Ukyou’s Delight: Okonomiyaki
Fans of Takahashi Rumiko’s Ranma 1/2 series will probably find the word okonomiyaki familiar as it’s the specialty of spatula-bearing femme fatale Kuonji Ukyou.
Okonomiyaki is one of those somewhat obscure delights of Japanese cuisine. A specialty from the Kansai Region, this omelette-like dish from Osaka is often referred to as "Japanese pizza" because of its shape and the fact that you can practically have everything on it. Students, in particular, scarf it down like mad as it is relatively inexpensive.
Along with takoyaki (octopus dumplings cooked in a special griddle) and dorayaki (known among Philippine urbanites as Japanese cakes, griddle cakes stuffed with an or peanut butter or even custard), it’s a lovely example of yakimono that can be used as a good way to indoctrinate a love for Japanese food into the squeamish. I also recommend it for weaning the unadventurous from the usual sukiyaki-sushi-tempura-tonkatsu offerings of generic oriental joints.
Unfortunately for us here in the Philippines, relatively few Japanese restaurants actually serve okonomiyaki. While dorayaki (again: Japanese cake) and takoyaki stalls are a common fixture in supermarkets, tiangges, food courts, and bus terminals, I’ve only seen one mall stall (on the third floor of the Makati Cinema Square, to be exact) that served up honest-to-goodness okonomiyaki. As for restaurants, I’ve only encountered two: Fukuya and JiPan.
The okonomiyaki at JiPan is more of the traditional Osaka-type: a dense omelette - more of a frittata, actually - stuffed to the gills with pork, squid, shrimp, and cabbage and topped with Kewpie mayonnaise (the delightful stuff that adds flavor to your California maki) and katsuoboshi (dried bonito shavings). Lovely and filling, really.
But, in my opinion, the ultimate okonomiyaki experience may be had at Fukuya where you can choose to have your omelette done either Osaka-style or Hiroshima-style. My personal preference is for the Hiroshima; it is the bomb (tasteless pun intended). What sets it apart from the Osaka is the fact that it has noodles (sometimes soba, but it’s udon most of the time) thrown in with everything else. Fukuya’s offering has shredded cabbage, noodles, shrimp, squid, and pork sandwiched between two virtually paper-thin egg-and-flour crepes. As seen in the picture above left, the whole shebang is spread with Otafuku’s signature okonomiyaki sauce, drizzled with Kewpie mayo, and sprinkled with aonori (pulverized nori). Spice it up with some togarashi (Japanese red pepper mix) and you’re good to go.
Fukuya @ Festival Supermall - 3rd Level - Festival Supermall, Alabang, Muntinlupa
JiPan @Glorietta - 2nd Level - Glorietta IV, Ayala Center, Makati
