What’s a bunch of friends to do after a night of sake tasting and waterfall diving?
Eat. Preferably food of the greasy variety.
Tyler had the perfect spot in mind for our first non-alcoholic meal of the day – Yakisoba.
We trudged a couple blocks from our hotel and purchased our food tickets from a standard, but still nifty, machine. The restaurant was packed when we got there but soon one of the staff gestured for us to take a seat at the grill where the chefs were seamlessly and gracefully stirring up one dish after another.
Within moments we were each presented with mounds of freshly cooked noodles which we slathered with our fair share of mayo, brown sauce, and aonori (seaweed flakes).
It had all the elements that we were looking for in a post-celebration meal:
- Greasy? check.
- Salty? check.
- Contrasting textures? check.
- A delicious odor left in our clothes that will remind us of our meal for the next couple hours? double check.
Still not used to only having a one course meal, Tyler led us to Chinatown where we topped off our sodium-laden lunch with some sweetness. We had to try the jin deui (sesame balls or, for our fellow Filipinos, buchi buchi) and while not the best we’ve had, it did satisfy our cravings for something sweet, fried, and crunchy.
Tyler enlightened us with these bite sized wonders. They are similar to a creme puff, but covered with a crunchy chocolate shell and filled with a cool, smooth and just-a-tad sweet filling.
Finally well fed, we trolled around the shops in the area, bought a couple books, and tried on a hat or two.
Later that night we ventured to Tyler’s apartment for homemade okonomiyaki and a sake soiree. These past 48 hours were truly memorable — packed with amazing food, absurd scenarios, and heaps of merriment —the perfect way to spend our first days in Kobe.