Osaka Okonomiyaki vs. Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

There is a great debate in Japan: Osaka Okonomiyaki or Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.

You may recall that a couple of months ago I wrote a post about okonomiyaki. What I didn't include in the post, although I had heard grumblings of it at the time, is that every Japanese person has their own preference on which style of okonomiyaki they like. The big difference in style is that in Hiroshima they make the dish with soba noodles mixed in. In Osaka there are no noodles. Sure, sure, sure, that doesn't sound like a big deal but trust me it is. In Japan, choosing your okonomiyaki is like saying you prefer Chicago pizza over New York Pizza or vice versa.

Since I was traveling to both cities, I decided to put my two cents in this classic debate. When I arrived to Osaka I asked a local where the best okonomiyaki place was. She didn't just tell me, she took out a book, showed me and then photocopied the page so I could find it when traveling around the city.

After getting close to the restaurant I had to ask directions a couple of times. The places was located in like an underground city of restaurant that happened to be under a major railway line. I'm usually golden with finding places but this one was tricky since the address said it was on the second floor. It was on the second floor but the door to it was on the first floor. When I finally found the door at 11:40 AM-ish there was already a line. The place didn't open until noon. When twelve finally came around I was the sixth person out of about 30 in line.

I took my place at the bar and watched in awe as the chef took everyone's order and simultaneously prepared nine okonomiyaki (I don't know the plural but am treating it like deer or beer) at one time. The okoniyaki was delicious despite my brain telling me it was the single most unhealthy thing I have ever eaten. It had bacon, mayo, eggs and a few other things that I'm sure my cardiologist in 2045 will tell me never to eat again.

CONTESTANT #2: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

I arrived in Hiroshima with the name and address of an okonomiyaki place in my hand. When I was in Nara I met a guy from Hiroshima who insisted he had the single best okonomiyaki place in the city. We pulled up mapquest and he pointed out roughly where the restaurant was. He told me four things about this restaurant:
1. It was way off the beaten path.
2. It was run by an old woman.
3. The okonomiyaki was huge there.
4. The okonomiyaki was only 550 Yen.

When I arrived at my hostel in Hiroshima I asked the girl working the counter if she had ever heard of the place. She said no and that there was no okonomiyaki restaurant in all of Hiroshima that sold okonomiyaki for 550 Yen.

Well, I found the place and the guy didn't lie to me. There was an old woman who was the only person working there:

The woman looked very surprised to see me when I walked in the door. Clearly foreigners don't go to this place. She looked even more surprised when I showed her the paper I had been carrying in my wallet. The paper had my order on it and she got cooking. Ten minutes later I ate a huge, delicious, soba noodle filled savory pancake:

(PICTURE: Please note that the finished Okonomiyaki picture is actually the one with the old woman in it. This picture was about five minutes and 3,000 calories from being done.)
The winner by unanimous decision: Hiroshima.

Oh, and New York pizza is way better than Chicago pizza.