But in Thailand, a number of restaurants are still serving it, including the izakaya Ikuna was in. So forbidden is this dish that it was actually banned from being served in restaurants in Japan back in 2012, after it was deemed unsafe due to the potential risk of E. While soy sauce is available pretty much anywhere in the world, okonomiyaki sauce isn’t as easy to get your hands on outside of Japan.īut actually, there’s a certain menu on the item that Ikuna had come in specifically to try. Osaka’s famous tonpeiyaki (okonomiyaki with grilled pork) tasted just like it does in Japan. It wasn’t just the kushikatsu that was good, either. In fact, Ikuna thought they tasted better than what most kushikatsu restaurants serve back in Japan. They didn’t just look good, though they tasted amazing, too. They were deep-fried to perfection, and looked absolutely divine.

One glass cost 135 baht (US$3.84) - again, about what you’d expect to pay in Japan. Of course, no trip to the izakaya is complete without a cheeky beer or two, and luckily the Thai izakaya has Asahi Super Dry on tap. It wasn’t just the price that resembled that of Ikuna’s home country, though, but the flavor too, as the dish tasted delicious, just as good as she’d expect it to in a restaurant in Japan! While there’s an image of food in Thailand being very cheap, this was around the same price you’d expect to pay for seared mackerel in Japan. To get things started, Ikuna ordered the seared mackerel, which cost 148 baht (US$4.20). … and rice dishes and tempura were also available to order. There was also an a la carte menu with sashimi, pickles, sushi, curry, hot pots, soba noodles… The menu for things available to deep-fry included shrimp, fish, shiitake mushrooms, lotus root, pumpkin and, strangely, popular Japanese sweet Yukimi Daifuku. Ikuna was ready to order, and she was handed a form written entirely in Japanese. In fact, there were a lot of old guys there by themselves, whom Ikuna suspected were Japanese ossan living in Thailand. But as she looked around, she saw that she wasn’t the only solo diner there that night. Izakaya pubs are usually a place to relax with some drinks and share a few nibbles with friends, and Ikuna was a little worried people might judge her for being there by herself. It turned out this place is a paradise for ossan and non- ossan alike, as the restaurant was absolutely packed! By some stroke of luck, Ikuna was able to be seated quickly, but this was one of her first experiences in an izakaya unaccompanied. And while Ikuna was decidedly not an ossan, she couldn’t say no to a spot of kushikatsu, and decided to check it out. The pub specialises in kushikatsu, delicious deep-fried sticks of pretty much anything tasty. More specifically, the term used for ‘man’ is ‘ ossan‘, but ‘paradise for the middle-aged-and-slightly-uncool-common-man’ isn’t quite as punchy in English. It’s called Ganso Kushikatsu Ebisu Shoten and has a huge neon sign proclaiming the place “ a paradise for the common man“. Ikuna had found an izakaya, a Japanese traditional pub. In fact, something Ikuna finds particularly charming about Bangkok is the abundance of Japanese signs out and about, which at times makes her feel like she’s travelling somewhere closer to home, like Okinawa.īut amongst all the Japanese restaurants dotting the streets of Thailand, Ikuna found one spot that managed to ‘out-Japanese’ all the rest so much so that it felt like someone had teleported it directly from the middle of Osaka. Her recent travels took her to the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, although you might be forgiven for initially thinking Ikuna was still somewhere in Japan, given the number of signs written in Japanese in this picture. Whether it’s French ramen or Indian sushi, Ikuna is always happy to chow down on other countries’ takes on Japanese cuisine. If we had to say one more thing about Ikuna, it’s that she loves finding Japanese restaurants in other countries. If we had to say one thing about our Japanese language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa, it’s that she loves to travel. Thankfully our reporter lived to tell the tale.

Ikuna angelist