Osaka: Luke's Lobster & Hamburg Steak

As we have visited Osaka before, we decided to have a more laidback trip this time and find some places that we haven't been to yet. We had a late start to the morning as we didn't have much planned for the day.

First stop: Luke's Lobster
I didn't get to try it out from the food truck in Tokyo on my last trip, so I was set on trying it out this time. Lucky for me, they now have a shop in Shinsaibashi, which is super convenient. They open at 11am and when we got there about quarter-past, there was no queue at all and we instantly got our hands on the rolls.

All four us got the Lobster Roll (regular sized) (¥980 + tax). They do have a bigger sized rolls at ¥1,580, but I would always just recommend getting the regular sized one as there is just so much to eat around Shinsaibashi.

The bun was toasted to perfection that it was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The lobster serving was very generous and was well matched with the pepper/seasoning. This is a very good match for the one that Watermans Lobster Co used to serve. I think I'll definitely have it every time I go back to Japan!

After breakfast, we took the subway to Mitsui Outlet Park Tsurumi for some shopping. We chose to go here not because it had some amazing brands or because it had amazing deals - we went because it was close by and we hadn't gone before.

I don't think I would recommend going here as the place is relatively small and the brands available here aren't that amazing. The place is not very busy, we barely saw anyone around the shopping centre except in the restaurants.

Despite so, we still managed to buy a few things from Coach and Nike before heading off to lunch. Food wise, other than ramen, there is the one and only hamburg steak shop called Fujio-ken which offers a proper feed.

We all ordered a single serve hamburg, but with different toppings. We ordered (clockwise from top-left) Demiglaze sauce with a fried egg (¥1,130) (we actually ordered the seafood sauce, but they made a mistake, which was quickly rectified after my photo), Demiglaze sauce with extra bacon (¥1,130), Demiglaze sauce with cheese and Radish sauce (both were ¥980).

I had expected their recommended style to be the demiglaze sauce, but surprisingly it was the grated radish oroshi. The fresh radish cuts through the oil and the heaviness of the meat, meaning that you could easily down a whole hamburg steak without feeling like you overate. However, it does lose some of that "Western" feel associated with the hamburg steak. 

Not a bad combination, but I would recommend the generic demiglaze sauce over this for first-timers.

JB essentially went for the heaviest taste with the demiglaze plus cheese. The cheese sizzling on the hot plate made the sauce that much thicker that it resembled a thick gravy. However, it is quite intense to be eating a whole thing yourself, especially if you order other additional toppings. I don't know how all those people order the double steak😱

Here's a photo of seafood sauce! To me, this tasted exactly like lobster bisque. I'm no longer a big fan of lobster bisque (memories of the countless packets of instant lobster bisque I had) but if you like a creamy shellfish sauce then this is definitely for you! No prizes for guessing who go this one!

We decided not to take the original path back to the station, but to walk towards this dome that we saw when we coming out from the station. Nothing too interesting about the sports stadium - Google tells me there's a pool inside (if you're keen🧐)
The highlight of taking this path was running into THE BEST TAIYAKI OF JAPAN!

Well... that's what the shop is called and hands down it really was the best taiyaki that I've had! A pretty large shop run by a few middle-aged ladies. I think I intruded on some conversation when I went in as they all got a little bit of a shock.
They offered the regular azuki filling, as well as a white bean filling from what I saw on the menu stuck to the counter. I wanted to get one of each but the white bean filling needed a 10 minute wait, so I just went with 2 red bean ones, and serious regrets for not getting more...
I just looked online and apparently they also have a custard one! Next time, I will trek it out there just for it💪

We headed back to the Namba area just to chill and went off to Kani Douraku for dinner that night. But that's for another post!

I keep abandoning the blog and forgetting about it😖but now that uni has more or less gotten itself into a schedule, I'm gonna strive to bring the heartbeat back to this blog.