Dohton Bori - Osaka

As You Like It, in Osaka
Okonomiyaki is Osakan soul food, they tell me.   It means "cooked the way you like it" (okonomi = as you like it and yaki=cooked or grilled.)  At Dohton Bori, they take your freedom seriously, giving you all kinds of crazy combo choices for what I'd describe as a savory pancake/omelette.  I kept it inside the ropes, adding ham, cheese, prawns, and eggs to a batter made of shredded yam, flour and water. On top were the usual accompaniments: a Worcestershire-like black sauce, mayo and bonito shavings.

You ever seen the famous photo of the giant crab sign from Osaka?  Well, this is the place: the Dotonbori neighborhood on the city's south side.  Mr. Crab is hanging from a building on the left. 

We bellybucked the grill, next to two chain-smoking girls.

I had a good feeling when I got my tools.  I noted that the chain-smoking girls had forsaken their chopsticks for the mini-shovel, eating bites off of it between drags.

Phase 1 - dumped out.  The pile begins to sizzle.

Phase 2 - formation.  The Jackson Pollock becomes a Matisse.

Phase 3 - bubbling disk.  My stomach starts to rumble.

Phase 4 - the flip.  The crowd oooooh's and ahhhhhh's.

Phase 5 - almost ready.  Sauces applied, waiting for the fermented fish crown.

Phase 6 - time for the shovel!  I chopped with the shovel, ate with the sticks.  Dodo sat nearby, eating of all things - fried rice!  Fried rice?  In an okonomiyaki spot?  Dodo, defend yourself in the comments section, please.

Dotombori
Osaka, Japan

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