Hakkakuan Osaka Station City — Restaurant in Osaka

Came here for the tofu only cuisine after trying something similar in 2019 in a different location.

Very happy to find. It’s on the 16th floor of the JR osaka station centre - i think it’s part of the Daimura building - once we found the billboards it was easy to find.

Sadly the QR code provided to access the English menu didn’t work, but we used google translate app to scan the menu via the camera which worked for us.

Ordered the autumn special selection menu which is a little kaiseki course with 8 small dishes.

The course starts with fresh soy curds (oboro tofu) and you sprinkle little condiments to eat it with- Umeboshi flavoured sesame seeds were a tasty surprise. I think the menu said you could get unlimited refills but that one bowl lasted the both of us for the whole meal.

Various dishes - don’t recall all the names from using the google translate app to read but very tasty (mackerel wasn’t too bad even tho I’m not a fan of cold pickled mackerel but it lingered harmoniously).

Have to be a bit cautious as what I thought was grated radish on the mix grain rice was actually fresh wasabi- and there was more on the orange square/tofu.

The yellow ezu jelly had grated ginger on it so that burned a bit but it was a flavourful burn.

The kamaboko/fish paste soup was light and refreshing and the fishcake soft and bouncy like a fluffy pillow.

They even had a fishcake made to look like an autumn leaf which I think would have taken a lot of skill.

We got bamboozled with the 8th dish as it was called dessert when brought out but it was the soy milk gratin - very tasty & savoury

The dessert was tofu mousse and fig sauce. The fig sauce is made in house according to the server and the tofu mousse is light and almost non existent on the tongue and melts with the sweetness of the fig and comes with a serve of slightly bitter green tea to cut through the sweetness.

All the servers were very friendly and cheerful and helpful and have google translate on hand to assist with answering all our questions about the gratin and clear our confusion (cos we really wanted to know where they got the cheese for the dessert haha). There’s also a button on the table for asking for service (in our case extra genmaicha tea).

Nice healthy tasty meal when one has overindulged for the holiday and a lovely reset 😋 (especially after indulging in 2days of Kobe beef 😅)

Perhaps a little guide to explain which dishes of the kaiseki course to eat first or in which order , like the oboro tofu guide would be helpful for those unfamiliar with this style of cuisine

Looking forward to the next time i...

I was surprised to see such a high rating in Japan. Compared to my home country, most restaurants here are rated lower, around 3 stars as an average. I discovered after eating that the restaurant asks patrons to review after eating. I wonder if this might also be the reason I see more non-Japanese reviews.

I came in for dinner alone on a Sunday evening and was seated immediately without a reservation. I ordered a set meal.

I do not have much experience with tofu, but this is the best that I have had. They serve very fresh tofu in a variety of ways. I thought the sukiyaki was nice, but the tofu was the notable item. In the end, among the best meals that I have had in this trip to Japan for a pretty reasonable price.

They brought extra fresh tofu, and I was able to become full after coming in very hungry. The set I ordered even came with a nice dessert (not pictured).

Did not experience any issues with the service. The staff was patient with my poor Japanese and reverted to English...

Well deserved high Google rated restaurant specializing in tofu. Their meals are set menu meals. It is not served a la carte.

Pro tip 1: they have special kaiseki meals. You have to pre order it. From Google it didn't give us the option. You have to go into the restaurant website to do it.

Pro tip 2: reserve anyway. We booked it same day but tried to book an extra person or rebook but couldn't because their booking was full. They are highly rated and their quick filling reservation reflects that. They still accommodated our extra guest so that was good.

Everyone was very happy with their meals (5 of us from different walks of life). My mother who is very picky was praising it. She said it was ok and good which is a lot coming from her.

Hopefully next time I can try one of the higher kaiseki that you need to pre order. My particular order was the special kaiseki of the season. We also ordered the sukiyaki beef, the Shabu Shabu pork and the Shabu Shabu beef...