Many travellers visit Osaka to try its local specialty dishes like Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki, as well as experiencing the energy and excitement of the Dotonbori district. Now there is one place that offers both; CREO-Ru Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki.
Take a stroll at Dotonbori at night and you will be dazzled by the glitter of the neon signs, large and small in every direction. When I first visited Osaka, those neon signs excited and confused me. I was excited by how it all livened up the atmosphere, at the same time, I was confused by which shop or restaurant to enter as everyone triggered the same temptation.
Instinctively, I choose the shop with the longest queue, which turned out to be CREO-Ru. When we were in line, a staff showed us a room behind the stall which was below the street. We came in hoping there wouldn’t be a queue downstairs. However, we were wrong; there was another waiting list for the seats.
Fast forward, it has all of Osaka’s most wanted, however the recommended menu revolved around okonomiyaki. So we ordered okonomiyaki.
I actually forgot how long we waited until our dishes were served on the rectangle table with a wide hot plate in the middle because the atmosphere was so comfortable.
Okonomiyaki is a kind of savory pancake with whatever ingredient you like to be mixed (mostly seafood and bacon). So, my point about this dish is how well the fillings and the batter go together. The batter must be not overwhelm the taste of the chosen fillings. And CREO-Ru had it all.
The okonomiyaki we ordered were both fluffy and tasty. The fried batter had a crunchy outer shell, with a soft filling of bacon and seafood that melted in our mouth. Everything blended well. I went there twice, and the second time I ordered sake to go with it, though I would recommend having beer instead.
Even though there is a fast turnover of customers here, there is always a long queue. Having experienced its winning combination of taste, atmosphere, and price, it is no wonder why. For a portion of delicious okonomiyaki, it was about 900 - 1,500 yen.
So, for those who are interested to taste Osaka's most popular street food in one place, consider CREO-Ru. What’s more, its takoyaki is halal, which is good news for Muslim travellers. If you are not sure of what to order, try their recommendations listed on the menu. You will be back again and again.
