Kushikatsu Daruma, Osaka
Everyone who visits Osaka will recognise the name Daruma as the best restaurant for Kushikatsu. I was quite surprised that Daruma stickers were also available in LINE Chat. Unfortunately the sticker can only be purchased with a Japanese LINE Chat account.
The shop above it is Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku M. The restaurant is very famous for its beef.
We went to the Daruma branch at Hozenji Yokocho, an alley that housed more than 60 bars and eateries. When compared to Dotonbori, this alley with stone paved lane holds the charm of old Osaka. It was very easy to reach from Osaka Namba station and literally less than 5 minutes away from Dotonbori area.
Kushikatsu from Daruma was so delicious that we ordered more the second time around. Daruma apparently only had 3 tips for a good kushikatsu: fresh oil, good batter and their own original sauce. I must say that those three things sound really simple but they prepared their kushikatsu very well. This must be the reason why they're around since 1929.
We went early for dinner so the restaurant was still quite empty. We were seated and an English menu was brought to us. From here onward, you have a choice to order a-la carte kushikatsu or just go with the set menu which we did. A bowl of cabbage will be brought to your table and it was quite refreshing to have cabbages in between deep fried items.
There are some rules that you need to know when you eat at Daruma:
- Double dipping is a big NO in Daruma as you can see from sign that was put above the sauce tray.
- Do not transfer all kushikatsu onto your plate because then it will have your germs and you won't be able to dip it into the sauce tray. Just take one that you want to eat, dip it and transfer it onto your plate afterwards.
If you're looking for comfort food when you visit Osaka, definitely visit the Kushikatsu Daruma. They served a lot of deep fried items such as cheese, chicken, pork, beef, quail egg and even oysters. Kushikatsu Daruma at Hozenji opens from 12PM to 10:30PM with last order needs to be submitted half an hour before closing time.