My family left Japan just as those fancy toilets started to get popular, so I've never lived in a place with one and still more or less avoid pressing any buttons...
A Kansai native hyping up monjayaki is interesting. Does he like it because it reminds him of okonomiyaki?
My friend Bunya seemed to like monja for two reasons: mastering the cooking technique and the crispy texture of the hard-seared batter. I have heard that there are rivalries between people from Kansai and people from Kanto so it’s interesting he loves monja so much. Where is your family from?
I lived in Tokyo, but my grandparents were elsewhere (Nagano and Okayama), and it's also been a while. My in-laws are in Osaka, so that's where I spend most of my time in Japan these days, but they're also originally from Kagawa. So I have mixed allegiances and really just think they're both great.
One thing this reminds me is that in the fishing town of Hinase, Okayama, they have something called kaki-oko (oyster okonomiyaki). All the places that serve it there seemed to be low-key mom-and-pop places, and it was great.
I've noticed that a lot of okonomiyaki places in Kansai have the servers make it rather than the customers. That could be part of why monja is so appealing to Bunya.
So interesting! I’ve definitely struggled with those Japanese toilets but luckily never tripped an alarm. I’ve also tasted and made okonomiyaki but never sampled monjayaki. It sounds like it’s much the same but minus the yam and egg.
The texture of monja is completely different than that of okonomiyaki. Even though monja comes with bits of seafood and veg, it all coalesces into a mass that resembles melted cheese in texture, whereas with okonomiyaki the batter seems secondary to the cabbage and other mix-ins. At Gaijin they also feature Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki where the protein and veg are placed atop the batter pancake, along with a pile of stir fried noodles. I’m looking forward to trying that version next time!
Great story about your experience in the park bathroom. I can relate since I also had learned a lot from many challenges in my first few years here in Japan:-)
My family left Japan just as those fancy toilets started to get popular, so I've never lived in a place with one and still more or less avoid pressing any buttons...
A Kansai native hyping up monjayaki is interesting. Does he like it because it reminds him of okonomiyaki?
My friend Bunya seemed to like monja for two reasons: mastering the cooking technique and the crispy texture of the hard-seared batter. I have heard that there are rivalries between people from Kansai and people from Kanto so it’s interesting he loves monja so much. Where is your family from?
I lived in Tokyo, but my grandparents were elsewhere (Nagano and Okayama), and it's also been a while. My in-laws are in Osaka, so that's where I spend most of my time in Japan these days, but they're also originally from Kagawa. So I have mixed allegiances and really just think they're both great.
One thing this reminds me is that in the fishing town of Hinase, Okayama, they have something called kaki-oko (oyster okonomiyaki). All the places that serve it there seemed to be low-key mom-and-pop places, and it was great.
I've noticed that a lot of okonomiyaki places in Kansai have the servers make it rather than the customers. That could be part of why monja is so appealing to Bunya.
So interesting! I’ve definitely struggled with those Japanese toilets but luckily never tripped an alarm. I’ve also tasted and made okonomiyaki but never sampled monjayaki. It sounds like it’s much the same but minus the yam and egg.
The texture of monja is completely different than that of okonomiyaki. Even though monja comes with bits of seafood and veg, it all coalesces into a mass that resembles melted cheese in texture, whereas with okonomiyaki the batter seems secondary to the cabbage and other mix-ins. At Gaijin they also feature Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki where the protein and veg are placed atop the batter pancake, along with a pile of stir fried noodles. I’m looking forward to trying that version next time!
Thanks for the clarification! I know there are many styles of okonomiyaki and would like to try the Hiroshima version as well as monja.
Forget the Monja (just kidding) the Japanese toilet story was hilarious!!! I can’t stop laughing!!!
Great story about your experience in the park bathroom. I can relate since I also had learned a lot from many challenges in my first few years here in Japan:-)
I admire your hustle;-)