Nagoya City

Sometimes called Japanese pizza, alternatively Japanese pancakes, Okonomiyaki is a staple Japanese dish from the Kansai region – typically Osaka and Hiroshima – but has grown in such popularity that you can get it pretty much all over the country. A mix of batter (hence the pancake comparison), flavored with bonito flakes, and cabbage, it is usually mixed with a variety of savory ingredients such as octopus, pork, kimchi, shrimp, or yam – as well as noodles if it is done Hiroshima-style – and often topped with Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise and dried bonito. In restaurants, this can either be prepared in the kitchen for you or, often, the ingredients are brought to your table, and you cook the thick ‘pancake’ yourself on your teppan hotplate. As always, however, when Kansai excels, the Kanto region – including Tokyo – feels it must compete, which is where monjayaki comes in. Very similar in ingredients, monjayaki differs in how it is always cooked at your table. The batter has an addition of ‘dashi’ broth, giving it a much looser consistency akin to melted cheese, and you slowly eat using tiny spatulas. As long as you can get over the fact that it looks…