There is a downside to finding yourself with a little bit of free time on your hands: you don’t know what to do with it, and yet you can think of so many things you want to do but, for some reason, you can’t. So you end up doing what you did not really intend on doing. (Did that make sense so far?) Take right now, for example. Weather’s foul outside, I am in between writing projects, and there’s a bit of a window where I can opt to not work. So I clean up my hard drive, and stumble upon photos that I forgot existed. Like these ones taken of the fastfood/restaurant, NAKAU in Osaka.
Nakau is a chain of restaurants and a franchise operation, primarily as a gyudon (beef rice bowl) restaurant. Their menu consists primarily of oyakodon and udon.
We actually stumbled upon Nakau by accident. On our second day in Osaka, we woke up early, made short work of some light snacks, then set off at around 6:30 am from our hostel in Momodani to get to Sumiyoshi Taisha (which I talked about here). After that, we took the train to Tennoji Station because the next place on our list was Shitennoji Temple (which I also talked about in this post).
When we stepped out of Tennoji Station, however, we could not help but admit that the food we ate earlier in the morning is not enough. We were hungry, but it was still around 10am, and most restaurants won’t be open until around 11am for lunch hour. And, I suppose, by other normal people’s standards, it’s way past the time for breakfast.
Then we saw this place called Nakau. The tinted door was closed, so we also thought that it was still closed. Then we saw 24 hours written on the sign. Lucky~
I am always amazed at how clean Japanese food places are – or, at least, the ones that I’ve seen. This looked like a cross between a fastfood and a ‘proper’ restaurant. It didn’t have the bustling noise that I have come to associate with fastfoods (Jollibee or McDonald’s, anyone?), but the welcome greeting of the kitchen staff as we entered was also quite hearty and not as formal as you’d find in restaurants.
While there are tables on one side, there was a long counter-style table in the middle, and that’s where we seated ourselves. You can immediately help yourself to the barley tea, which we did. Haha!
Those reddish-pinkish worm-like thingies? They’re one of my favorite things when I enter a restaurant in Japan – pickled ginger. I was shamelessly gorging myself with it every time they are available on the table.
Of course, we had to place our orders first…
…and hello there, vending machines! Philippine fastfoods and restos should consider adapting this ordering and payment mechanism. It’s less hassle for customers.
(But then again, that means more people running out of jobs. Ah, there is always a catch, innit?)
Ordering is just a matter of tapping on the screen (yes, there is an English screen) if you need it. You’ll be presented with the menu, complete with prices and pictures. Tap on your orders, you’ll be presented with an invoice. Insert your cash on the slots provided. If you have change, it will also come out of the machine. You’ll get two slips of paper: your receipt and your order. Give your order slip to one of the staff and they’ll start making your food for you.
It was the middle of the morning, and we felt that having a beef rice bowl or choosing any of the set meals would be too heavy. After all, we’d probably have lunch in a couple of hours, so we ordered beef udon instead. And karaage. And, just for kicks, azuki pudding.
The bowl was just right. Not so big as to be too much that I can’t finish it, and not too little that I’d feel shortchanged. I cannot remember the exact prices any longer, so I can only give estimates.
I am quite sure, however, that the pudding was JPY 150.00.
The beef udon is around JPY 600.00 to JPY 700.00. The karaage was, if I remember right, was around JPY 400.00.
As for the taste? I’ve never tasted bad karaage throughout my Japan trip, and this is no exception. The udon also is outstanding. But what I liked the most about it was the atmosphere. It was clean, relatively quiet, and comfortable. (Plus it appeared like an answer to the prayers of hungry me.)
Visit their website (in Japanese, though).
Location
4-10 Hidenincho Tennoji-ku Osaka Osaka
It is just a short walk away from the North Entrance of the Tennoji Station
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