What a fabulous evening! Joined the sales teams to celebrate their successful finish of the quarter. We met in a trendy bar in Harajuku (I have no idea what it was called as forgot to write down the name... But it is partly art gallery and the outside of building is covered with red scaffolding! Painted inside-out with bright colors... Wow!)
Michiaki, Michio, Sugi, Maya and Hiroshi getting ready for food!
After drinks we moved to the Okonomiyaki restaurant at the back.
Okonomiyaki restaurants (okonomiyaki-ya) serve large, savory pancakes made with diced seafood, meat and vegetables. "Okonomiyaki" literally means "cook what you like," and customers get to choose their own favourite ingredients and then cook up their pancakes right at the table. Because the customers choose their own ingredients, Japanese sometimes compare okonomiyaki to pizza, although the similarity really ends there.
Okonomiyaki restaurants (okonomiyaki-ya) serve large, savory pancakes made with diced seafood, meat and vegetables. "Okonomiyaki" literally means "cook what you like," and customers get to choose their own favourite ingredients and then cook up their pancakes right at the table. Because the customers choose their own ingredients, Japanese sometimes compare okonomiyaki to pizza, although the similarity really ends there.
Manabu, Kyoko, Rie and Wataru
The okonomiyaki style of cooking originated in Osaka and continues to be most popular there, although okonomiyaki-yacan be found throughout the country. The restaurants are popular with students on a budget, since the food is inexpensive, tasty, quite filling and fun to prepare.
Rie mixing our batter with veggies.
The menu list the main ingredients available; an order of okonomiyaki consists of a bowl of pancake-like batter, plus a dish of diced vegetables and the main ingredient, such as shrimp or pork. Some restaurants also serve monja-yaki, which is a somewhat thinner and more watery pancake.
Manabu chopping our monja-yaki.
The waiter or waitress will come by to turn on the grill at your table and brush the surface with oil; after that you're on your own. First mix together all the ingredients, then pour the mixture onto the grill when it's hot enough. You'll find small spatulas for flattening the pancake and pushing it into shape, and a larger spatula for turning it over. Before and after turning, you can brush the top of the pancake with Worcestershire sauce, then you can sprinkle it with aonori (green seaweed powder) and katsuo (dried bonito shavings) before eating it.
Getting arty with our pancake :)
Oh yes, you do get instructions card as well ;)
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