395.2 km

Review excerpt: Inside Taiwan Tanpao, it’s a one-stop shop: It’s shōronpō dumplings or bust. But even with such a limited menu there is much to enjoy.

395.3 km

Review excerpt: From the charcoal grill try a few of the staples at Sumiba Yakitori Enza, including tsukune (minced chicken skewers) sweetened with a drizzle of soy sauce glaze. Also worth ordering is the negima — chicken bits interlaced with leeks and once more ...

395.3 km

Review excerpt: Umaiya is old-school; there are no innovations here, and furthermore there’s no mayonnaise, so don’t bother asking for it.

395.4 km

Sushi Masa lies somewhere between the ubiquitous unfussy kaiten-zushi restaurants and the upscale fashionable places where one is awed into silence (by anticipation of the fare and the bill), but in terms of price and atmosphere it is closer to the former.

395.4 km

Garb Monaque, a cafe, bar and restaurant, occupies a funky building — think of a birdcage that’s been twisted at both ends — between Osaka Station and Grand Front Osaka, two playgrounds devoted to conspicuous consumption.

395.4 km

On a recent visit for lunch, the mood was somber — there was only one other table occupied. And the appetizers didn’t help the ambience. I had melon au jambon aux crudites, with slices of melon, Parma ham and chargrilled eggplant. My companion had ...

395.4 km

Try to find Wai Tan Hong Lu Deng, a small and tatty shop — which gets especially cold on winter nights — that serves Chinese dumplings. The kitchen stands on one side of the narrow thoroughfare, with tables covered in vinyl tablecloths on the ...

395.5 km

Review excerpt: When visiting Atariya for lunch it’s worth it to try and beat the afternoon rush to secure one of the tenshin lunches — there are only 10 served each day, and it’s first come, first served. As soba lunch sets go, it’s ...

395.5 km

Review excerpt: The curry pot at Tabaccoya is on a slow boil throughout the day, with ingredients continually being fed into it. Little had changed when I returned: it was just as dark and “intimate” as I remembered. This is a counter only joint; ...

395.5 km

Mantenya might possibly be the weirdest -- and it could turn out to be the most memorable -- restaurant I've ever set foot in. When I say pocket-sized, I'm not exaggerating by much. There are three tables, two of which practically spill out the ...