Tenmabashi - Spanish Food & Wine Bar

El Puente (Out of Business)

Access:

-Osaka Subway, Tanimachi Line - Tenmabashi Station, North Exit
-Keihan Railway, 京阪本線 (Keihan (hon-sen) Main Line) - Tenmabashi Station
When exiting both trains, look for any signs pointing to the OMM Bldg. (where El Puente is located). The closest station is the subway, but you can walk to El Puente from both stations in under 5 minutes, via underground walkways. If you're leaving from the Keihan Railway, head for the exit near the Tanimachi Line of the subway (going through another exit could have you out on the streets or walking toward the castle). I couldn't find the number on OMM website, but I'll be back there tomorrow, so I'll check then. :)

The 盛り合わせ (moriawase) Tapas, featuring a few different items from the Tapas menu.

Food

El Puente is a Spanish restaurant, so it features various types of Tapas, Paella, soups and some specials. The menu is hand-written, which can me either of 2 things. One, they change the menu often enough that they don't need a printed one, or two, they're keeping it D.Y.I.

Chicken and Mushroom Paella

A butt-load of butter. I think they need to work on their butter to bread proportions.

Drinks

☼Atmosphere☼

El Puente is not a huge place, but I think it's average for eateries in shopping malls/arcades. It's on the B2 floor of the OMM building, and it was almost the only open, and certainly the only Spanish restaurant, on the entire floor (that entire building feels like it's stuck in 10 years ago..). I should have taken more photos of the entire, but I feel a bit guilty about snapping away while people are eating nearby.


Anyway, it does have a bar, a small space for about 4 tables in the back, some tables opposite the bar, then some tables right near the entrance. It leaves a lot of space for walking to get your drinks without bumping into anyone, so that's always a plus. It was also relatively quiet, with subtle Spanish/Classical/Jazz-ish music playing in the background, so great for a date or a small intimate party with a few friends!

$$Pricing$$

With the nomihoudai at 1480 yen, the Tapas platter at 1280 yen, the paella at 1590 yen, a separate order of bread and butter at 280 yen, and 540 yen hot chocolate and churros for desert, our grand total for a dinner for 2 was 6,650 yen. It's pretty normal for a meal that includes nomihoudai, but a little expensive if you remember you can get all-you-can-eat-and-drink for about the same price. BUT!! I think the food quality and presentation is definitely much better than your run-of-the-mill all-you-can-eat place, so it's certainly worth a visit!

♥Final Impression♥

I love a good buffet. Well actually, that's not true. I love most buffets, but a really good buffet? Perhaps.. that's even more than love. MMMfood.

I really shouldn't be writing this while I'm hungry, but if I put this off any longer, it'll be a new year :P

The Platinum
Umeda, Osaka, Japan

Access Info
〒530-8217　
大阪市北区梅田3-1-3
(Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Umeda 3-13-3)
10F
TEL 06-6347-0542
Hours of Operation 11:00～23:00(Last order: 22:00)
The Platinum Lucua Webpage
Lucua Access Info Page

The Platinum is located on the tenth floor of the new (and still purty) Lucua shopping mall in Umeda, Osaka. It's right next to the JR Osaka Station, though a bit of a walk from the Hankyu and Municipal Subway lines. I wouldn't say more than a five minute walk though.

FOOD

At this particular buffet, there is a lunch buffet and a dinner buffet (a lot of the other places I've been to offer the same food all day long). With the lunch buffet, a lot of the basics like salads, pizza, tandoori chicken (yes!), 3 other types of tasty chicken (YES), this pumpkin dish that reminded me of stuffing, french fries, potato salad, pasta, as well as udon noodles, korokke (it's kind of like a hash brown), fried rice, some beef items, shrimp, soup, white rice, a chocolate fondue and an assortment of desserts. Oh, and all you can drink white and red wine. With dinner, I think the number of items available goes up a bit, with the inclusion of nigiri sushi.


The lunch will run you about 1500-1600 yen (about 18-20 USD) for 90 minutes while dinner starts around 2500 yen (about 31USD). Which is truly amazing when you see the variety, presentation, and most importantly, when you taste the food. It is GOOD. As the colloquialism goes, they put their foot in it. For reals.

Do you see that?! It was delicious, and I really couldn't tell you what it was aside from being a meat food. And it's really surprising for me because I'm a pretty picky eater. I know what I like, and I rarely try new things without peer pressure, but I would eat everything here.

Except all the desserts. But Japan really isn't up on the dessert front.

However, if you like your deserts sans everything good about desserts American amounts sugar, then you won't be disappointed. (Sorry, I took the photo after destroying a jello fruit cup :3).

Plus wine. I'm a big fan of free red wine now. ;)

I highly, super highly, like Tokyo Sky Tree highly, recommend this place if you're in Osaka and looking for some good food. It's not necessarily traditional Japanese food, but it's got the Japanese service and it's GOOD. I don't think I can stress that enough.



And since I'm sharing photos from this day, I'll share my outfit from that day as well. :)

I can't seem to separate that shirt and jacket. They just go so well together??

Also, lot's of a red. Kekeke..













Unfortunately, I've been slacking on the outfit front, but when I do take out photos, I take a lot more of the same one, if that's some sort of consolation. Cake would be a better consolation, but I have none :<

Anyway, you check out more of this outfit on the We♥Kansai tumblr, which also gets posted on more often since there is less pressure in the writing department. eHeheh..


I still have a post about my trip to Lake Biwa in Shiga, plus I'm going to update the Halloween post with some photos from work. As for this week, it's mah burfdey!! HAAY. And my boss is throwing me an Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party at the bar, costumes and all. So I'll probably get to posting that around Christmas (I kidd!! but seriously.. I'm going to be more prompt in the future I hope).

And then I'll be off to Nagashima Spa Land next week! And then my band will have a live after that..!! Holy crap, I think I have work to do.. DD:

On that note (no pun intended), if you're in Osaka and free on Monday evening, come check out my band :)
It's being sponsored by the Yoshimoto talent agency, so it's a bit of a battle of the bands type deal where the winner can participate in other Yoshimoto events. Here's hoping!!



★Peaces★

So I'm testing a new format for organizing places I've eaten and food photos..! Nomnomnom, enjoy yes?

San Siro サンシーロ
Umeda, Osaka, Osaka, JP

Access:
〒530-0001
大阪府大阪市北区梅田1-11-4
大阪駅前第4ビルB1
TEL:050-5522-4031
 Hours: 11:00am til Midnight (last order is at 11pm)

The closest station to this lovely little hole in the wall is Higashi-Umeda on the Tanimachi Line. Of course, seeing as the whole of Umeda is connected by a myriad of underground tunnels, any of the other Umeda stations (JR Osaka, JR Kitashinchi, Hankyu Umeda, Hanshin Umeda, Nishi-Umeda on Yotsubashi Line, Umeda on Midosuji Line) will, as long as you can find your way to the Higashi-Umeda walkways. The hallways for the Tanimachi line should lead to a dead end of ticket gates, so from there you have to go up some stairs to your left, through some doors, and you'll find San Siro to your right.

 I'm not a real food enthusiast, so I won't go into any details about authenticity and such. I really don't care, as long as it tastes good and is CHEAP (I'm a simple person really).

San Siro, despite it's what-I-like-to-call-fancy trappings, is pretty reasonably price as far as bars go in Japan. It's definitely in the western-style, with large format TVs hanging about, but then there's usually opera music pouring from the speakers. To go with the whole "Italian" them I would suspect. :)

ALSO, one of the few places with Heineken. That itty-bitty one was 400 yen and the garlic bread-sticks were on the affordable side as well, and for those drinkers out there, they offer All-you-can-drink for an hour and a half.



But seeing as you can get alcohol literally everywhere, the biggest draw for me is the pizza. Hot DAMN is this pizza good. This one is the Margarita pizza which is only 780 yen and it's more than enough to enjoy all on it's lonesome. If I'm feeling particularly Hulky, I could be tricked into ordering two, but I would never make it through the second one~





Since everything was just so reasonable, we ordered this huge cream puff for desert. It was so goood ;w;...

This puff was probably 150 or 198 yen and so,so worth it.

On a separate trip, I also had their Ichiro Tart, 340yen, which was pretty good too!

Seems like a great place for throwing a party or going to each with a bunch of people. A shame it's not open later, but that might be connected to the fact that it is located within the bowels of some office building.

If you're in Umeda, and you really want some GOOD pizza, then go here. Unless you can find that place in Nakazaki-cho~ *mischievous giggle?*

Hello..!!♪♫
I hope all are well and have been enjoying spring. Since the second season of Game of Thrones has hit the airwaves, my Sundays are chock-full of.. awesome. Raunchy awesome, but tastefully raunchy? Well, that doesn't make it sound much better, but the series is quite good. I'm eagerly waiting for the 6th book. ANYWAY, I'm loving spring. And I've gotten back into vlog-ing, so I thought I'd share a recent one since it definitely applies to the daily life concept of this site (I do keep the concepts in mind though I haven't really been... keeping to them lol).

So yeah, check it out, and if you'd like more information, just let me know..!♪
I'm making a weird face in the thumbnail.. I better go change that D:...

★Peaces★

Good lord have the past few weeks been slow. D:
But that's not always a bad thing...

At least I was able to basically wait inside my house until spring returned, and it has..! The world is such a lovely place when my toes aren't frozen ;)

Did I mentioned is snowed earlier this week when I was at work.

At least it's spring in some places..

Anyway, I haven't made any real plans for writing up on anything, so I just wanted to share some photos with outings with friends and snapshots about town and some outfits.

This is something I shot while waiting for a friend in Namba. Out near Bic Camera. ;)





At a sports shop in Ame-mura, they have this huge cardboard cutout of the Japanese national soccer team, so I shoved my face in. I have no idea whose face I'm replacing..

I should ask Shota, I'm certain he knows :P






An ambiguous shot taken while eating at Cafe Rodeo with Maha from Kansai Gyaru Salaryman & Co. :D They had the most awesome-sauce ham and cheese sandwich I've ever had plus blankets and feet warming pillows. We've decided that if we're ever needing a cafe stop when clubbing, this will be the spot ♪

Speaking of hanging out with friends~~






★Purikura★
I met up with Yuu waaaay back in early Feb..! She's a nurse, so her schedule is pretty hectic and this was the first time we'd actually hung out since we met back in December. D: Anyway, she's a puri-pro. All her poses were so good (;o;) I feel like I need to practice..
 See!? I look like such an amateur...

I also took purikura with Maha! She's so gorgeous too~ I love her WC sweater too! ♥

Outfits♫
Most recent outfit. Actually, today's outfit :P
I'll be going out after I post this blog Lol But I had to keep it comfy and casual. Are skulls and ripped jeans considered casual???
Sure they are~ :)












With the sweater from my WC lucky bag~ And my new shorts from Fig&Viper.
I don't remember where I was going... Probably to work D:













This is what I wore when I went out with Maha..! :D It was still pretty cold, so I have to through on some tights under my socks. I'm really looking forward to doing a tight-less version of this :P















That junk pile behind me in most of the photos is Shota's clothes. For some reason, he doesn't like keeping them in his chest drawers, even though he has the most space. I don't get it..

And I'll end this post with a little food pr0ns. At all the McDonalds in Japan, they've been going through their Big America set of fantasy burgers. They create these crazy-combo burgers, supposedly based on various cities and/or famous places in America, but only put them out for weeks at a time, before hiding them away, never to be seen again. Out of respect for my internal organs, I don't go to McDonalds, but the Pokemon Master within in decided that I need to catch them all... Broadway Burger is actually the second in the series.. I think, but it was pretty good. Lots of meat, but some fresh veggies tossed on top, so that adds nutrients, right? :P

I haven't been back since I bought this burger though. Maybe that's some sign my subconscious is trying to send to me... ah well.

I hope everyone is doing well and has made it through the winter season unscathed..! Before you know it, it'll be spring again, and we'll have something else to complain about (or not, we hope!). Take care! ♥

★Peaces★

So not too long ago, the lovely Monica Ai in Kyoto requested that I write about some Osaka food. And I, being the completely basic person that I am, instantly went "like Okonomiyaki?? but everyone knows about that already..!" But she suggested something even better..!

Kushikatsu!!! :D She's so smart~~ :]
Thanks sooo much for the awesome suggestion Monica..! Hopefully you'll get to check this place out too, because it was pretty delicious :3
So, without further ado, let's introduce:

横綱法善寺店
<Yokozuna Hozenji shop>

I think this shop is probably one of the more gaudy of the kushikatsu places I've wandered pass, with tons of signs advertising the variety of food served.


Access Info:
〒542-0076 大阪府大阪市中央区難波1-6-22
542-0076 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City
Chuo Ward, Namba 1-6-22
This shop is pretty close to the mainstreet in Namba (Ebisubashi) and you can find it to your right when heading north toward Shinsaibashi. You can check out some maps on Hot Pepper Gourmet or GuruNavi if you need a little more help since it doesn't seem this place has it's own webspace.
The nearest train stops would be Namba Station on the JR, Nankai, and subway lines, or Osaka Namba Station on the Kintetsu/Hanshin line. For the subway, you can take the Midosuji Line, Sennichimae Line or Yotsubashi Line. No matter which company you're riding with, you'll want to exit from Namba Walk, near Bic Camera but on the opposite side of the street, or at Exit #14 which takes you to Dotonbori and the Glico Man.

A view from an earlier blog post. Check out them signs!!

Though this restaurant is a bit off the beaten path, it is frequented often enough by foreigners to warrant English/Korean/Chinese menus, so no worries if you can't read kanji. :)
Also, this restaurant has 3 floors and seems to cater to large parties pretty well.

ALSO, I just realized I forgot to say what kushikatsu is. Oooops~
Well, it's basically fried food on a stick. They fry vegetables or meat, and it's then dipped into a special dipping sauce (Warning: Do NOT double dip. You will get yelled at..!). And that's basically it. Pretty simple. :)

Kushikatsu can be found anywhere in Japan, there are even chain restaurants where you can fry your own (the Japanese seem to love those DIY restaurants. I'm lookin' at you yakiniku..), but I hear the best is in Osaka, much like Okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Specifically Shin-sekai (note: this shop is in Namba).

5 stick Veggie and Meat set

Anyway, at this shop, you can order kushikatsu by the stick or in an assorted set (5, 10 or 20 sticks). I think these assorted sets are really good for sampling a variety or kushikatsu, but be warned that some meat sets contain horumon (ホルモン) like cartilage or liver (neither of which I am a fan of :x). Horumon refers to the parts of animals that were traditionally thrown away, but are now part of the regular menu.

Pricing:
5 stick set: around 480 yen
10 stick set: 1000 yen
20 stick set: 2000 yen

Ordering kushikatsu individually will run you anywhere from 60 yen to 180 yen, depending on what you're ordering (veggies versus meat). Also, by the time we got to the restaurant (5pm) they were already out of the 20 stick set. I'm guessing they sell out pretty fast during lunch.

Fried Udon

You can also order side dishes like fried udon (pictured left), french fries, fried chick, typical izakaya (bar) food.

The drinks aren't too expensive and they have a nomihoudai (all-you-can-drink) plan, but I have to warn that the cocktails are kind of bland and seem watered down. You might want to save your money on that front :/

The nicest thing about Yokozuna is definitely the price. Plus the large variety gives you the chance to sample a lot of different items.

Other than the nice price, there's nothing else really special about this spot. It's pretty much a low-level izakaya after all the kushikatsu is taken away, so save your beer money for a better place. But definitely enjoy the kushikatsu..! I did :)

Reviews on Gurunavi gave Yokozuna 3 stars, and I would offer up the same. ;)
Hope I was able to offer up enough info. If you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me :)

★Peaces★

Merry Christmas!!!11

It's not like Christmas back home, but I'm still in a great mood. Which is always nice :)

Today, it being Christmas and all as well as a Sunday, Shota and I went out to Namba for a little Christmas shopping. In the end, I wasn't able to convince him to get a Christmas present, but we ate a lot and just had a good time together.

This photo was taken at the Big Step in Ameica-mura. I've yet to actually explore the entire Big Step shopping centre, but I'd like to check out the KERA shop sometime..!



 
 Earlier this week (or maybe a couple days ago, I'm losing all sense of time again), I got this freebie pack in the mail. I filled out an online survey for this magazine called KATY, and they sent me this as a present. Some Marie Claire make-up, which I don't recall ever seeing before (I'm only aware of the magazine). The eye liner, pencil and liquid, and eyebrow pencil are all in brown, so I probably won't use them that often, but I like the eyeshadow palette. The pink and white brow highlight are my faves~ :)





On Christmas Eve, we decided to do the Christmas dinner thing. I totally reneged on not getting fried chicken (me trying to go against the tide :P), but it was so cheap at AEON, I couldn't resist. I do love a good fried chicken. We also had french fries, sushi and miso soup. What an eclectic meal..! ;D











And to save a little money, we bought small cakes instead of a one huge Christmas cake, like we did last year. I much prefer these little cakes and when you put about four together, they equal the size of a small Christmas cake, but for about half the price. YEA! :D

And yea, I had to pick up the Disney cakes. The Disney compels me *zombie face* e_E








Christmas Day outfit!!

I was trying to channel my inner abominable snowman. ;)

But seriously, those leg warmers helped a TON because the wind was kicking everyone's butt today. Completely relentless.


I also broke out my Betsy bag. It's been quite a minute but I do wish I owned a couple more Betsy Johnson bags..







Our first stop for today was Namba City for my Christmas present..! Last year, I didn't pay much attention to Namba City, but the basement floor is probably one of my favorite secret places to shop in Osaka now. There's a World Wide Lovers shop PLUS a shop that sells Vivienne Westwood and J.P. Gaultier clothes and bags :O Though that stuff is out of my price range, I love just looking at it and thinking about owning some..! :P

I do want to buy more World Wide Love and Super Lovers stuff though..!! I love how WWL goes from really crazy designs to more mainstream stuff. Gives one lots of options :] And since there's no more JSG in Osaka.. ;o;



My Christmas present!! Some Dr. Martens..! :) I needed a sturdy winter boot since that last pair I bought were kind of cheap and didn't fit well.

There's another style similar to this pair that I'm on the look out for because, quite frankly, you can never have enough Dr. Martens.

Classic ;)




After Namba City, we walked down Midosuji street to Shinsaibashi OPA. It wasn't as crowded as Namba City (though NC had a free live, so that might be why), but I suppose boyfriends don't really want to be cooped up inside OPA all day on Christmas day either.

UNLESS, they're going to the dessert buffet, like we did..!! This is my favorite dessert buffet in all of Osaka (so far). It's cheap and they have a large variety of desserts plus a chocolate fountain and you can make your own crepes. They also have some light food like spaghetti and pizza. The drink bar is included and it's only about 1400 yen for 90 minutes. We're usually full within the first 45 minutes, which gives us enough time to digest and then eat a little more. We're lucky we walk so much otherwise we'd be sumo-size :X..

Lovely view of Osaka from the dessert buffet windows. It wasn't until I looked out of these windows that I realized Osaka is surrounded by these huge mountains. Of course I knew Osaka was, but I hadn't realized it. Or ever really seen them from the city before. It was a nice realization :)







After OPA, we wandered back down through America-mura, to check out some of the small street style shops. I love the strange t-shirts they carry like a African American Minnie and Mickey Mouse. I'm gonna try to pick that up the next time I go. :)

We also stopped by a sports shop in Big Step, where I took a photo of these Santa. He's standing outside of a used clothing shop.







We then started our walk back towards Namba so we could watch the lights displayed in Namba Parks. But on the way, I saw this small shrine.

It was so modern looking, we almost thought it wasn't real. It's got security cameras and everything D: I guess someone was trying to walk away with some donations. Shame man...









Unfortunately, the Christmas lights-thing was a bust. The wind was almost literally tossing everyone around the outdoor courtyard, so we gave up and went inside. And took purikura..!! :D I think this another machine that makes you look taller than you are. It also shrunk my nose..!! I like my nose...











After Namba Parks, we decided to call it a night. And since we got home so early, I was able to blog..!! Way to go productivity ;D

Here's my little haul. The Martens were the Christmas present, while the W♥C purchase was completely out of necessity since I was in need of a good winter coat. Totally out of necessity.

Totally.







Aforementioned necessary coat :] I love the big furry hood. I almost went with the Super Lovers coat, but it was covered in leopard print and I thought I should just step away from the leopard print a little. I've got quite enough Lol Though I still want it a little..

And that was my Christmas..! I still have another mini cake, so I'll probably munch on that, then get ready for work tomorrow. But only two more days! 2!!! I'm excited to just have time to mess around without having to worry about work. Plus, lots of clubbing will be done :D Yuuussss.

How did everyone's Christmas go!? I can't wait to read other Christmas blogs. It's like reliving Christmas over and over again ;D

And Christmas music, couldn't possibly forget ;P