooch off my plate of tempura-ebi sushi. It's a popular side dish that goes with many of the set meals so they do crank them out and the nori and breading have softened just a tad from sitting out. But the set meal is still a great deal and can't quibble too much with the fresh-fried shrimp. The curry is flavorful, with just a tiny bit of heat which you don't notice at first but builds up over time, especially when combined with the heat of the noodles themselves. Good thing we could serve ourselves from the ice water cooler.
The atmosphere and decor is exactly that of a decades-old Japanese food hall. Well-experienced obasans and their younger apprentices with headscarves and aprons scurry about bringing food and cleaning tables. Solid wood furniture haven taken many years of abuse and can stand up for many more. Locals carrying shopping bags and workers on lunch breaks come in-and-out for a quick bite and so did we. For less than 2000-yen it was fast and filling and now it's time for us to move on.
味万
大阪府大阪市中央区北久宝寺町3-6-12
06-6252-0612