Okonomiyaki is a savoury Japanese pizza or pancake – Unlike its western counterpart, the Okonomiyaki is made on a thin pancake-style base that almost resembles a crepe. This unique dish is very popular in Osaka and Hiroshima, and we were fortunate enough to get a chance to savour the Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki during our travels in Japan.

The chef-lady started by spreading the pancake mixture on the hot plate, creating the pancake. To be honest, it tasted more like crepe than pancake. Next came the shredded raw cabbage – lots of it.

We found an Okonomiyaki stall in a building in town. In fact, there were about 10 or more Okonomiyaki stalls in this one building, spread out between 2 floors and all right next to each other. We took a chance and randomly picked one. The stall we picked was run by a father-daughter team and they were more than happy to serve a bunch of gaijin - the father was so enthusiastic about having westeners in his restaurant, he even changed his TV channel to a Michael Jackson concert to apparently suit our western tastes…

She worked very quickly – in fact, she laid down all 7 pancakes in less than 4 minutes. Next on the topping list came the beansprouts, spring onions and bacon strips. Our daily intake requirements for lipids, proteins and vegetables were met by this stage.

The stall was set up in such a way that the seats wrapped around the cooking area, very similar to Teppanyaki so we could witness the creation of these magnificent pancakes right in front of us. Generally, the Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki already comes with the standard shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, spring onions, bonito flakes, bacon, Japanese sweet sauce, mayonnaise and Yakisoba noodles. On top of the ‘base toppings’, we get to choose a main topping: scallops, shredded beef, fish, prawns, squid, oysters, pork, chicken and so on. I opted for the oyster version.

The dried bonito flakes were next! Making Okonomiyaki is an art in itself.

The carbs were next on the list – enter Yakisoba noodles. As you can see, the servings were pretty hefty! and we had one each! The noodles were fried and seasoned with salt, pepper, and yes, Ajinomoto. Someone from the group had ordered the seafood topping which I believe were prawns and squid. Basically everything is cooked in front of you, very similar to Teppanyaki minus the egg-throwing. While the noodles were frying away, she flipped the Okonomiyaki over onto the topping side to get the bacon cooked. Watching her flip something with loose vegetable shreds and not have them fly into your eyes and lap was quite amazing!

The end result: A towering inferno of pancake, cabbage, sprouts, bacon, bonito flakes, yakisoba noodles, omellete, sweet sauce, spring onions and my main topping of succulent Japanese oysters. It was a large serving enough for 2, but yes I wolfed it down on my own in one sitting. I really enjoyed the combination of textures in this dish.

Being a foodie means trying everything – even if that ‘everything’ means a quick fix at McDonald’s. While in Hiroshima recently, I had to give the Japanese McDonald’s an international taste-test. Mind you, their menu actually looked reasonably appetizing! At least they use Kewpie mayo in their burgers – now that is something. Whether they actually use off-cuts of Wagyu beef for their patties, I’m not so sure about.

I was loitering outside the restaurant for a few moments before this giant poster advertising their Tamago Double Mac caught my eye:

I examined this for a few seconds and decided to give it a shot since I like egg in my burgers. I proceeded to the counter for my order. Of course, me no habla Japanese so naturally ordering from their picture menu involved lots of pointing. The poor girl at the counter just nodded her head vigorously while she took my order.

Hmmm… when I got it on my table I just stared blankly at this dubious, paper-wrapped parcel, half-expecting it to pounce at my face, its hot oozing cheese blinding me permanently in one eye and the beef patties causing greased-force trauma to my forehead. It was a decently sized burger, somewhere between a double-quarter pounder and a big mac. After I managed to get rid of the horrific visions of a burger-induced injury out of my mind I unwrapped it:

First of all, the burger was upside down. And secondly, why does the advertising always look better than the real thing? I poked and prodded the burger to make sure it was dead and wouldn’t pounce on me. After a few seconds I realised that the burger was indeed lifeless (probably from overcooking), I took a bite. Contrary to the unappetizing photo, the Tamago actually tasted good. The patties had a strong seasoning, and the mayo was a tangy seafood-flavoured Kewpie mayo which tasted like lobster and the egg just made my day. Usually, a meal at McDonalds is always followed by grease-induced nausea but for some reason unknown the feeling never eventuated. Yes, the Tamago Double Mac has my heart-foundation tick of approval!