Japan times - part 8: Yakiton in Namba, Osaka

Earlier this year I spent two-and-a-half weeks in Japan, eating and drinking my way through a destination I've wanted to visit for more than a decade. This is the eighth of several posts of food, booze and sights in Japan.

Emon(?) Yakiton restaurant in back street of Namba, Osaka, Japan

You've probably heard of yakitori grilled chicken bits on a stick, but what about when it's exclusively pork? It's then called yakiton, translating to 'grilled pork'.

We discovered this one night in Namba, Osaka as we made a beeline for the busiest restaurant in the quaint back streets. Sitting at the restaurant's counter overlooking the narrow kitchen, we were told, "only pork".

Food menu

Perhaps we should have clued on to the whole manner of piggy items at the counter: toothpick holders, shichimi chilli powder shakers and the adorable, snout-branded wooden menu cover.

Drinks menu

Getting over our initial surprise as I'd not heard of yakiton previously, we loaded up on all manner of pork skewers and had a fabulous time at it, as everyone else seemed to be having too.

There was a slightly-difficult-to-read drinks menu rolled up in a makisu sushi mat, but I always feel that beer or a haibooru whiskey and soda are the best drinking partners for a session of grilled food.

Pickled cabbage

A bowl of lightly spicy, pickled cabbage came along first as if preparing us for an onslaught or porky goodness.

Grilled pork shoulder

We fumbled through the menu with some help from a chef who had a smidgen of English under his belt. We started with pork shoulder on the skewer; which was certainly some of the juiciest and tastiest pork I've ever had.

Grilled pork

I don't quite know what the next skewer was but the chef pointed to his own rib/ side/back area.

It apparently wasn't belly but had similar rows of alternating meat and fat in an insanely rich few mouthfuls that definitely needed booze to wash down.

Grilled shitake mushrooms

Vegetables were deemed necessary at this point although we never would have guessed that the most amazing shitake mushroom dish would be had here, in a yakiton pork temple.

Grilled for some serious colour, the mushrooms were basted in soy sauce and other secret ingredients as they cooked, resulting in amazing smoky, earthy and sweet flavours.

Grilled okra

While I'm increasingly liking okra, it had the unfortunate luck of following the amazing shitake mushrooms. Nonetheless, their seedy insides helped on the vegetable scale.

Grilled pork stomach

Back to the pork, I thought I had cleverly translated an item as pork belly - rather, I'd ordered two skewers of pork stomach which is common in Chinese cuisine.

Not overly thinking it, the stomach was fine with more of a soft crunch as a feature as opposed to any particular flavour.

Pork meatball with raw egg yolk

We'd encountered and loved tsukune chicken meatballs a few times already, so the pork version was an easy choice. Served traditionally with a raw egg yolk, it was an excellent rendition and not too unlike a chicken one.

Pork meatball with cheese

But amping it up was the cheese tsukune option. Served with a tomato sauce and melted cheese of sorts, the parmigiana style was a total winner - as you'd imagine pork on a stick with cheese would be.

Avocado on the grill

We kept an eye out on other diners' orders for inspiration and spotting the half avocado on the grill getting the baste treatment, it was another necessary notch on the vegetable count.

And not to mention the extreme curiosity around cooked avocado.

Grilled avocado with miso sauce

Caramelised at parts and served with a wedge of lemon and thick, miso-based sauce, the avocado was kind of what you'd think cooked avocado would be - warmed up avocado.

Finished skewers

Having amassed a fairly impressive collection of used skewers, the kitchen staff seemed very pleased that two Aussies were sitting, drinking beers and eating their yakiton. I'm not sure if there were dessert options on the menu, but we'd pigged out plenty enough for one night in Namba anyway.

Interior walls

More Japan posts to come. See more photos from my Japan trip on my Facebook page.