On Monday, a couple foodie friends and I embarked on a food tour of Nagoya on foot, wandering to restaurants serving up Nagoya’s finest.
Our Nagoya food tour included: miso katsu at Yabaton, dessert at Cafe Molly, and hitsumabushi at Shirakawa.
Yabaton Honten- Yaba-cho
The first stop on our tour was Yabaton, one of the most popular restaurants serving Nagoya’s specialty: miso katsu (pork cutlet with miso sauce). There are many Yabatons around Nagoya due to its popularity (six to be exact), but we headed to the original location in Yaba-cho.
The eatery’s sumo wrestler pig logo emblazoned on the entire side of the four-story Mother Yabaton fort invites you to indulge in a Nagoya ritual and bid any inkling of healthy eating sensibilities adieu.
Yabaton is serious about their craft and the best part is that they don’t skimp on portions. I’d had miso katsu before, both abroad and since moving here, but I have yet to find another restaurant at this price worthy of competition.
A friend and I shared a combination miso katsu order with two kinds of miso sauce. So. Good.
Cafe Molly- Osu
We continued our Nagoya food tour by taking a short stroll over to Osu to visit Cafe Molly, a coffee shop I’d recently been introduced to.
Hidden just outside Osu’s main entrance, Molly is a quaint oasis amidst the Harajuku-esque and bedazzled shopping arcades. It’s a perfect balance of hipster design and cozy vibes.
I’ve recently been on a bit of a cheesecake binge, so choosing what to order was a no brainer. I was so happy that the cheesecake was rich and creamy; none of this frou-frou and fluffy diet-like business.
After indulging our sweet tooths, we took a breather from our tour and walked about an hour through Sakae, Hisaya-Odori Park, and Meijo Park on our way to our final stop. Even though it had been raining on and off the past week, there were still some cherry blossoms left to enjoy. I hadn’t been able to visit the two parks during the height of the cherry blossom season this year so it added an element of refreshment to the walk.
Unagi Shirakawa- Joshin
The last place on our Nagoya food tour was Shirakawa for hitsumabushi, another Nagoya specialty of grilled eel over rice. This was the cheapest mini hitsumabushi set I’ve had and the portions were about the same as the other hitsumabushi restaurants I’d been to. The savory taste was the perfect way to finish off the day.
There’s a specific way to eat hitsumabushi, or rather four steps to follow. After dividing the dish into four portions, the first portion is dished out and eaten as is. The second portion is eaten with condiments like wasabi, picked vegetables, green onions, and seaweed. The third portion uses the condiments again, and also adds in a broth or tea provided. The final portion is enjoyed however one chooses.
Earlier that day we thought about making one more stop on our tour for tebasaki (fried chicken wings), but after Shirakawa we decided to call it a night.
Until the next Nagoya food tour…
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