Delights of Chugoku (1): Okonomiyaki lunch at Nagata-ya (長田屋), Hiroshima

This morning, we left Fukuoka and went eastward by Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. Not too far away, and just two hours later we were already exploring this city with its dark World War 2 history.

Food-wise, Hiroshima is synonymous with okonomiyaki, a pancake-like dish with various fillings. There are even 'okonomiyaki villages' - entire buildings with different shops selling this dish - but these are often tourist traps. A brief search online brought us to this place Nagata-ya, supposedly one of the best in Hiroshima and very conveniently located near to the Peace Park. We decided to stop here for lunch.

We were directed to sit at the counter, which was nice as we would be able to observe the chefs in action. The only downside of sitting so close is that your clothes will be smelling of okonomiyaki for the rest of the day! The okonomiyaki is cooked on a hot stainless steel counter, just like in teppanyaki cuisine.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is made in layers, unlike its more well-known Osaka counterpart which simply has all the ingredients mixed within the batter and cooked together. I chose to have an oyster okonomiyaki while my partner went for their 'Original' house special okonomiyaki.

First, preparing the pancake base...

Oysters - the other specialty of Hiroshima, being seared
on the counter. Look at all those oozing juices!

These then go on top of some egg noodles. 

The noodles and oysters are then transferred onto the
pancake base, and generous amounts of shredded cabbage,
bean sprouts, squid and squid chips are heaped upon them.

(The 'Original' house special contains no oysters but uses
shrimps in their place.)

Final topping of thin slices of pork belly.

Then covering with another pancake layer, like a sandwich.

Glazing the top with their special okonomiyaki sauce -
very rich and tangy.

Finally, topped with lots of finely-chopped spring onions,
with an extra raw egg for the 'Original' house special.

Oyster okonomiyaki.

There are no serving plates, by the way; when finished, the okonomiyaki is pushed in front of you and you eat it directly off the counter. This was a lot more substantial than we had expected; not only were the portions really large, each of them was chock-full and dense with the aforementioned fillings. The seafood and vegetables were all very fresh and pleasant, but we found the noodles somewhat dry and greasy, perhaps the result of having sat searing on the counter for a little too long, and subsequently also soaking up more oil from the other fillings on top. The generous amount of fresh spring onions were a lovely touch though, with their mild aroma and crunchy bite. The additional raw egg that came with the 'Original' okonomiyaki also enriched its overall texture with a delightful creaminess when broken and mixed in. We left the restaurant very full and completely recharged for the rest of the afternoon.

The staff, all of them young men, were polite and friendly, and somewhat bemused that I was taking so many pictures along the way. On the whole, this was an interesting experience, to be recommended for a quick, cheap and authentic taste of Hiroshima's street food.