Osaka Adventure: Day 8- Kyoto/Nishiki Market and Dotonbori (aka Food Day!)

 OK folks, our trip is winding down, so we need to be selective on what we will do with our limited time here. I'm now the one who is sick, so I couldn't handle things that require a lot of exertion, so we decided on Nishiki Market in Kyoto for our day trip.

If you are a YouTuber, you should check out Simply Dumpling's channel. He featured Nishiki Market, which is why I wanted to go there.  It was crazy packed and the Hilo girl in me came out just a little bit.  I was done being polite when everyone kept pushing me in all directions.  Put my game face on so that I could enjoy the experience that is Nishiki Market.  And boy did we enjoy ourselves!  In preparation, I didn't eat my ususal  musubi breakfast. Instead, I ate my chocolate belgain waffle from the other night.  It was still yummy! 

By the time we got to the market, we were pretty hungry and ready to eat!  I saw a lot of things that I've never seen before. I can't even tell you what those things were!  Here's some that I found interesting...

 We actually bought these shrimp tempura musubis. I think they were in the warmer too long and the shrimp was not crunchy.  The flavor was good, but the soggyness turned me off. I'd pass on this one.

Next  up is the soy donuts!  I think these were good- but you need to eat them fresh. I don't think they'd be as good if it sat around for a bit.  They also sell tofu but we didn't try it.  We only had big bills and had to be selective until we could break a large bill.

 Although it was drizzling that morning, the market is actually covered, so you don't need to worry if its raining.

 Here's another treat Paul wanted to try after watching Simply Dumpling's video.  Its a baby octopus with a quail egg inside its head!  He said it was good and he would eat that again.

Ok this was my favorite food at the market.  These are all those kamaboko/tempura type goodies we saw in Miyajima.  We opted for the quail egg and the potato butter version.  I wish we tried more.  They will also heat it up for you.  Yay!

The quail egg one rocked!!!

I liked the potato one too.  Yum!!!  How come no one sells this back home?

 Then Paul saw this tea stand and wanted to get some omiyage.  They actually grind and roast the tea right there.

While he was buying his tea, I saw this!!  I guess you can't tell how big those shrimp were....  but they were HUGE!  We didn't try them... but maybe next time.

We didn't try this either, but this was featured on the video too. I think you can add booze into your grapefruit too.

Before leaving, I wanted to go to the Snoopy Cafe!  He had a whole store with the cafe upstairs.

They had everything Snoopy!

True story.... I asked Paul to take my picture by this Snoopy and he stands there and poses for me.  LOL!

Here's part of the Snoopy menu.  I'll be straight with you... some of their menu items were a little weird for my taste.

Guess who took home the hand wipes?!

I had the hot milk tea with Snoopy marshmallow.  Cute yah?

We shared the pancake with soy ice cream.  It was pretty good.

Paul had the yuzu lemonade and cookie. I thought the cookie was funny.  So small!

This Snoopy kimono fabric kept catching my eye. They had several types.  Wish I could've bought some!

By then, we were ready to leave.  Paul wanted to go  to find a taiko store in the area, so we decided to say goodbye to Nishiki Market. It was fun!

Just a few steps away, we saw a sign for a tempura bar.  What?! I've always wanted to try but never did find one.  Paul looked at me and asked me if I wanted to have 2nd lunch?  OK!

So this was ridiculously cheap!  Although you could order individual items, we just go the lunch specials.  Paul got the 7 piece for 780 yen and mine was the tendon for the same price.  Whaaaaaaat?  So cheap!  I think my bowl had about as many pieces as his.  Both of ours came with miso soup too. I was so full that I couldn't finish.  Luckily I was with the clean up crew, so he managed to finish what I couldn't.

The surprise best piece was the soft boiled egg!  Whaaaaaat?  Someone back home needs to do this?!

After feeling pretty sick after all that tempura, we decided to walk to the taiko shop.  On the way, I saw this sign.  Why is he so mad?

We found it!  Paul got some goodies to bring home.

Look how big this moon drum is!

After we finished at the Taiko shop, we headed back to Osaka.  The train took us almost all the way home, so we bypassed Kyoto and Osaka station altogether.  We ended up by Don K near our place, so Paul got to go and get some omiyage for his friends.  We then headed back to rest and so I could catch up on my posts.  (I had already had a nap on the train!)

Since were not that hungry after 2 lunches (or so we thought), I suggested we go get my melon pan ice cream for dessert.  So we headed back to Dotonbori for it.  The line was long already, so I waited in line while Paul looked at other stuff.  He decided to order yakisoba from one of the nearby stands while I waited in line.

This sign cracks me up.  Why are they bragging about being the 2nd delicious melon pan? Hmmmm.  Who is the #1?

So there were 5 options... melon pan, melon pan with vanilla ice cream, melon pan with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, melon pan with green tea ice cream and the deluxe version.  As far as I could tell it looked like it had fruits too?  Not sure.  We just shared the plain vanilla one. 

 The melon pan was warm and the ice cream was cold.  Let me just give you some context.  It was pretty darn cold that night!  But I still managed to eat all the melon pan!  And, I do have to say that the melon pan in Asakusa is still my favorite!  Even without the ice cream!

And now for the highlight of the night.... drum roll please....

Yes, I decided to splurge and get the Kobe Beef Steak at the stand right across from the Melon Pan truck. It looks like this. 

They have less costly items, but I felt like I needed to try the Kobe Beef.  There was no grade indicated as far as I could tell.  Mine is the one in the back. I think the stuff in the front was beef tongue.

So the steak was 2500 yen and served on some grilled onions.  And it was worth every penny!

This is me before finding out how outrageously good that steak was!

Paul was so amazed that he wanted to write a poem about it! LOL!  Earlier we passed by a stand that was serving 5200 yen kobe beef bowls but I passed on it.  I just wasn't sure it would be worth 5200 yen?  But maybe it is?!  Paul was seriously contemplating a side trip to Kobe after eating this steak.

I was still hungry, so I got another tornado potato and what I thought was a karaage chicken skewer but I think it was beef kushikatsu.  It was good too.  It was a really good food day!

Saw this storm drain and finally got a photo of it without everyone stepping all over it.

Did I mention it was cold?!  Yes, it was pretty damn cold last night.  

By that time we were ready for bed.  One more full day and then we leave.