Halal Food Guide: Osaka

_____

Okay, lets just get this out in the open – I wholeheartedly love Japanese food. If I could eat solely Japanese food for the rest of my life, I would without a single hesitation. Imagine my excitement when we had the chance to visit Osaka, a place that has been graciously dubbed as the “Kitchen of Japan”. Upon my research prior to our trip, I have learnt that there is an actual local saying related to the city’s culinary culture – ‘kuidore‘, which literally translates to ‘eat till you drop‘. With a title and saying like that, you know that every meal you’d devour in the city would be a great meal.

Great would be an understatement, to be honest. Our senses were constantly being stimulated by the sights and smells of both familiar and unfamiliar delicacies. Be it in the streets, at restaurants, or the supermarket, our eyes and noses would be scampering in all sorts of different directions.

There are no lack of options when it comes to dining in Osaka, making it impossible to run out of ideas of where or what to eat – from street snacks to delicately made sushi to unrealistically tender beef slices to hot piping bowls of ramen and/or udon, and that’s just me naming a few. The real challenge isn’t finding things to eat in Osaka, but rather deciding where to eat.

Luckily for us budget travelers, we can indulge in Osaka’s culinary goodness without breaking our banks. Osaka is home to a plethora of different Japanese cuisines – yes, but where it really shines though, is in its comfort and street food. These inexpensive bites were the ones that made my nose and stomach tingle the most.

As for muslims, there are more than enough halal certified eateries and/or muslim friendly Japanese street snacks to make you gain a pound or two on your trip. We may or may not have gained more than that.

Matsuri

Most halal restaurants in Japan commonly specialise in a particular type of cuisine or two. But the first halal restaurant we dined at in Osaka, Matsuri, offers almost all kinds of Japanese favorites you could possibly think of! Nestled in Osaka’s Noda area, Matsuri is conveniently located near two different train stations available within the area – making the place highly accessible even for those who are not familiar with the area.

As mentioned, their menu consists of a little of everything from the Japanese cuisine. Choosing what to eat was truly a challenge for us. Our family of three ended up sharing their okonomiyaki, fried yakisoba, salmon sashimi, a plate of various sushis, tamago, and a bowl egg soup – all of which were freshly cooked and prepared. My tastebuds were celebrating in delight – everything we ordered and devoured was exceptionally delicious.

Another special thing about Matsuri is that customers have the option of preparing their own takoyaki. Matsuri is the first (if not the only) place that offers 100% halal takoyaki. There is also a mini section of the restaurant for souvenirs such as muslim-friendly condiments and vegan-friendly instant ramen!

Opening hours: Daily 11:00 – 14:00 and 17:00 – 23:00

Contact: +81 6-6940-6633

Address: 3 Chome-27-17 Yoshino, Fukushima Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 553-0006, Japan

Ramen Honolu

A trip to Japan wouldn’t be complete without having at least a bowl of ramen, am I right? Each bowl of ramen we’ve tasted in Japan is unique to its own, and that includes the ones we devoured at Ramen Honolu. We were especially pleased and ecstatic when we learnt that Ramen Honolu’s specialty happens to be spicy ramen. If you don’t already know, we really appreciate spicy food. Customers are spoilt for choice between different kinds of salt-based, and soy-based broth.

For those who aren’t big on spicy food, worry not. You can choose your ramen’s level of spiciness based on your own preference – mild, spicy, or extra spicy. No surprises on which level we went with. The ramen definitely hit all the right spots for us – it was just the perfect balance of spice, and spiciness. Other than ramen, there are also other side dishes available to further satisfy those tastebuds of yours. Think chicken gyoza, and dumplings. Yum-my.

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 11:30 – 14:30 and 17:00 – 21:00, Sunday 17:00 – 21:00

Contact: +81 6-6710-9604

Address: 2 Chome-5-27 Motomachi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 556-0016, Japan

Bulls

Now this is a place for all you red meat enthusiasts. Bulls provide both halal and non-halal menus, but worry not as the staff of the restaurant take great precaution and care in using different kitchenware, plates and utensils as well as storing both types of meat separately. Bulls is known for their scrumptious shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, and steak sets. At dinner time, the restaurant provides an all-you-can-eat sukiyaki and shabu shabu buffet – great for those with a big appetite!

We opted for their teppanyaki steak sets which was served with some salad, a bowl of rice, and some soup. And it was exquisitely delectable! We finished it all within minutes. We’re definitely coming back for their sukiyaki next!

Opening hours: Daily 11:00 – 15:00 and 17:00 – 22:00

Contact: +81 6-6647-0555

Address: 5F, OCAT Bld., 1-4-1, Minatomachi, Naniwa-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka

Takoyaki

When we were in Tokyo, I was so bummed that our hunt for authentic takoyaki wasn’t a success. Perhaps we searched for it at all the wrong places or perhaps we were too overwhelmed with the trillion other things that smacked us right in the face. In Osaka (aka Takoyaki Haven) on the other hand, takoyaki stalls were there left, right, front, and back – much to the delight of my tastebuds and ever-expanding stomach!

But if you’re a muslim, please take extra precaution before purchasing and devouring takoyakis and/or okonomiyakis. Even though the main ingredients and fillings of takoyakis are seafood, the Japanese almost always include pork and/or alcohol elements for the sauce of these balls of heaven. So my tip for you is to always enquire on the ingredients beforehand.

We almost made the mistake of assuming all takoyakis are edible, until one observant Japanese waitress informed us that not all takoyakis on their menu are muslim-friendly. She was kind enough to show us which ones do not contain pork and alcohol elements, and which ones do. Thank goodness for my hijab!

This was at a takoyaki shop along Dotonbori. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of the shop as everything was in Japanese. But the front of the shop was decorated with massive bright red lanterns. And there is a stall right in front of it with highly enthusiastic patrons for those who prefer to eat on the go. It’s very hard to miss. Highly recommended – especially their cheese takoyaki. We unashamedly had two big servings of it.

Soft Serve Ice Cream

The amount of soft serve ice cream we had in Osaka was just… ridiculous. Matcha flavor, milk flavor, sakura flavor, bamboo flavor, you name it – we had it all. There is a particular type of soft serve ice cream that we especially favored. It was a milk flavor soft serve with crepe-ish biscuit like cone. I am unsure of the name, but it was sold at nearly every corner of Osaka. In a span of one week, I think we had about twenty of those.

There was also a small ice cream shop just before Dotonbori operated by a sweet Japanese lady that sells all sorts of ice cream. We visited the place twice, and had their soft serve ice cream both times. This particular ice cream shop happens to have a muslim friendly and halal sign displayed.