Okonomiyaki in Galway?

biko

Is there anywhere I can get this in a restaurant? The local restaurants just serve sushi and I have a crave for savoury
Hiroshima style preferred.

Just Like Heaven

There's a lovely little Japanese place out the quay in Galway, think I've gotten okonomiyaki in there. Perhapsit wasn't that restaurant actually err worth a look anyway!

Konata

Thread moved to Japan forum

shindig-jp

Insider knowledge informs me of a guy in Dundalk that has been testing the market place there for the educated cross border Irish palate from a stall setting . Describing the dish as a "Japanese pizza" to the uneducated palate is a big NO! NO! and is best described as a Japanese "crape" left open to allow for the Katsuobushi topping .

I have been told that the majority of his customers are foreign nationals with a good knowledge of the dish and request "Japanese Pizza Please " The stumble upon customer passing the stall with an inquisitive mind and observes the Bonito flakes jumping up and down is of the impression the dish is alive .

The dish is now advertised on his menu as a Japanese Crepe and will only serve the Katsubushi to customers who request it with that topping.

shindig-jp

Further to the above . I have been told , it is Irish children that are now playing Japanese games and reading Manga & Anime recognize words like Okonomiyaki , Sushi, Takoyaki etc want to try and eat the same as the characters in their games and books , they are the ones who drag their parents to the stall.

funky penguin

OP, if you wanted you could also try making them yourself. They're quite easy!

http://japanesefood.about.com/od/holidaytraditionalfood/r/hirookonomiyaki.htm

JapanZone

Interesting thread. I've always thought that the best Japanese food for "exporting" to a market like ireland (with a very small Jpn population) would be gyudon, or donburi in general. usually translated as "rice bowl", donburi are topped with things like stewed beef and onions, chicken/egg and other more "exotic" ingredients.

Gyudon (Beef bowl) is basically sold as fast food in Japan, and the market is so competitive in recent years that you can get a decent and healthy hot meal for about 3 or 4 euros. With local, decent quality beef and onions cheaper here than in Japan, it could be made pretty cheaply.

But please, if you see this and think it's a great idea, don't go and spoil it by creating some sort of woeful imitation. My (Jpn) wife and I had lunch in Wagamama recently and it was really bad. I had a donburi and she had yakisoba but they were not even close to authentic. I finished but didn't enjoy mine. My wife really struggled to eat half hers.

By the way, a new Japanese restaurant "Wasabi" is opening soon in Malahide. Fingers crossed!

biko

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

There's a lovely little Japanese place out the quay in Galway, think I've gotten okonomiyaki in there. Perhapsit wasn't that restaurant actually err worth a look anyway!

If you mean Cafe Wa I'm a regular and no they don't serve Okonomiyaki, and unfortunately they don't know anyone else in Galway that do.
But they did agree Hiroshima style is best

funky penguin wrote: »

OP, if you wanted you could also try making them yourself. They're quite easy!
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/holidaytraditionalfood/r/hirookonomiyaki.htm

Thanks, I think home made is indeed nice but I'm a lazy guy

hibby

JapanZone wrote: »

But please, if you see this and think it's a great idea, don't go and spoil it by creating some sort of woeful imitation. My (Jpn) wife and I had lunch in Wagamama recently and it was really bad. I had a donburi and she had yakisoba but they were not even close to authentic. I finished but didn't enjoy mine. My wife really struggled to eat half hers.

By the way, a new Japanese restaurant "Wasabi" is opening soon in Malahide. Fingers crossed!

I don't want to slag off anyone's business; let's just say I agree with you fully that "Japanese" restaurants in Ireland can be very disappointing. After three bad experiences, I wouldn't willingly go back to the one you mentioned. Still, lots of Irish people seem to love them, so they must be doing something right.

However I have had good experiences with one restaurant (which, oddly enough, is owned and run by an Indian man): Koishi in Ballsbridge. If you go there at lunchtime they do lunch sets in bentou boxes - it might cheer you up if you are feeling nostalgic for Japan!

JapanZone

I did eat in that place in Ballsbridge once. And yes, it was pretty good.

I suppose my comments about Wagamama were a bit harsh because they're not exactly going out of their way to claim to be an authentic Japanese restaurant. The name of the place itself and the dishes on the menu are obviously Japanese but there are no "taste of Japan" or similar claims on the menu. And as you say, they seem to do okay serving what they do so it's quite possible that they have adapted their cooking to give their customers what they want rather than recreate the taste experience of Tokyo. All I know for sure is that I know I won't be going back.

But if I were looking to get into the Japanese restaurant business (something I would never even consider BTW) I'd go for an upmarket izakaya place and go all out to make it authentic, including having at least some Japanese staff.

JapanZone

I just wanted to follow up on this thread and say that myself and my wife recently went to Wasabi, a new Japanese place in Malahide, for dinner. It was excellent! You pay more for sushi, donburi or whatever than you would in Japan but the taste was just like being back in Tokyo! Highly recommend it, but they are busy in the evenings and you need to book.

They don't have an online presence that I can see, so this is the only info I can find. The deal is finished but the restaurant info is correct:
http://www.grabone.ie/dublin/wasabi-japanese-restaurant

biko

It would be nice if we could keep this thread focused on either of two things, Galway or Okonomiyaki.
General Japanese restaurants in the pale isn't of interest for me so please use a separate thread for those.

On topic, I've tried variations of Okonomiyaki at home but can't seem to get it right, could be that I don't use the right sauce.
Will keep experimenting.

Giruilla

How do you make your okonomiyaki sauce?

I've been using Ketchup and Worchester sauce mixed with Soy. It's hard to get the taste right.. have to mix/taste/add multiple times!

hibby

Giruilla wrote: »

How do you make your okonomiyaki sauce?

I've been using Ketchup and Worchester sauce mixed with Soy. It's hard to get the taste right.. have to mix/taste/add multiple times!

I always thought Bulldog sauce was similar to YR "brown sauce" but I never did a taste comparison so I may be well off the mark there.

MomijiHime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZebItIYWJY
This guy is great as well as 'Cooking with dog'