Gokuraku Udon TKU, Central Kitchen President, Mr. Tanaka Today we're preparing shredded daikon radish and yams, cutting the onions, making onsen boiled eggs, and the tartar sauce. We have to make the soup as well. I quit working as an office worker at 45. At that time I had 3 children I asked my wife, I want to challenge myself as a man. She didn't agree for 2 years. I managed to convince her in the end. Now, 10 years later, I can make a living from making udon. Deep fried tofu There are parts for various dishes. This one is for chicken tempura. This is for the chicken tempura in the riceballs. This is for the chicken and egg bowls. This is for the chicken broth udon. I slice them like this. Staff: Do you change the way of preparing for different parts? Yes. The way to cut, the size, and the seasoning are all different. The seasoning for these are completely different. Salt Black pepper Ginger Soy sauce The ginger is brought directly from Kochi. This makes it taste good and takes away the raw smell. Yams Boiled eggs I do this so I know which ones are raw. Staff: You do that so you can keep track? The ones with lines are already boiled. Onsen boiled eggs Are udon restaurants in Osaka different from those in Shikoku? They're totally different. They used to prepare cooked noodles before the lunch rush. They take out the noodles and reheat it. But... that's how it used to be. Now, there are many high quality restaurants. It's all different. Some places were known for being cheap. Now, everyone is looking for quality. The tempura would be freshly made. Noodles are also served freshly cooked. Staff: Is the food in the restaurant becoming better? Yes, especially in Osaka. It's hard. It can't be expensive, and good taste isn't the only thing. It has to be affordable and tasty. And the service has to be good too. There's a lot of things to consider. Meat Kitsune Wakame Udon Egg Curry Udon Chicken Tempura Curry Udon Meat BK Udon Garlic Meat Udon Fish Stick and Chicken Tempura Riceball With the meat or kelp, dried bonito or seaweed, if the company starts using cheaper ingredients, the staff at the restaurant can't be proud of the food. It's not just because the ingredients are cheaper. If you handle the ingredients, all the employees want to be able to say we're using good ingredients, and that the food is really good. Making udon with this mentality makes it better. This won't completely dissolve. When saturated, it will become thicker and thicker. I add some soy sauce and mix it in. I mainly work in the shadows of this business. I don't go to the restaurants myself. Only a few times a year. I work hard preparing here. The staff will do a good job out there. Osaka, Japan Gokuraku Udon TKU We have a noodle making notebook. We flatten the dough from this morning, in the evening. It takes more than 25 hours for primary aging and secondary aging. Ingredients delivered from Central Kitchen. Preparation is done within our group. I am very grateful for the president doing so much. It must be hard work to do so much preparation. I'm happy when the guests eat our dishes, and when I hear what they say about our food. When making the egg curry, we need to make sure that anyone can make it well. I made this item. Even if you shake it, the eggs will only flow out of this small hole. So the eggs come out evenly. If you use a normal container, you'll pour in too much. If you add too much at once, you won’t be able to make it right. When saying "thank you", even though the customer isn't looking at us, make sure to face the customers, and stay still for 2 seconds. Gokuraku Kake Udon Osaka, Japan Gokuraku Udon Ah-Men If this doesn't finish on time, we can't open. The broth prepared yesterday. Noodle making notebook Vinegar Salt water Staff: Will there be fewer customers on rainy days? Yes. But this restaurant is called "Ah-men", (ame is rain in Japanese) so business is good for Ah-men, even if it rains (ame). Sometimes it's busy even on rainy days. Round herring, dried mackerel, Soda bonito The good flavor doesn't change. The taste will never change. But people from Osaka, especially those from Ikuno, prefer clear soup. The weather is getting cooler. The amount of soup stock has also increased. We can only get this amount in the morning. If you get this wrong, it's a big problem. This is today's soup. Please check. The soup is checked by all the staff. We taste it together, and make sure nothing goes wrong. If there is anything off, they tell me. I can't rely on only my taste. Egg Curry Udon Our popular dish is egg curry. It has a double topping. Egg Curry There's the egg topping, udon, and the curry. We prepare the curry to put in the bottom. We have to prepare because we get many orders. The ingredients are delivered from Central Kitchen. Good morning. Although it's raining today, let's do our best. Let's do this! The restaurant is opening soon. All our "curry" dishes like the Egg Curry or Chicken Tempura Curry, will come with rice. You can get unlimited refills. Egg Curry Udon He's a regular customer with a membership card. I'm already beyond gold and black. I'm in the second phase. Staff: You come here often. Yes, every now and then. What did you order today? The Udon for members It's a member-only menu for October. Making this month's secret menu. It's different every month. I always get this first. Fish Stick Chicken Tempura Riceball Set This might be as much as one cup of rice. (About 2 servings of rice) Look at this size. BK Udon for Ladies Chicken Tempura and Egg BK Udon 2 bowls of Fish Stick, Chicken Tempura and Egg BK Udon Chicken Soup and Green Onion Udon Chicken Tempura Tartar Set Meat Kamatama Udon *Usually served with green onions They've ordered the same dishes before. Staff: The noodles are thick. Yes. I wish I could live a life like this. The riceballs are really big. Guys love it. The noodle making machine is a little far, so it's a race against time. I have to run when we're really busy. Chicken Udon with Shredded Daikon Radish 3 bowls of Egg Curry Udon Osaka, Japan Since 2019, Naoya The owner who used to be a comedian, has 18 years of experience with okonomiyaki. He uses a huge knife to cut the cabbage. He uses the weight of the knife to cut the cabbage, so he doesn't damage the fibers. He quit his job as a comedian, and opened this okonomiyaki restaurant. because of his grandfather's influence. I have lottery tickets for the kids. You can get a toy either way, but some kids want to get the big prize and cry about it. I'm a bit sorry for them, but families like it. A lot of families come with their kids. They open at 11:30. They have counter seats and table seats. The interior looks pretty new. 9 customers came even though it was raining. It was their first time last week, and they're already here again. (Mixed, Shrimp and Egg, Pork and Egg) Okonomiyaki, Pork Modern-yaki and 2 large Yakisoba. Can I add mayonnaise and dried bonito on everything? The noodles are cooked after getting orders. Thick noodles made from carefully selected wheat and a particular combination of them. A lot of cabbage and a little less dough is Naoya's style for okonomiyaki. Preparing for the pork and egg okonomiyaki. What do you want for takeaway? Large Yakisoba, Creamy Cheese Modern-yaki, and 2 Pork and Egg Okonomiyaki. 4 dishes in total? 5 regular customers came in. It takes about 30 minutes to finish the orders for takeaway when they're busy. A lot of sauce goes on top of the mayonnaise. Add the dried bonito flakes, and it's done! Pork and Egg Okonomiyaki and Shrimp and Egg Okonomiyaki Steak for all tables! Pork Modern-yaki and Mix Okonomiyaki Pork and Egg Okonomiyaki, Squid and Egg Modern-yaki This is the Mix Modern-yaki. Their popular yakisoba. 2 large Yakisoba. He's almost done with the next dish. Japanese Yam Steak Their seats are full now. He's cooking the food for takeaway. Japanese Egg Rolls Salty Yakisoba (Pork and Squid) The steak is coming up next. Japanese Beef Sirloin Steak Grandpa's Negiyaki with Beef Tendon Grandpa's Negiyaki with Pork Creamy Cheese, Pork and Egg Okonomiyaki Mr. Nao! Do I come here often? Yes you do. I live across the street. The food is really good. Do you have any recommended dishes? All of them? They're all good. Everything you try will be good. You can't get the same yakisoba elsewhere. Their yakisoba is pretty good. Making the Crispy Tonpei-yaki. Thick pork ribs with tempura bits. The juicy pork matches the crunchy tempura bits. The owner's recommended dish. She's been coming since they started this restaurant. I've tried a lot of dishes, because they're all good. If you come alone, you can't eat that much. When I come with others, I order a variety of dishes. Everything is delicious. Garlic Rice We add plenty of cabbage. I think there's a lot of nutrients in this. There should be enough fiber too. There's not a lot of dough mixed in, so it's easy to make it crispy. I have my own way to cut the cabbage too. I use the weight of the knife when I cut the cabbage. I preserve the fibers and also leave the sweetness too. Making the Creamy Cheese, Pork and Egg Okonomiyaki. The eggs go well with the cheese. This is probably our best dish. The secret to the crunchy texture is the amount of tempura bits inside. Creamy Cheese, Pork and Egg Okonomiyaki Egg and Curry Yakisoba There are a lot of comedians in this world. How long were you a comedian? 5 years. Do your friends who are comedians come here too? Yes, and some work here too. Because we know each other. They come to eat and say it's delicious. I'm so grateful. My grandfather used to run an okonomiyaki restaurant. I've loved okonomiyaki since I was a child. Because of growing up in such an environment, I had the confidence to run an okonomiyaki restaurant myself. I've been cooking part time since high school. Thank you. Toyosaki, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi Good morning. Established in 1978 / Toyosakihanten They're a local good-old Chinese restaurant. I covered their daily work routine. Cabbage They start preparing at 8 am. Onion Bell pepper Who do you think he's shooting? It's us, young ladies. She skims the soup's scum, using egg whites. I know what customers would order because they have their favorite menus, and always order certain dishes each time. Daikon Cucumber I wonder if we'll get customers today. Tofu Did you change the water? / Yes. Green onion Bell pepper stir-fry set, $6.40 / Vegetable stir-fry set, $6.80 / Yakisoba set, $6.80 / Han-chan ramen, $6,80 The egg is cooked just right, as an onsen egg (soft boiled egg). Sweet and sour pork set Welcome! Come in. Here's your change, $2.30. Thank you. We'll see you soon. Thank you. This is for table 4. We've been busy this month. This is for the table in the very back, and this is for the one in the front. Champon noodles Champon Here you go. Yakisoba (Fried noodles) Yakimeshi (Fried rice) Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Established in 1946 / Dotonbori Imai Main branch Sea kelp Deep fried tofu Shrimps Tofu Odamaki mushi (A savory steamed egg custard cup with udon noodles) (Only available in November) Grated ginger Grated yams Odamakimuchi is only available in November. The hot pot is almost ready. Could you cook rice? / Alright. Eggs Green onions Tenzaru soba Duck and egg topped udon Showa-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka There's a back alley off the main road. Chinese restaurant Hominken They're a local Chinese restaurant established 48 years ago. The second-generation owner cooks. Inside the restaurant is the white-based and light. There're also tables upstairs. Green onion Chinese cabbage Onion Cucumber Bell pepper Carrot Egg Tianjin fried rice (Crabmeat omelet fried rice) Gomoku yakisoba (Soy sauce) (Yakisoba with seafoods and vegetables) Mapo tofu Sichuan-style mapo tofu Sichuan pepper (Japanese pepper made in Sichuan) Grilled gyoza Stir-fried vegetable set, $6.40 / Fried chicken set, $6.80 / Sweet and sour pork set, $7.30 We got an order of a fried chicken set. My family runs a greengrocer and this restaurant was our client. Since there's no successor, I came here in 2003. The previous owner has run the restaurant for 30 years. The recipe of cooking yakisoba with eggs has been passed down from the previous owner. Did you see me combining yakisoba with eggs? This makes the yakisoba taste mild. Kita-ku, Osaka-shi / Udon Restaurant Kisuke Thank you. Dried bonito flakes This is the kayaku rice. Let's open the restaurant. Thank you. Green onions Grated ginger This is the last dish for table 6. Deep fried tofu The udon topped with a large chikuwa tempura and a Japanese squash tempura is ready. The meat BK udon is ready. Thank you. The large chikuwa tempura udon and the ume BK udon are ready. BK udon topped with red snapper fish stick tempura and eggs (3 pcs of maitake mushrooms as a topping) and kayaku rice set
