Since our lunch-in-kimonos at Mimikou at around midday, Peach and I haven’t had a bite to eat, and we’ve been wandering all afternoon around Ginkaku-ji, then early evening in the Gion area (looking for a place to eat, incidentally), then bumping into Hazel, She and Jas, and heading off to Kiyomizudera instead. So it is a given that, by the time we parted ways at close to 9pm, the two of us were already starving. So we (yet again) did more walking through streets leading towards our hostel, looking for any open food place. At that moment, we were so hungry even a food stall will do. AND THEN. We came across Kiraku, which turns out to be one of the most recommended okonomiyaki places to eat in Kyoto. HUZZAH, cheered my empty tummy.
I have already talked about the Japanese goodness that is okonomiyaki in this blog (my first encounter while in Akihabara). It is a specialty of Osaka, by the way, but since the resto at Akihabara is from Osaka, it’s pretty much the same thing (you know, except for that small bit about the location, but I will not nitpick). We also tried having okonomiyaki while we were in the Shinsaibashi area in Osaka but – I’m not sure if the first one I tried in Tokyo was THAT AWESOME, or we weren’t really all that hungry at the time – it just did not seem up to par. *shrugs*
I’m glad I got to have another taste of okonomiyaki, with greatly satisfying results, in Kyoto. Again, there is that small logistics point about the location, but no nitpicking here, too!
Okonomiyaki Kiraku Kiyomizugojosakaten, or Kiraku, for short, is not really a huge place. I hear it is almost always packed and you have to wait to be seated (get in line!). But it was already late night when we were there, so we just walked in and grabbed one of the few empty tables.
A perky lady came forward to hand out English menus (you can ask for them), then promptly left us to make our choices after we asked her a few questions and recommendations. When we were ready to place our order, we just had to press on the buzzer, and she came to get it.
The wait was not all that long, although it would probably seem so if you’re starving. By that time, the peak of my hunger was already passing, so I can tolerate the wait. The smell and sound of cooking and sizzling okonomiyaki was not helping any, though.
And then it’s finally here!
This is negiyaki (“negi” = onion), okonomiyaki with green spring onion leeks as the main topping. This was recommended by the waitress when we asked her what the bestseller is. It costs JPY 1,050 (~ Php400.00 or ~USD8.00), but it’s already enough for 3 to 4 people (2, if you’re really hungry; 1 person if he’s truly starved).
I was never really a fan of onion leeks because of its strong aroma, but this one was just right~ I wasn’t bothered at all by how it smelled. And we decimated it the moment it arrived. 🙂
The other one we ordered (there were two of us, after all) was the yakisoba one topped with cheese. Yes, Japan loves cheese, and so it somehow finds a way to put cheese in any dish. This one was around the same price, JPY 1,100.00
Basically, the main component is fried noodles.
I really liked this one, too, but be warned: it is heavy. (Noodles + Cheese = OHMANSOHEAVY) When we headed back to the hostel, I was quite thankful for the quite lengthy walk through the streets.
The negiyaki was prepped right in front of us, but the other one was pre-cooked over at the main counter before being brought to our table to be kept warm.
We just had to have dessert. 🙂 There were only 4 items in their “Dessert menu” and they are all ice desserts.
You know those popsicles you love to suck on until they melt? It’s similar to that, but much creamier, so it’s like an ice-cream-popsicle… I hope you kinda get what I mean. Haha!
So the four choices of ice desserts were macha ice (green tea), chocolate ice, hitokuchi mango ice, white berry ice (strawberry half coated in white chocolate).
We went for macha and mango. AND YUM.
Of course, I was in the middle of my newfound love for chuhai. I think this was peach chuhai. 🙂 Yes, even if the bottle says it’s Asahi Super Dry, haha!
Kiraku opens quite late. It was already around 10pm when we got around through its doors, and after passing through many dining establishments that are already closed.
Good place, very cozy and welcoming, perfect for dining with family and groups of friends, and yes, foreigner-friendly. 🙂
Location
Yugyomaecho, Higashiyamaku, Kyoto 605-0864 Kyoto Prefecture
(A search on Google returns that it is permanently closed. I’m not sure about it, because this was months ago, but I doubt such a popular place will close down so easily. The latest reviews on TripAdvisor were on July, 2015, so I’m guessing it’s still open.)
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