Menya Gaten Namba Shinsaibashi Sohonten — Restaurant in Osaka

On this particular trip to Osaka, I searched for Nagoya style 'Taiwan noodles' as my first meal upon arrival. The photos online looked enticing so there was no agonizing over where to eat.

This is a small establishment with mainly counter top dining. There was hardly anybody when I arrived around 2.30pm and the ordering process was through the familiar push button machine common all over Japan. Unfortunately, there weren't any instructions in English but that's never a deal breaker with Google translate nowadays. Besides, with a small menu, choosing isn't a problem anyway.

My instinctive choice was the Taiwan Mazesoba deluxe. The bowl was served within 5 minutes and was bigger than I thought. All the ingredients were neatly arranged around the bowl, covering the underlying noodles completely. What I especially liked was an extra portion of braised pork cubes in addition to the usual minced pork topping. The pork was nicely flavored with just the right amount of saltiness. Once evenly mixed in, all the toppings blended well with the soft and chewy noodles. Truly satisfying and this pretty much set a positive tone for the rest of the trip ! I have no qualms giving this a...

Felt ripped off at another fancy pants restaurant just down the street. Still hungry. Saw the big photos of yummy noodles with generous amounts of fixtures. Order at the ticket machine. 5 minutes later you are served a yummy and flavorful bowl of noodles. The young chefs are stoic but straight to the point. Big portions for japan and a great value. Came back 3 days later and probably will a lot of more. Try the curry or Taiwan style noodles. Either or , you...

Had an amazing dish at Menya Gaten this evening - noodles with mince, cheese, garlic (warning: lots of it!) and pork in a broth. Oishee!! 😍😋 Japanese ticket machine, but they have an English menu that corresponds to the machine's buttons to make it easy to order. Insert coins or notes, press desired button and take the ticket to the staff to make...