It is going to be all about the street food.

We are here in Osaka (大阪市) in Dōtonbori (道頓堀) which is famous for nightlife

and street food.

We have come here in the middle of the day.

We're going to turn this into our lunch.

Yep.

And just try as many Japanese snacks and dishes as possible.

Japanese street food for you guys.

Okay so time for our very first snack.

And we are starting with something sweet.

This is called Taiyaki (鯛焼き) and it is basically a pancake shaped like a fish.

So we got two different varieties.

They have the classic which is stuffed with red bean paste.

Right.

This is made with adzuki beans.

Yep.

And this other one is stuffed with sweet potato.

So yeah this should be tasty.

So I'm going to start with the red bean paste first.

Let's bite into this little fish.

Mwah!

Right into its head.

Mmmm.

A lethal blow.

Oh, hot.

Piping hot!

They made it right fresh for us guys.

The bean paste.

Oh that burns.

That is burning?

Mmm.

What does it taste like thought?

The dough is really nice.

It reminds me of waffle batter.

Yep.

Like that kind of flavor.

It is really nice.

Is it fairly sweet?

You know what it gets all the sweetness from the red bean paste.

Right.

That is the predominant flavor in this.

But yeah I really like this.

Let's wait and see what this one is all about.

So I'm also going to try the red bean one first as well.

Let's see.

Oh that is so good.

I've had these before and I've never had one that has been so generously stuffed yeah with

red beans.

This one is just oozing with red bean paste.

Look at that guys.

Just oozing with red bean paste.

And this is also a popular snack in Korea.

Yeah.

That is where I've seen it before.

Exactly.

We've had these in Korea so that is where I first tried it.

But it is my first time to have it in Japan and it is delicious.

Like oh my gosh it is like this would be the perfect winter food.

Like I could just imagine like walking outside on a snowy day or a cold day and having this

piping hot.

Oh my gosh.

So now Sam is going to try the sweet potato one first.

Sweet potato one let's try that.

Oh wow.

Again it is so good.

It is really sweet but this has a smoother consistency than the bean paste.

Oh!

So I think I might even like this one better.

Wow.

Look at that.

Mmmm.

What do you think?

This one is smoother.

It is smoother huh.

I see what you mean.

Wow.

That is quite good.

It is really good.

Yeah and um speaking of prices.

This one stuffed with sweet potato was 200 Yen and the other one stuffed with red bean

paste was a 180 Yen.

So the red bean paste is a little bit cheaper.

Slightly cheaper.

Just by a few cents.

Yeah.

But yeah this is quite good.

In my opinion it is worth trying them both though.

Yes.

Do.

And they have other flavors.

Yeah.

You can get chocolate, you can get custard.

I know.

You can make a whole snack why not sample a few.

A whole meal out of it.

Okay so next up we have found a place serving Kushikatsu (串カツ).

Round two guys of street food guys.

So this is Kushikatsu (串カツ).

This is basically they are fried skewers.

Kushi means skewer.

Mmhmm.

Katsu means meat.

Yeah.

But the interesting thing is that you can have um things that are beyond just meat.

Yes.

Like you can get fish.

You can see here there is a whole meat section.

Yeah.

There is seafood.

You can also do vegetables and what is considered other.

Yeah.

So I'll just a read a few of these for you.

So for instance you can get cheese done.

Uh huh.

You can also get something like Chinese yam.

I saw quail eggs.

Quail eggs.

There is something called fish paste tube.

I have no idea what that is.

There is even chorizo.

Look there is even banana with chocolate.

So basically the individual pieces are dipped in egg and then they're coated in crumbs and

then they're deep-fried and yeah this is what they should look like when they arrive at

the table.

Oh!

So the Kushikatsu (串カツ) have arrived at the table.

If you take a look down here we ordered an assorted tray which comes with 10 pieces.

It was 1200 Yen and yeah we decided let them surprise us.

We don't know what we're having.

We don't even know.

Technically you could order off the menu individually what you want to have but we thought this

would work.

Prices range from like 80 to 200 Yen on the menu depending how fancy the ingredients.

Exactly.

And there is one very strict rule here at this restaurant.

What is that?

You have the sauce.

You can only dip once.

Yes.

That means no double dipping.

No triple dipping.

No like taking a bite exactly and oh I want more sauce dip it in some more.

If you want more sauce there is cabbage.

Yes.

What you do is take the cabbage leaf.

Right.

And almost use it like a spoon.

Yep.

To pour some sauce on your stick.

What an ingenious way of doing things.

Yeah.

That is just incredible.

So I think we should dig in because this is looking pretty good.

So I've had my eye on this one because it is one of the few things I can identify.

This is lotus root for sure.

Lotus root.

So I'm going to take it for a really good dunk.

Take it for a swim.

Since I only get one chance.

One shot.

And then we bite into it.

Mmmm.

Oh wow.

Have I ever had lotus root?

This is very sweet.

This is a flavor I'm not really familiar with.

That is fascinating.

Mmmm.

Trying new things here.

It is like sweet and almost floral.

Wow.

That is really interesting.

Sam's turn over here.

Yes and this is a bit of a giveaway.

It looks like shrimp.

It sure looks like a shrimp.

Alright I'm taking it for a gigantic swim.

Duh da duh.

Look at it swimming.

Da da duh.

Just keep swimming.

Oh that is so juicy.

That shrimp is so juicy and I love the breaded crispiness of the batter.

This is awesome we just started.

We just started.

We just begun.

So I'm going to grab another one.

This looks like fish don't fail me.

And I'm going to demonstrate how you can use your little cabbage leaf for scooping.

So I haven't dipped it at all.

Let's make it happen.

But look.

Look at that.

It works out.

Woah.

Quite well.

Zero contamination.

Because the cabbage has like these little pockets and ridges that collect the sauce.

It collects it really nicely.

So yeah give that a shot.

Mmmm.

What do you think?

Yeah.

This one is good.

Is it good?

I do like this one.

I like it because I can identify it.

Yum.

I always feel safer eating something I can identify.

Hahaha.

So we found our next snack.

This is our third snack here in Dōtonbori (道頓堀).

And we found a gyoza (餃子) stand so we ordered up a little tray.

This was 400 Yen and you get 8 pieces.

So yeah and they also gave it to us with a bit of lime.

I've never had gyoza (餃子) with lime before but we were like why not.

Why not.

So I've squeezed a little bit of that on top and this is still steaming.

This is piping hot.

They prepared it fresh right in front of us.

Wow.

What do you think?

Mmmm.

Is it good?

That is good.

Yeah?

Wow.

You know what?

What?

It needs soy sauce.

It needs more soy sauce.

It needs a bit of soy sauce.

I just need that saltiness when I'm having gyoza (餃子).

There we go.

Oh look at all of that.

That is mandatory.

You drowned it in there.

Drowning it in there.

So now, now things should be right.

And I'm sure glad that we're eating it under cover.

Like it is chucking it down right now in terms of rain.

So much rain.

Yeah.

Look at this, this is like falling apart right in my chopsticks.

Yeah.

Yeah, I have to say the nice thing about this market.

Mmmm.

Is that you have some covered sections so you can visit even on a rainy day.

Oh how is that?

I love how crispy it is on the outside but it is super juicy in the inside.

Yeah.

Some of the juiciest gyoza I've ever had before.

It is really tasty.

I like it a lot.

(Speaking Japanese)

(Rain sounds)

And when it rains in Osaka (大阪市) it pours.