the game's afoot

OCTOBER • NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE 29

澳門航空雜誌AIR

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CA

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AZ

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噴灑揮毫HERE TO SPRAY 澳門塗鴉藝術家塑造街頭新面貌THE STREET ARTISTS AIMING TO ALTER MACAU’S IMAGE

碧波作樂 SAILS DRIVE 郵輪變身企業會議及獎勵旅游熱點CRUISE SHIPS RIDE THE CORPORATE-EVENT WAVE

紅顏悅色A STUDY IN

SCARLET 北京處處喜氣洋溢

RED IS EVERYWHERE IN BEIJING, FROM FAÇADES TO FASHION AND FOOD

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OSAKA | 亞洲聚焦

Uncovering culinary treasures in Osaka isn’t tough — just do as the

locals do, get your legs moving and eat your way across town on

any given night of the week

T H E G A M E ’ S A F O O T

Text by Biju SukumaranTranslation by Jess Lit

Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

美味足跡發掘大阪美食寶藏一點

也不困難，只要學當地人

安步當車，一定會在全城

發現許多好滋味


迴轉輸送帶上是一碟又一碟的壽司卷。經過一番狼吞虎嚥後，眼前的塑膠碟子已疊成一座小山。仔細一看，空碟子裡只剩下一點醬油及青芥末。我不斷地把碟子疊高，其他客人也一樣。雖然已心滿意足，但我相信意猶未盡的不只我一個。在大多數城市，這一餐應已足夠。但既然來到大阪，又豈能辜負這裡數之不盡的美食佳餚呢？走出店外，街道兩旁的行人道上，處處都

有酒店、餐廳。大阪人習慣每走一段路，就停下來吃點東西，並重複多次。大阪人稱之為「kuidaore」，意指「吃到倒下去為止」。這個城市的嗜吃文化，驅使所有市民和游客不停地尋尋覓覓，吃了又吃。位於心齋橋地鐵站不遠處的道頓堀，一身古

銅色、貼閃亮假睫毛的少女和作Lolita甜美打扮的年輕人招搖過市。在烏冬麵店裡，穿傳統和服的男女隔著桌子，臉帶羞澀地相視凝望。如果說東京竹下通是時尚達人的聖地，那麼這裡

就像是時裝伸展台。戎橋是道頓堀的主要橋梁之一，連接兩大

主要購物餐飲區，人潮擁擠。裝上霓虹燈的巨大固力果廣告板，把高舉雙臂的固力果吉祥物Glico Man的身影倒映在水中。站在許多日式居酒屋的路邊的游客爭相與染了金髮和一身仿曬膚色的日本美眉合照，氣氛熱鬧。道頓堀曾是風月場所的所在，17世紀經由商

人平野藤次開鑿，並將道頓堀與木津川及東橫堀川連接，使這裡的情況逐漸改觀。平野藤次去世後，江戶幕府開展大型的城市建設工程，並於1621年把道頓堀打造成娛樂區。這區很快成為表演日本歌舞伎及文樂木偶戲的傳統劇場中心。但二次大戰後，咖啡座、餐廳與酒吧更受游人歡迎。在傳統的日式居酒屋，客人可選擇坐在西式

餐桌或日式榻榻米墊子上。這裡是日本上班族下班後最喜歡的聚腳地，如今還多了游客

大阪是眾多日本經典菜式的集中地

Osaka is a one-stop destination for a vast array of Japanese dishes


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TRAYS OF SUSHI PASS BY ON A CONVEYOR BELT. Plastic plates are stacked before me like monuments to my gluttony. I examine the empty dish in front of me: it’s dotted with soy-sauce splatters and dabs of wasabi. As I add it to the nearest pile, I notice other customers doing the same. As sated as I am, I’ve a hunch I’m not the only one thinking there’s still a lot of eating to be done tonight.

Outside, pedestrians wander from one eatery to the next. In Osaka, it’s customary to stop for a bite, move on, then stop for another, with the process repeating as many times as possible. Osakans have a word for it — kuidaore — “to ruin oneself by extravagance in food”. It’s an ethos here, a force that all but compels residents and

visitors alike to eat and explore and eat some more.

On a street in DĿtonbori District, near Shinsaibashi Station, tanned, artifi cial eyelash-adorned young women stroll past teens dressed as Victorian-era Lolitas. While Tokyo’s Harajuku Station, another youth-culture hot spot, tends to feature fashionistas lounging in groups, it’s more of a runway here in Osaka.

Ebisubashi, one of the main bridges

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across the DĿtonbori Canal, is a popular meeting place. The neon lights of an electronic billboard featuring local candy company mascot Glico Man, a runner with arms raised in triumph, shine

Kuidaore 意指「吃到倒下去為止」

OSAKANS HAVE A WORD FOR IT — KUIDAORE — TO RUIN ONESELF BY

EXTRAVAGANCE IN FOOD


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和年輕人。除了啤酒，居酒屋的炸豬排、炸蝦和蔬菜天婦羅也令人難以抗拒。大阪到處都可見到河豚料理。河豚肉質細膩

芳香，被日本人視為「魚之極品」。河豚遇敵能使身體膨脹以嚇阻掠食者。其外貌看似無甚威脅，但實際上其體內含有致命的神經毒素。要處理河豚的廚師都必須經過特別訓練，既要確保經處理後的河豚可安全食用，又要保留微量毒素以增加其刺激性。食客品嚐河豚後，唇部、牙齦與口腔會有些微麻痺，就像中毒一樣。毫無畏懼的食客不妨走過「蟹道樂」（店門前掛了一隻巨型螃蟹的螃蟹專門店）及現造章魚燒的攤子，直奔到以河豚聞名的Zubora-ya餐廳。在道頓堀要找河豚餐廳非常容易，因為他

們都在門前掛了一個河豚型的燈籠。除了常客以外，也吸引外國游客。若初次嘗試者，以燉湯、天婦羅及刺身呈獻的「河豚三味」是不錯之選。切得薄如紙的河豚刺身以花卉造型及陶瓷盤子呈獻。在街頭售賣天婦羅的小販，把客人選擇的肉

類和蔬菜炸成美味的天婦羅，附加開胃蘸醬。走過燈光刺眼的彈珠店，有一間串燒店專售賣各種配以又甜又濃的醬汁的串燒肉類。不遠處，許多游客正忙著和食倒太郎一起合照。這樽身着紅白條紋衣服的唱歌打鼓小丑，是道頓堀的地標及吉祥物。可惜的是，食倒太郎身後八層樓高的食店Cui-daore已結束營業。日文「Okonomi」是指隨你喜歡。日式大阪

燒的廚師雖然在煎餅糊中加入熏肉、乳酪、青蔥及其他蔬菜，但最後都能把所有材料統統壓成薄餅狀的圓餅。以鐵板熱騰騰送上再切成楔形，最後灑上鰹魚碎，讓熱氣令它們「手舞足蹈」。日本人有這麼一說：「穿倒京都、吃倒大

阪」。踏足道頓堀，一路細嚼品味各種各樣的日本美味佳餚，自然開心地隨着食倒太郎的鼓聲翩翩起舞。

on the waters of the canal. Once a red-light district, DĿtonbori was gradually transformed thanks largely to a 17th-century businessman, Doton Yasui, who began lengthening the canal to link two branches of the Yohori River. After his death, a series of urban-planning projects led to DĿtonbori’s designation as an entertainment district. The area quickly gained fame as a centre for drama, playing host to performances of kabuki (Japanese dance-drama) and bunraku (puppetry). After the theatres were destroyed during World War II, cafés, restaurants and bars became the district’s drawing card.

In one type of venue, traditional pubs called izakaya, visitors are given the choice of sitting at Western-style tables or on tatami mats. Though izakaya are most popular with Japanese “salarymen”, growing numbers of tourists and younger Japanese have begun frequenting

（上圖左起順時計）戎橋上的固力果Glico Man霓虹燈，「蟹道樂」店門前掛有巨型螃蟹，Zubora-ya餐廳的河豚燈籠，道頓堀滿佈咖啡廳和酒吧

Clockwise from top left: Glico Man sign by the Ebisubashi Bridge; Kani Doraku restaurant’s famous giant-crab billboard; Zubora-ya restaurant’s pufferfi sh lantern; DĿtonbori side streets are home to many cafés and bars


大阪的嗜吃文化驅使市民和游客不停地尋覓美食

THE TRACES OF NEUROTOXIN IN THE FISH CAUSE A SUBTLE NUMBING OF THE LIPS, GUMS OR MOUTH

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亞洲聚焦 | OSAKA

them. Beyond beer, punters can enjoy dishes such as tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) and tempura (battered and deep-fried seafood and vegetables).

In Osaka, you’ll also fi nd fugu, a fi sh prized by connoisseurs for its fl avour. Fugu, literally “river pig”, is also known as pufferfi sh owing to its ability to infl ate its body to scare off predators. An otherwise harmless-looking species, fugu also contain a neurotoxin. For this reason, chefs who prepare it for consumption must be specially trained to remove enough of the poison to make the fi sh edible but not so much that it fails to work its magic on diners. The traces of neurotoxin that remain in the fi sh cause a subtle numbing of the lips, gums or mouth. Intrepid diners eager for a taste should make their way to Zubora-ya, a famed fugu restaurant near Kani Doraku, an eatery whose instantly recognisable giant-crab billboard makes it a local landmark.

（右圖）廚師靜待食客光臨；（下圖）日式八爪魚丸

子攤檔

Right: a chef ready to work his culinary magic; Below: street

vendors making takoyaki, molten balls of battered octopus

Outside Zubora-ya, the operator of a tempura stand deep-fries meats and vegetables chosen by customers, serving them with a tangy dipping sauce. Past the uncomfortably bright lights of an arcade is a yakitori restaurant where skewered bits of char-grilled meat in a sticky, sweet sauce are served. Nearby, tourists pose for photos next to the statue of Kuidaore Taro, a mechanical, drum-playing clown dressed in red and white who is the mascot of both the area and the way of life. The statue stands in front of the now defunct Cui-daore Restaurant, an eight-storey cathedral honouring Osaka cuisine.

At an okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) eatery — okonomi means “what you like” — the chef adds ingredients like bacon, cheese, and green onion to the dish’s pancake-batter base, somehow managing to fl atten everything into its pizza-like form on a fl atiron grill. The dish is served sizzling hot and cut into wedges.

The Japanese have a saying: “Dress in kimonos ’til you drop in Kyoto, eat ’til you drop in Osaka”. Setting foot in DĿtonbori is an invitation to dance to the drumbeat of the Kuidaore clown and do some restless exploring of this city’s mouth-watering culinary culture.


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